Pipo Derani and Ricky Taylor have reacted to the race-deciding clash in the closing stages of Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans, with Derani pointing the blame at Taylor, who expressed regret over the incident.
The pair were engaged in a hard-fought battle for overall victory within the final hour of the race, with Derani’s #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac DPi-VR leading Taylor’s #7 Team Penske Acura ARX-05 after a daring move up the inside after the final pitstops.
Derani and Taylor then came to blows when Taylor attempted a move up the inside to try and take the lead, only for the two cars to make contact. Derani was sent spinning off the track and into the wall, while Taylor also spun round. The pair dropped the lead to the Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac, which went on to take victory.
Emotions ran high after the end of the race, with Derani confronting Taylor in the Team Penske garage after the race. The Brazilian later told NBC Sports that he was disappointed at Taylor, laying the blame with the Penske driver.
“I told him, I’ve always had a lot of respect for him, but I was in the lead and was in front, and he pushed me out,” Derani said. “There’s nothing much to say, and unfortunately we lost the race.
“We did everything we could, leading the race with 10 laps to go, and he just pushes me out on a desperate move to try and go to the lead. I think it was a mistake on his part, and I hope he sleeps on it.
“I lost a little bit of respect for him and for his teammates, who tried to accuse me of doing something wrong,” added the Brazilian. “It is what it is. I’m not at a racetrack to make friends – I want to win the next one.”
While Derani went on to finish fourth, Taylor was able to recover and take home a podium finish for the #7 Acura ARX-05, which he shared with Helio Castroneves and Alexander Rossi. The 31-year-old later expressed disappointment over the incident, saying it had not been his intention for the battle to end in such fashion.
“I have to thank everyone at Acura and Team Penske for the speed they brought this weekend to Petit Le Mans,” Taylor said. “We showed all weekend that we were going to be tough to beat and it played out that way in the race.
“I hate the way that it ended and in no way did I mean to take out the 31 car. It’s Petit Le Mans. Everyone wants to win this race and I saw an opportunity to do that for my team.
“To come home second is a solid points day but we were the car to beat at the end and I’m bummed that we didn’t end on top of the podium.”
