Pipo Derani has made a name for himself in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship by being a tremendously fast racer and especially so in qualifying. In fact, he earned pole position for the first three races of the year (Daytona, Sebring, and Long Beach). He’s a four-time winner of the 12 Hours of Sebring and he’s also won the 24 Hours of Daytona. We caught up with Derani at the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach right after his post-race qualifying pole position press conference and conducted this interview leaving the media room and walking with him on the way back to his transporter. There’s a slight interruption in the interview as a fan stops him to take a selfie as we navigated our way through the crowd. It’s a short interview but he fills us in on his mindset in qualifying and racing and how things change between sprint and endurance racing. Enjoy!

NOTE: It was announced during the 2024 season that Derani would not be back with his Whelen Cadillac V-Series.R GTP team for 2025.

Where will he end up? Stay tuned. . .

By Larry Mason

Copyright © 2024 Larry Mason

Pipo Derani is a consummate professional and is known for his qualifying prowess as well as being fast during the race.
(PHOTO courtesy of Cadillac Racing)

One more corner to go before they go green! Pipo Derani leads the competition (BMW, Cadillac, Porsche and Acura) before the start of the Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach.

Sleek, swoopy, and angular, the lines of the Cadillac V-Series.R GTP car evoke similarities with the road going variants.

It’s not easy to get a big car like the Cadillac V-Series.R GTP car through the tight Turn 11 hairpin of the Long Beach street circuit, but Pipo Derani managed that feat as he earned pole position for the race!

Part of the intrigue of IMSA racing is the variety of cars the fans get to see and hear. In the case of the drivers, mixing it up with large disparities of speed presents a continuous challenge.

Inch-perfect around the fountain, Derani hits the apex and accelerates away to lead another lap at Long Beach where he and his teammate (Jack Aitken) would ultimately finish in second place, just a half-second behind the winners (Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande).

Interview and photos Copyright © by Larry Mason (unless otherwise noted)