Brazilian driver Luís Felipe Derani will drive for Ford in the first three rounds of the 2017 FIA World Endurance Championship season, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing confirmed yesterday. The 23-year-old Brazilian enjoyed a breakthough year in 2016, winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring overall for Extreme Speed Motorsports and finishing fourth in the FIA Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers in the WEC.
Derani has been confirmed to join Andy Priaulx and Harry Tincknell in the #67 Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Team UK, gathering vital race experience at the 6 Hours of Silverstone and 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps before competing at the endurance classic at Le Mans in June. “I am delighted and proud to have been chosen to represent such a successful and respected manufacturer like Ford,” said Derani. “To race for an organisation like the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing Team has been one of my aims since starting in racing and to be recognised and selected by them is a big deal for me.”
“The way that the Ford GT has performed in endurance racing over the last 12 months has been exceptional and I am very much looking forward to working with the team to try and bring more success in the FIA World Endurance Championship and to defend the Le Mans LMGTE Pro title,” concluded Derani.
Alongside his new Ford commitments, Derani will also compete in the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup as part of the WeatherTech United Sportscar Championship for Extreme Speed Motorsports in 2017.
via: PipoDerani.com.br
Images (c) WEC-Magazin