A long-time collaborator of Aston Martin Racing in private Dunlop tire testing sessions, Daniel Serra emerged from his first 24 Hours the winner in LMGTE Pro along with Darren Turner and Jonny Adam, who snatched the class victory as he entered the final lap of the race. Daniel Serra was joined on the class podium by his fellow countryman Pipo Derani.

Having made a name for himself in LMP2 in 2015 and 2016, this year Derani became a Ford factory driver, claiming the second step on the LMGTE Pro podium with British duo Harry Tincknell-Andy Priaulx. On Philippe Sinault's radar for quite some time, André Negrao certainly met the Signatech Alpine team manager's expectations. Clocking the fastest time in the LMP2 class at Test Day, the Brazilian reached the third step on the class podium, and more importantly finished fourth overall, along with French drivers Nelson Panciatici and Pierre Ragues.

In 2017, four Brazilians competed in their first 24 Hours of Le Mans: in addition to Negrao and Serra, there were two other famous newcomers: former F1 driver Rubens Barrichello and Tony Kanaan, winner at the 2013 Indianapolis 500.

These two childhood friends - entered in LMP2 and LMGTE Pro, respectively - both made it to the checkered flag. Despite challenging circumstances (as the replacement for Le Mans native Sébastien Bourdais in the wake of his accident during qualifying at the Indianapolis 500), Kanaan perfectly fulfilled his assigned role: to learn as much as possible and drive without making any mistake likely to undermine his #68 Ford GT. Barrichello joined forces with a previous 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, Dutch driver Jan Lammers, victor in 1988.

In the end, seven of the eight Brazilians at the start managed to claim a spot in the standings at the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans. Unfortunately, LMGTE Am class pole sitter Fernando Rees and his French teammates, Romain Brandela and Christian Philippon, suffered a night marred with ongoing problems for Larbre Compétition's Corvette.

Vaillante Rebellion drivers Bruno Senna (#31) and Nelson Piquet, Jr. (#13) long figured on the front lines of the LMP2 class before the #31 got delayed with technical troubles shortly after mid-race, and the #13 - third overall crossing the finish line - was disqualified.

Along with this impressive Brazilian force, the Latin American contingent at the 24 Hours of Le Mans included three Mexicans (Memo Rojas, Jose Gutierrez and Roberto Gonzalez) and one Argentinian (Jose Maria Lopez). Learn more about their experiences at the 85th edition of the race in the third and final installment of this series.

 

Click below for previous installments in this South American series:

When South American drivers spiced up the 24 Hours (1) - Trendsetters and pioneers

 

PHOTO: In 2017, Brazilian driver Daniel Serra and his British teammates Darren Turner and Jonny Adam gave Aston Martin its first win in the LMGTE Pro class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.