Pipo Derani will return to the European Le Mans Series (ELMS) for the 2026 season finale at Portimão, joining Nielsen Racing for the final race of the campaign.
The Brazilian will share Nielsen Racing’s #24 Oreca 07-Gibson with Ed Pearson and Roy Nissany at the 4 Hours of Portimão on 10 October. Derani becomes the latest driver to occupy the third seat after Jack Doohan stepped away from the final two rounds and Jack Aitken joined the team at Silverstone.
The appearance will mark Derani’s first ELMS start since he stepped away from CLX Motorsport during the 2025 season to focus on developing the Genesis GMR-001 Hypercar.
Derani returns to ELMS after 2025 campaign
Derani brings significant prototype experience to Nielsen Racing, including several previous appearances in the ELMS.
The Brazilian contested the opening three rounds of the 2025 campaign with CLX Motorsport, sharing the team’s #47 Oreca 07-Gibson. He secured a best result of third before ending his programme early to concentrate on his development responsibilities with Genesis.
His work contributed to the development of the GMR-001 before Genesis entered the FIA World Endurance Championship. Derani now competes for the manufacturer in Hypercar and has remained part of its first season at the highest level of endurance racing.
However, 2025 did not mark his first experience of the ELMS. Derani also competed in the championship during 2015, making two appearances with Murphy Prototypes aboard its Oreca 03 Nissan.
His return with Nielsen Racing therefore adds another chapter to an ELMS career that has stretched across more than a decade.
Derani joins Pearson and Nissany at Nielsen Racing
Derani will partner Pearson and Nissany in Nielsen Racing’s #24 Oreca for the Portimão finale.
Pearson joined Nielsen’s ELMS programme for 2026 after previously competing with the team in Euroformula Open. As the official ELMS announcement detailed ahead of his endurance racing debut, the British driver moved from single-seaters into LMP2 after finishing fifth in the 2025 Euroformula Open standings.
His programme also continued an existing relationship with Nielsen Racing, having claimed Euroformula victories at Portimão and Barcelona during his 2025 campaign.
Meanwhile, Nissany brought considerably more experience to the line-up as Nielsen formed a new combination for its #24 entry.
The pair initially shared the car with Doohan. The Australian joined Nielsen for his first sportscar campaign after moving away from a full-time Formula 1 race seat, with Pit Debrief covering his move into the ELMS before the opening round at Barcelona.
Doohan’s arrival completed Nielsen Racing’s two-car 2026 ELMS programme and placed the #24 in the overall LMP2 category alongside the team’s #27 LMP2 Pro/Am entry.
Doohan stepped away before final two rounds
Doohan competed alongside Pearson and Nissany through the opening four rounds but did not continue with the crew for the closing stages of the season.
His absence created an opportunity for another Hypercar driver to join Nielsen at Silverstone, with Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA’s Aitken stepping into the #24 Oreca.
The change did not prevent Nielsen from challenging towards the front during a difficult rain-affected race.
Pearson emerged in the overall lead following a sequence of pit stops and neutralisations, putting the #24 at the front as conditions repeatedly changed.
However, the order continued to evolve during the closing stages. Nielsen eventually finished fourth in LMP2, narrowly missing the podium after leading earlier in the contest. Pit Debrief’s Silverstone race report details the #24 crew’s progress through the changing conditions.
The result increased Pearson and Nissany’s championship total to 33 points. They consequently head to the finale 10th in the LMP2 Drivers’ Championship after Round 5, while Nielsen’s #24 holds ninth in the Teams’ standings.
Nielsen turns to another WEC Hypercar driver
Derani now follows Aitken into the #24, giving Nielsen another driver with current FIA WEC Hypercar experience for the final round.
The Brazilian brings an extensive endurance racing record to the team. He has twice won the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and has enjoyed considerable success in some of international endurance racing’s biggest events.
His experience also covers several generations of prototype machinery, from his early ELMS appearances with Murphy Prototypes to LMP2 competition and his more recent work at the highest level of the sport.
Derani’s familiarity with the Oreca 07 should also reduce the adaptation required at Portimão. His 2025 CLX Motorsport programme placed him in the same generation of LMP2 machinery that he will drive with Nielsen.
He will therefore arrive with both recent Oreca experience and a full season of Hypercar competition behind him.
Portimão completes 2026 ELMS season
The 4 Hours of Portimão will conclude the six-round 2026 ELMS campaign on 10 October.
The championship arrives in Portugal after an unpredictable penultimate round at Silverstone, where Algarve Pro Racing claimed the overall victory. The official ELMS Silverstone report confirmed that all four championship titles remained undecided following the rain-affected race.
United Autosports leads the LMP2 Teams’ standings with 85 points, while Forestier Racing by Panis follows on 72. Nielsen’s #24 sits ninth on 33 points and therefore enters Portimão outside the championship fight.
Nevertheless, the finale gives the team another opportunity to build on its competitive Silverstone performance and conclude the campaign with a strong result.
Nielsen has previously enjoyed success at Portimão. The team ended the 2025 ELMS season with another podium in Portugal, contributing to what the ELMS described as Nielsen Racing’s best championship finish to date.
Derani will now attempt to help the team finish its latest campaign strongly.
Derani adds ELMS appearance between WEC commitments
The Portimão appearance also fits into Derani’s existing commitments with Genesis in the FIA WEC.
He will contest the ELMS finale on 10 October before returning to his Hypercar programme one week later. Consequently, the Nielsen appearance provides another opportunity for race mileage without disrupting his primary campaign.
The arrangement also means Nielsen will field two different current WEC Hypercar drivers across the final two rounds of its ELMS season.
Aitken joined Pearson and Nissany for Silverstone before Derani takes over at Portimão. While the two drivers compete for different manufacturers in the WEC, both bring experience from the championship’s top category into Nielsen’s LMP2 programme.
For Derani, the event marks a return to a championship he last contested during the early stages of 2025. This time, he arrives as a Genesis Hypercar driver and joins a Nielsen Racing crew looking to convert the pace it demonstrated at Silverstone into a strong result at the season finale.
