Derani Wary of Porsche’s “Untapped Potential”

Pipo Derani has said he feels Porsche could emerge as the manufacturer to beat in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship this year due to its “untapped potential.”

Derani and his Action Express Racing Cadillac co-driver Alexander Sims kicked off IMSA’s GTP era last year with a narrow title win, despite only winning a single race, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, across the nine-race campaign.

Porsche’s top pairing, Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet, ended up classified fourth in the standings with two wins, but lost a third after being stripped of victory in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen for a skid block violation.

Asked by Sportscar365 which of Cadillac’s rivals he considered to be the biggest threat for his title defense in 2024, Derani singled out the factory Porsche Penske Motorsport squad on the basis of the resources it has at its disposal.

“Porsche is the one that has the most untapped potential in my opinion,” he said. “Last year they already seemed to be the most consistent even though they had some issues. 

“BMW was a positive surprise last year considering how they started the program, and Acura was quick from day one. Each manufacturer has strong and weak points, but if I had to pick one, I would pick Porsche. 

“They have the resources, the experience from the LMP1 days, the backing of a big team like Penske, so if they can unleash that potential, they will be very strong.

“But it’s not only about having the fastest car. That’s where we came in last year, also before LMDh. You have to be consistent from the beginning of the season until the end.”

Derani also predicted that the competitive picture in 2024 may be more settled than it was in the first year of the LMDh ruleset, which saw six of the eight full-time GTP crews win at least one race and no one manufacturer taking more than three wins all year.

He highlighted how unusual it is for the championship-winning crew to take the title with only a single win and three podium finishes, with the Brazilian’s first IMSA title in 2021 having come after three wins and seven podiums across ten races.

“The first year of LMDh was very up and down,” said Derani. “It felt like nobody wanted to lead the championship, so if some manufacturers can be more consistent this year, we might see someone leading more from start to end.

“If some teams are more settled with the software, with tyres, out laps, and have more understanding, more of an ‘order’ could form in terms of pace.”