Genesis factory driver Pipo Derani has been revealed as a CLX Motorsport driver for the 2025 European Le Mans Series season.
The Brazillian, who left Cadillac’s driver roster at the end of the 2024 IMSA season, will drive the team’s #47 ORECA in the LMP2 class alongside LMP3 graduate Manuel Espírito Santo and Formula 2 race winner Enzo Fittipaldi.
Derani’s new programme with the Swiss-flagged team (formerly COOL Racing) will be his first full-time in the ELMS. And crucially, it will see him keep his feet wet in a competitive prototype during the year alongside his role in helping Genesis develop its GMR-001 Hypercar, which will join the FIA WEC next year.
“It’s great news. Nico (Lapierre, CLX’s team principal) and I raced together in DPi and won Sebring together. I spoke to him and he said he’d love to have me on the team if I was available,” the former IMSA DPi and GTP Drivers’ Champion told DSC.
“I had to wait on approval for Genesis, as they have a partnership with another team (IDEC Sport). They had a say, and it’s understandable that I cannot race for another Hypercar manufacturer that’s why I wasn’t in a GTP at Daytona.
“There are limitations but luckily they gave me the chance to go to another fantastic team with someone I respect a lot. It’s the perfect place to be to stay race-ready and sharp, with a team capable of winning races and titles.”
Derani also explained that racing in the ELMS LMP2 class made sense over a season in IMSA, due to his commitments in Europe this season with Genesis, which he says are set to be intense, particularly in the second half of the year.
“ELMS is ultra-competitive, it makes sense to be in there, it’s the obvious choice,” he said. “The biggest goal this year for me was to make a move to Europe, I’ve moved myself and my family to Europe to focus on the development of the Hypercar.
“So I started working on this from the moment I signed up for the Genesis programme. I started my sportscar career in the ELMS back in 2014 with two races, and now I’m back for a full season.
“This is it for me in 2025. The commitment to Genesis is extremely important and my priority. And from what I can see on my calendar it’s going to be busy. Six races in ELMS is the maximum number of races I can do, and with seven including Daytona, that’s a perfect number alongside what I’m doing for Genesis.”
Espirito Santo meanwhile, stays with the CLX family after a strong season in 2024 with COOL in LMP3. The 21-year-old Portuguese racer scored a victory and two podiums last season and will hope to build on that experience as he steps into the top class for the first time.
And for Fittipaldi, this move to the ELMS comes after a three-year stint in Formula 2 with Charouz Racing System and Rodin Carlin.
The trio will race alongside CLX Motorsport’s sister #37 ORECA, which will be driven by Tom Blomqvist, Harry King, and Alex Malykhin.
