IMSA ace Derani to test IndyCar for Schmidt Peterson
Pipo Derani is to test for Schmidt Peterson Motorsport next month, alongside AutoGP champion Luis Michael Dorrbecker.
Luis Felipe Derani, Tequila Patrón ESM
Alexander Trienitz
Derani, who won last year’s Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring for Extreme Speed Motorsport, is this season racing a Chip Ganassi Racing Ford GT in the World Endurance Championship’s first three rounds – Silverstone, Spa, and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
However, Schmidt Peterson Motorsport will test the 23-year-old Brazilian, as well as Dorrbecker, on Wednesday, March 1 at Sebring’s short course.
Team co-owner Sam Schmidt told Motorsport.com: “We actually tested Pipo three or four years ago in Indy Lights and thought he was an outstanding young driver, but we just couldn’t put the deal together for Lights. So he floated around that year and ended up in sportscars and I think he truly proved himself.
“I’ve had a relationship with [ESM Racing’s] Ed Brown for 15 years, so when he started ESM’s deal with Pipo, I told him I thought it would work out well for him, and it certainly has. But Pipo has always wanted to race open-wheel.
“If you think about it, it could be like the situation with Simon [Pagenaud]. He left open-wheel, gained maturity and experience in sportscars and came back very strong.
“So this is a great back-to-back opportunity to test, with almost everyone testing at Sebring on Feb. 28th, and then these two guys and the track being available also on March 1st. We have high hopes for both Pipo and Dorrbecker – it’s all about looking toward the future.”
Asked whether that future could be as soon as this season, given Schmidt’s vague references to possibly running a third car, he said: “Possibly. Both guys would love to do open-wheel at this level so maybe two or three races after Indy. We’d look at road courses to ease them into the program. We have contract rights for both of them, this year and next year.
“But when I said for the future, I was thinking a bit further ahead. For example, we expect and wish to have a longterm relationship with both of our two existing drivers [James Hinchcliffe and Mikhail Aleshin], but we have to consider also that they’re out of contract at the end of this year.”
Regarding the driver of SPM's #77 car at this year’s Indianapolis 500, which was recently confirmed as being backed by the Tony Stewart Foundation, Schmidt said that no final choice had been made.
“There’s been a few people they’ve put forward, a few people we’ve put forward, but I don’t have a contract yet. I’ve been on the road for two weeks, but I’ll figure it out this week, just so we can get it finalized and move on. I’d say an announcement is seven-to-ten days out.”
Be part of Motorsport community
Join the conversationShare Or Save This Story
Subscribe and access Motorsport.com with your ad-blocker.
From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. Still, we want to give you the opportunity to enjoy an ad-free and tracker-free website and to continue using your adblocker.
Top Comments