Pipo Derani


Luís Felipe "Pipo" Derani is a Brazilian race car driver, who is currently driving a Nissan prototype for Tequila Patrón ESM in the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and is an overall winner of the 2016 24 Hours of Daytona and the 2016, 2018 and 2019 12 Hours of Sebring. Pipo is son of the late Walter Derani and younger brother of Rafael Derani, both well known Brazilian racing drivers.

Career

Karting

Derani made his karting debut in 2003, at the age of ten. In 2005 he was champion of the São Paulo Junior Menor Championship.

Formula Renault

Derani began his car racing career by driving in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup with Motopark Academy in 2009. He took two podiums at Alastaro Circuit and TT Circuit Assen along with thirteen point-scoring positions to finish seventh in championship. In Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0, he took part in six races for the same team. He finished 27th with two points coming from a ninth place at the Nürburgring.

Formula Three

In 2010, Derani stepped up to the German Formula Three Championship with the Motopark Academy team joining Formula Renault teammates Kevin Magnussen and Jimmy Eriksson at the team. Derani finished in tenth place in championship points. In 2011 Derani moved to the British Formula 3 Championship with Double R Racing. He finished fifteenth in points with a single podium finish. He also competed in the Formula 3 "all star" events such as the Formula 3 Brazil Open and Masters of Formula 3. 2012 saw Derani remain in British F3 but switch teams to Fortec Motorsport. He improved to eighth in the championship, capturing wins at Oulton Park and Brands Hatch. He also drove in three Formula 3 Euro Series races and finished sixth in the Macau Grand Prix. In 2013 Derani stayed with Fortec but moved to the FIA European Formula Three Championship where he finished eighth in points with three podium finishes.

Sportscars

In 2014 Derani raced in the last two rounds of the 2014 European Le Mans Series, finishing third in the 4 Hours of Le Castellet on 14 September and retired in the 4 Hours of Estoril on 19 October, driving on both occasions an Oreca-Nissan 03R of Irish team Murphy Prototypes. In 2016, he entered the four endurance races of the 2016 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Extreme Speed Motorsports with a Ligier-Honda LMP2, winning both the 2016 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring.
In 2017, Derani signed with Ford to become a factory driver. He raced the first three races of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship in the LMGTE Pro class with Ford Chip Ganassi Team UK, claiming a class win at Silverstone. Later he drove an Oreca LMP2 for Rebellion at the FIA WEC Nürburgring round. The Brazilian also drove at seven rounds of the 2017 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for Extreme Speed Motorsports with a Nissan Onroak DPi, winning at Road America.
For the 2018 WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Derani became a full-time driver at Extreme Speed Motorsports, winning at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Racing career

Career summary

As Derani was a guest driver, he was ineligible for points.
* Season still in progress.

Complete FIA Formula 3 European Championship results

YearEntrantEngine123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930DCPoints
2012Fortec MotorsportsMercedesHOC
1
HOC
2
PAU
1
Ret
PAU
2
5
BRH
1
BRH
2
RBR
1
RBR
2
NOR
1
Ret
NOR
2
21
SPA
1
8
SPA
2
7
NÜR
1
4
NÜR
2
Ret
ZAN
1
ZAN
2
VAL
1
VAL
2
HOC
1
10
HOC
2
Ret
NC0
2013Fortec MotorsportsMercedesMNZ
1
11
MNZ
2
19
MNZ
3
5
SIL
1
9
SIL
2
8
SIL
3
Ret
HOC
1
14
HOC
2
14
HOC
3
10
BRH
1
14
BRH
2
18
BRH
3
17
RBR
1
18
RBR
2
11
RBR
3
9
NOR
1
15
NOR
2
5
NOR
3
7
NÜR
1
6
NÜR
2
2
NÜR
3
3
ZAN
1
19
ZAN
2
5
ZAN
3
5
VAL
1
6
VAL
2
6
VAL
3
2
HOC
1
7
HOC
2
11
HOC
3
Ret
8th143

American open–wheel racing

Complete Pro Mazda Championship results

Complete European Le Mans Series results

Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results

Complete WeatherTech SportsCar Championship results

YearTeamClassCarEngine12345678910RankPoints
2016Tequila Patrón ESMPLigier JS P2Honda HR35TT 3.5 L V6 TurboDAY
1
SEB
1
LBHLGADETWGL
9
MOSELKCOAPET
2
12th128
2017Tequila Patrón ESMPNissan Onroak DPiNissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6DAY
4
SEB
11
LBHCOADETWGL
7
MOS
9
ELK
1
LGA
8
PET
4
9th181
2018Tequila Patrón ESMPNissan Onroak DPiNissan VR38DETT 3.8 L Turbo V6DAY
18
SEB
1
LBH
12
MDO
9
DET
7
WGL
16
MOS
12
ELK
6
LGA
1
PET
6
9th232
2019Whelen Engineering RacingDPiCadillac DPi-V.RCadillac 5.5 L V8DAY
2
SEB
1
LBH
6
MDO
4
DET
2
WGL
7
MOS
4
ELK
4
LGA
3
PET
1
2nd297
2020Whelen Engineering RacingDPiCadillac DPi-V.RCadillac 5.5 L V8DAY
7
DAY
5
SEB
1
ELK
MDO
WGL
PET
LGA
SEB
5th*85*

* Season still in progress.

Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results