Pipo Derani Tag

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 100-minute BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach reverts to a two-class race in 2018, featuring the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Prototype and GT Le Mans (GTLM) classes. The same two classes also were featured at Long Beach in 2014 and 2015. The Prototype Challenge class participated in 2016, while the GT Daytona (GTD) class raced in Long Beach last year. The entry list for the BUBBA burger Sports Car Grand Prix at Long Beach features 22 cars, withRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Let’s get one thing straight right off the top: there’s still a long, long way to go in the 2018 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. With just two races in the books – albeit two really big ones in the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts – the championship race is close in all three classes. And to be exact, each of the GT classes still has nine races remaining on the schedule,Read More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The 66th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts offered no shortage of intriguing storylines throughout the race. In reflecting on last Saturday’s one lap around the clock, the intrigue will continue as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship shifts from the endurance racing format to the sprint mindset for the next several events. Here are five key takeaways from an outstanding race at Sebring: 1. Mazda Team Joest is a Contender When the announcement was made in theRead More

By IMSA Wire Service SEBRING, Fla. – There was only one driver lineup entered in this year’s 66th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts made up entirely of past overall race winners. It was only fitting, then, that lineup – comprised of Pipo Derani, Nicolas Lapierre and Johannes van Overbeek in the No. 22 Tequila Patrón ESM Nissan DPi – combined Saturday to give Nissan its first win in the endurance classic in almost 25 years. Derani – who joined van Overbeek in the winningRead More

By IMSA Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — The 66th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Presented by Advance Auto Parts scheduled for Saturday, March 17features a 43-car IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship entry list. The field includes 16 Prototypes, nine GT Le Mans (GTLM) cars and 18 GT Daytona (GTD) entries. Live FOX Sports television coverage of the race begins at 10:30 a.m. ET on FS1 and the entire race will be streamed live on FOX Sports Go with FS1 authentication. Live IMSA Radio coverage is available on IMSA.com, RadioLeMans.com and via SiriusXM Radio.Read More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer DAYTONA BEACH, Florida — The middle eight hours of the 2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona had a decent amount of action that involved all three classes and some of the results were certainly shaken up. The GTD class-leading No. 29 Audi R8 LMS GT3 was given a stop and hold penalty for five minutes for a balance of performance violation. The team was determined to have refueled at their pit stops faster than the BoP regulations allowed for. The Audi was a lap ahead of theRead More

By Christopher DeHarde, Staff Writer The 2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona has achieved star power status with world championship-caliber drivers and manufacturers in the Prototype ranks in the second year of the DPi/LMP2 rules package. (what is a DPi? https://www.imsa.com/qa-2017-daytona-prototype-international-dpi-concept) The entry list has four manufacturers in the DPi ranks with Nissan (two cars), Mazda (two cars), Acura (two cars) and Cadillac (four cars) going up against 10 LMP2 cars from Oreca (six cars), Riley/Multimatic (one car) and Ligier (three cars). Let’s look at the Prototype portion of the entry listRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – Appropriately enough, after 24 hours of seemingly non-stop action, the fastest car still running was the overall winner of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Luis Felipe “Pipo” Derani, a baby-faced 22-year old racing prodigy from Brazil, took the checkered flag on Sunday afternoon in the No. 2 Tequila Patron ESM Honda-powered Ligier JS P2, 26.166 seconds ahead of 2005 overall winner Max Angelleli in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Corvette DP. Derani brought home victory for teammates Scott Sharp,Read More

The #26 G-Drive Racing Ligier JS P2-Nissan went quickest in qualifying at Spa Francorchamps, with Sam Bird and Julien Canal setting a best average of 2:07.761, giving them pole position, just in front of the #47 KCMG Oreca 05-Nissan. . As per the regulations, the grid for the main race is set by taking the average from the best lap times of both designated drivers, and which must include one silver or bronze driver in LM P2. This pole adds to the impressive score the Ligier JS P2 has already set sinceRead More