Pipo Derani: 'We’re not here to finish second'

Pipo Derani is a very determined sort of character. It’s an impression which becomes apparent as soon as the interview commences – the Brazilian has just completed a run after a transatlantic flight from Germany – and can be detected throughout the 21 year old’s young career. 

“To be honest, I’ve never had someone who has already been on top in the sport and has helped me, it was most of the time on my own and learning from my own mistakes,” Derani admits. “Most of the time it gets much easier if someone has already made a way up to the top categories and if you listen to these people then your chance of making mistakes gets a little bit smaller, so it’s never been easy for me getting through the difficult times.”

Going it alone has given Derani an inner steel and a maturity which belies his years. Recognising early on that without enormous financial backing, his Formula One dream was destined to be perpetually out of reach, Derani switched his attentions to the fertile land of sportscar racing and hasn’t looked back since.

Pipo Derani has struck out to a career in the WEC (Pipo Derani Media Office).

“It’s a bit of a surprise to be honest because it’s two different worlds, single-seaters and sportscars,” he says. “I had good results in single-seaters, but it doesn’t really matter to be honest, in any case you won’t be successful unless you have a big cheque. I changed the route of my career and made the decision to give up on the Formula One dream, which is not easy for a young driver, but looking back now I can see that it was the right choice. I had to make that decision quite early in my career and knew that if I was going to be successful then I would have to change my aims and today I couldn’t be happier to be here, fighting for a World Championship so early in my career.”

It was a “life changing” third place on the unforgiving streets of Macau in 2013 that opened the door to the possibility of a career in sportscars. Building on a fine sixth from 13^th on the grid in 2012, Derani started well and kept away from the walls to join Williams development driver Alex Lynn and DTM race-winner Antonio Felix da Costa on the podium, ahead of the fancied Alexander Sims, Carlos Sainz Jr. and Harry Tincknell.

Greg Murphy knows a talent when he sees one and made sure to get Derani on board for the following season’s European Le Mans Series rounds at Paul Ricard and Estoril.

“Macau is the biggest event on the F3 calendar and it showed he has a head for the big events because he didn’t make any mistakes,” says the Irishman, who plucked Brendon Hartley from single-seaters before his ascension to the Porsche LMP1 line-up. “He came to the workshop in the early stages of that year and after Macau we started talking more seriously. When I first met him I instantly liked him, he’s a good kid, with an old head on young shoulders, very mature.

“I’m sure he’ll go onto bigger and better things, he’s gone from being a quick single-seater protégé to a pretty good ticket for an LMP1 team to have a look at.”

The calm before the storm. With Murphy's Alan McGarrity
and Rodolfo Gonzalez at Paul Ricard (Pipo Derani Media Office).

It didn’t take Derani long to learn the ropes in his two race cameo with Murphy and he could count himself unlucky not to win on his debut thanks to a stop-go penalty for a pit infringement. Looking back, he says the confidence-boosting experience served him well ahead of his graduation to the world stage with G-Drive for 2015.

“Racing with Greg was a great experience and I don’t regret anything because if it wasn’t for those two races, I wouldn’t be in the WEC at the moment,” he says. “People weren’t expecting anything from me, I was just a new young driver coming into sportscars, where there is so much to learn. I just fell in love with it; it was amazing to start on the pole and be on the podium in my first race. If I am where I am today, it’s because I had that chance and not many young drivers coming from F3 get that.”

That grounded approach would serve the Brazilian well on his first attempt at the Le Mans 24 Hours in May. Derani was suitably respectful of the Circuit de la Sarthe and duly rewarded with a solid haul of points for fourth place, ensuring that he, Gustavo Yacaman and Ricardo Gonzalez are still very much in the hunt for the LMP2 title heading into the business end of the WEC season.

