Fresh from his first Le Mans 24 Hours, young Brazilian, Pipo Derani , is locked in the race for the LMP2 Drivers’ and Teams’ titles in the World Endurance Championship. Alongside fellow South Americans Gustavo Yacamán and Ricardo González in G-Drive Racing’s #28 Ligier, Derani has proven to be a force in the LMP2 class, finishing second at Silverstone, first at Spa and third at La Sarthe (of the WEC entries).
As the season enters its second phase at the Nürburgring later this month, the eager 21-year-old will be back behind the wheel of the JS P2, hoping to continue his current form all the way to Bahrain where he dreams of being crowned a World Champion.
“Le Mans is different,” says Derani, who grew up in São Paulo a race fan, but unaware of sportscars. “You never realise how big it is until you actually go to it or take part in it. I knew it was going to be huge, but from the moment I hit the track for the first time it exceeded my expectations.
“It’s clear now to me that it’s one of the single biggest sporting events in the world. Looking up in the stands and seeing 265,000 people is so special. It’s crazy when you see all the guys working at the race, because it becomes clear why they work all year round for it. Some teams are clearly only in the WEC to get an entry.”
Derani and his team came home an impressive fourth in class after a few hiccups. Even better, they managed to pick up valuable third-place points for the title, by finishing third of the WEC runners behind their teammates in the #26 G-Drive Ligier and the winning KCMG Oreca.
“Getting to the end of Le Mans was such an achievement, getting to the end with a good result was even more rewarding. For us it was a tough race, we had problems in the beginning, and lost our chance to fight for an overall podium early, but when we look back we picked up lots of points for the championship.”
Like most Brazilian drivers who grew up up in the 90s, Derani’s sights were set on becoming the next Ayrton Senna. Endurance racing was and still is niche in that part of the world, but in recent years has produced some real sportscar talent. Derani’s path has since changed, and he no longer feels it’s Formula One or bust. Instead, securing a factory drive with the likes of Audi, Porsche, Toyota or Nissan is, he feels, a motoring pinnacle in itself.
“Driving go-karts in Brazil when I was ten years old, I didn’t experience the culture of sportscars. I dreamt about Formula One, but that’s not the same anymore, nowadays people get out of go-karting in Brazil with an aim to get to Indy Car and other categories,” Derani told DSC. “But in my case I went to Europe to do Formula Renault and chase F1. Sadly it gets to the point where you just can’t do it because you’re not going to get there without a big cheque, no matter how good you are. I wouldn’t ever say no to F1, but sportscars is growing and I’m happy to be part of that.”
His dynamic shifted quickly, and many DSC readers may remember Derani’s name appearing at the end of last year’s ELMS season when he secured a drive with Murphy Prototypes. A podium finish on his debut at Paul Ricard was very notable indeed.
“So I started to think about sportscars, especially Le Mans, and that was back in 2013, but because of my F3 commitments I couldn’t go and see the race. After my F3 podium in Macau Greg Murphy got in touch with me, we started talking. I couldn’t drive for him for the full season in ’14 but it led me to a full-season WEC drive.
“I did the last two rounds with Greg and fell in love with it. I love the team spirit, even though it’s strange at times… I mean, it’s weird watching your car finish a race from the pit wall and stuff like that, but I’m used to it now.”
Earlier this season DSC spoke to Michael Lyons, who is hoping his current drive with Murphy’s men will propel his career like that of Derani. And after Brendon Hartley used the team as a springboard to LMP1 with Porsche, who knows what the ceiling is? It may not be long before we consider Murphy Prototypes something of a farm-system to LMP1.
“It was a surprise to be honest, after driving with Greg for only two rounds I wasn’t expecting to get to the WEC that quick. If I didn’t get that drive with him, I wouldn’t be in the position I am in today. It opened the door to the series and for my relationship with Phillipe Dumas. And that’s a funny story actually.
“Phillipe got a report of the ELMS races at Paul Ricard and Estoril from Dunlop and I was rated quite highly even as a rookie. He knew about me because of that, and when I was in São Paulo for the WEC Oilivier Pla and I spoke, and before I knew it was in touch with Phillipe and he invited me to a test in Magny Cours that Decemeber.
“It was a tough test, very cold, a lot of rain. I knew I couldn’t afford to make any mistakes, I needed to show that I was quick and consistent. From there he gained a lot of trust in me and in January I signed the contract,” he laughs.
Securing his seat with G-Drive wasn’t the whole story though, as Derani has proven himself to be an asset to Onroak, as well as a safe pair of hands behind the wheel since the start of the year.
“Now I’m involved with Onroak, and have done work for them, going to ESM to shakedown their cars, things like that. It’s very nice to be involved with this side of the business, it’s great for my career. I’m definitely one of the lucky guys to get to drive for this team and work with a manufacturer.
“G-Drive are so big and professional for a P2 team. Doing well with these guys is going to be crucial in getting a chance with a P1 manufacturer. G-Drive are all about winning, but are a big family, you learn a lot about respect when you drive for them.”
The LMP2 class has matured this season, arguably in the same way the WEC has as a whole. The number of entries has increased, and so has the quality of driver. Derani feels that although there’s still a way to go, the series is well on its way to becoming something Joe Public takes notice of.
“When I was in Formula 3 you raced at Macau, and that’s the highlight. That was a main event but it’s a noticeable step down from a series like the WEC. In Formula 3 you’re a sideshow, you’re never really the main event when you’re at a track, but reaching WEC – despite it being a young series at the moment – you see they are here to be one of the best. It’s young,” he explains. “But the WEC clearly isn’t hoping to make up the numbers, it wants to be the benchmark.
“I’m very happy to be in a very professional environment and championship. The WEC is one of the best out there in terms of racing and professionalism, you see that because there’s so many manufacturers in the sport, and so many thinking about it. I couldn’t be in a better position at the moment.”
“I think that all the series needs to do is give more coverage to P2, sure the LMP1 class features the cars that will win overall, but the racing is so good in P2, and the fans need to see it, they need to understand the difference between the two classes.”
The calendar has also seen an alteration this year, renovations to Interlagos forced the FIA to look elsewhere, eventually leading to the return of a World Sportscar Championship round at the Nürburgring. For Pipo, it’s bitter sweet; he knows the German circuit well, but it’s come at the cost of a home race.
“Looking at the calendar last year, I did think if I make it to the WEC that it will be great to race in my home country. It would be nice if Brazil comes back, but I understand that it may not fit the WEC’s bill on the marketing side for the series or the manufacturers. I hope that one day it returns, I have my fingers crossed.
“That’s not a focus for me, it’s not on my mind, for the rest of the season, I just want to win, that’s the only aim. There’s a lot of circuits on the calendar which I haven’t been to before, but I enjoy the challenge. It’s going to be really interesting going forward. I’m confident that we have a team and I have a pair of teammates capable of winning the title.
“If I wasn’t, there’d be no point turning up at each race.”
Stephen Kilbey
