IMSA | How scary for Derani: “Luckily we're not in the 60s”

There were around 4h30 left until the end of the 12h of Sebring when the second seasonal round of the IMSA SportsCar Championship experienced moments of apprehension.

Pipo Derani was firmly in the lead in a race that had already been neutralized several times up to that point and with the #31 Cadillac he was trying to manage the good advantage he had accumulated over his rivals, trying to avoid problems in traffic.

However, having arrived behind the AF Corse Ferrari #21 driven at the time by Miguel Molina, the Brazilian and the driver from Maranello were involved in a contact, probably the result of a misunderstanding and the red-black V-Series.R skidded crashing into the barriers at very high speed.

The Action Express Racing LMDh reared up, climbing over the piles of tyres, and then landed upside down, balanced between the tires and the wall, remaining stuck with no signs of movement.

Endless moments of fear until the first rescuers reached the car, noticing the driver inside with his thumb raised, but unable to get out as the door was blocked by the tyres.

A good and very long 5 minutes which then saw the marshals hook the Cadillac to the crane and lift it to open the door and pull poor Derani out, who with a big sigh of relief immediately stood up on his legs and walked away together with the doctors.

“I had a 12″ lead, I think, and everything was going smoothly. We passed thousands and thousands of cars. It was one of those moments where perhaps the other rider didn't see me and raised his foot just as I was arriving”, says the South American post-race.

“I expected him to hold his line to the right, so I threw myself to the left. I couldn't do anything and the wall came in front of me quite quickly. The moment I hit it I knew the race was over “.

“It's the first time I've ever tipped over; it's not a good feeling to be upside down until you can turn the car around. Good thing I'm racing in 2024 and not the 60s.”

“At that moment I felt fine, it's just not great when you try to open the door and you can't. Luckily everything went well, the security people arrived quite quickly and I gave them signals that I was Well”.

“Overall, I think the tire barrier absorbed most of the impact. Luckily the Cadillac-Dallara is a very solid car!”

Finally Derani tries to take it philosophically, aware that the Cadillac (in addition to being solid) is very competitive and capable of winning in the next outings.

“Unfortunately it was the classic day where things literally go to pieces. It's a shame because we had a really strong car and our race was going well. It's one of those situations where it happens that you don't have the chance to think or react. It's part of multi-class racing.”

“Our championship has suffered a small blow to the heart, but we have a strong car and other races to contest. I would have liked to try to take a fifth victory at Sebring. I will have to try again next year.”