“Every single team in the WEC, ELMS and America who do Le Mans work for the whole year just for that race, so the amount of pressure on the driver not to make a mistake is huge,” says Derani. “The whole experience from the first test until the end of the race is just immense, you never realise how big it is until you actually take part. It was the hardest race of my life; now I understand why manufacturers usually pick drivers who have experience there!

“Obviously we wanted to be three steps further up, but at the end of the day to finish that race is a big achievement and we got good points for the championship as well. And now I know more of what to expect, it will hopefully make life much easier the next time. I hope to keep coming back for another twenty or more years.”

Fourth place was a reasonable return on Derani's
first LM24 apperarance (Pipo Derani Media Office).

Consistency has been the key to the Latin American crew’s title challenge, having finished inside the top three WEC-registered point scorers at every round so far, but Derani is itching to register that all-important first win and has been quietly putting in the hours behind-the-scenes to attain his goal. The fruits were evident at the Nürburgring as he showed well against Sam Bird’s sister car in the first stint, and ended being the third fastest LMP2 driver after Bird and Le Mans winner Nick Tandy.

“It’s my first ever season in WEC and first complete season in sportscars so there are a few things that will come with time, especially now being in the car for much longer than I used to be before, because with that you have to manage tyres and fuel,” he says. “Every time I get in the car I’m improving bit by bit and I am aware of the areas I need to work on. In motorsport you can never relax, so I’ve been pushing myself a lot to be able to reach the top in this type of racing. It’s not only about driving fast, you’ve got to be reliable and have a pair of safe hands because you’re not only driving the car for yourself, you have to always be thinking about your team-mates.

“This year we have a great opposition in the new Oreca, and so far they’ve been showing that they’ve made good improvements to their car and they’re very quick, so on our side, we’ve got to keep pushing to be in the fight. We are not here to finish second, we are here to win this championship and to win races. It’s a real team effort, so you can be sure that me and the team are pushing for it.”

That team is Jacques Nicolet’s Onroak, a bona fide constructor in their own right, having produced the Ligier JS P2 in-house and sold it to customers on both sides of the Atlantic, including Michael Shank Racing, Krohn Racing and Extreme Speed Motorsports; whose fleet were entrusted to Derani to shake-down before Spa. And with the news that the French outfit will be designing an all-new LMP2 car for the 2017 regulations, the Brazilian can expect to play an important role in the testing and development should he stay for another season.

Derani chats to Lucas di Grassi ahead of the Silverstone 6 Hours. The Brazilian
aspires to join him in LMP1 before too long (Pipo Derani Media Office).

“It’s funny because it’s only been a few months or a year where everything has changed in my career and to see that they trust and respect what I’m doing is a great feeling,” he says. “It’s very satisfying that they’ve given me this responsibility to shake down cars for Onroak and for my career it couldn’t be a better learning experience because it pushes me forward every time I put on the helmet.

“It’s a great team and apart from being really professional, it’s like a big family. We have a lot of fun together, but in the end what makes the difference is the level of professionalism from the mechanics and everyone. If you look at the last race at the Nürburgring, every single pitstop and every crew member was spot on, we never made a single mistake. I’m really enjoying being able to race for this team, because when it’s time for work, we all know that we have to perform 100% otherwise it’s not what the big boss expects. But also when it’s time to enjoy ourselves and have fun together, we do so.”

Following in the footsteps of Hartley, Tinknell and Mike Conway by using LMP2 as a springboard to a manufacturer seat in LMP1 remains the final hurdle, but with the addition of a mandatory rookie test to be held after the final race in Bahrain, we could well see Derani with one foot in the door before too long.

“Obviously the aim for any young driver is to reach the top of what they want to do; LMP1 is the top class in sportscars and to get the chance you have to be one of the best out there. I’m pushing really hard to be one of those, so hopefully I get the chance to test and show them what I can do. So far I know only four drivers will be chosen, at least one new driver per manufacturer, so I’ve got to keep working hard and delivering good results. I have my fingers crossed that I can sit in one of those machines soon.”