Rui Pinto de Andrade (born 23 September 1999) is an
Angolan-
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Port ...
racing driver who is currently racing in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup with Tower Motorsport,
FIA World Endurance Championship
The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Interco ...
for
Team WRT and
European Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
for
Inter Europol Competition
Inter Europol Competition is a Polish motorsports team that competes in the endurance racing. The team contests the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series, Asian Le Mans Series and Le Mans Cup in 2023. T ...
.
Single-seater career
Spanish F4 Championship
Andrade's first experience in single-seaters came in 2018, where he competed for
Drivex in the
F4 Spanish Championship. He competed from the second round in
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
until the end of the season, finishing 12th in the standings, having achieved his best results at
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ...
and
Navarra
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
where he finished 5th respectively.
Formula 4 UAE Championship
Andrade drove for Emirate team Dragon Racing in the
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
Formula 4 UAE Championship
Starting in the 2016–17 season, the all new Formula 4 UAE Championship was launched by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile, and its national affiliate the Automobile & Touring Club of the United Arab Emirates (ATCUAE), who acted as ...
. With 201 points Andrade attained 5th in the standings while standing on the podium 6 times, none of which were wins however two of them were second places. The two second places came at the first race at
Dubai Autodrome
The Dubai Autodrome is an FIA sanctioned motorsports circuit located in Dubailand, Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The architects of the project were Populous and the circuit was designed by Clive Bowen of Apex Circuit Design.
Opened in Octobe ...
and second race at
Yas Marina Circuit
The Yas Marina Circuit (Arabic: حلبة مرسى ياس) is the venue for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix. The circuit was designed by Hermann Tilke, and is situated on Yas Island, near Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates. Yas Marina ...
.
Toyota Racing Series
At the
2020 Toyota Racing Series Andrade raced for
M2 Competition
M2 Competition are a motorsport team based in New Zealand and Belgium.
History
Founded in 2010, M2 Competition began partaking in the New Zealand-based single-seater championship the Castrol Toyota Racing Series in 2010, with Ivan Lukashevich ta ...
alongside the top two driver in the championship,
Igor Fraga and
Liam Lawson
Liam Lawson (born 11 February 2002) is a New Zealand motor racing driver set to compete in the 2023 Super Formula Championship with Team Mugen. Lawson, who is mentored by three-time New Zealand Grand Prix winner Ken Smith, previously competed f ...
. Andrade won 70 points over the course of the season meaning he finished 16th, 2 points behind French teammate Émilien Denner. Two 9th places were the Angolan's best results at the first 2 races at
Pukekohe Park.
Euroformula Open Championship
Andrade's first season at the
Euroformula Open Championship
The Euroformula Open Championship (formerly the Spanish Formula Three Championship, European F3 Open Championship) is a junior formula racing series based in Spain. It was one of six national and international Formula Three championships in Europe ...
was in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
with Spanish outfit
Drivex Racing. Andrade only finished in the points once and it was at the last round in
Monza
Monza (, ; lmo, label= Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capital of the Province of M ...
, ultimately this contributed to a 22nd-place finish with 6 points.
In
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...
Andrade switched to
CryptoTower Racing, driving alongside
Ye Yifei
Ye Yifei (; born 16 June 2000) is a Chinese racing driver, 2016 French F4 champion, 2020 Euroformula Open champion, 2021 Asian Le Mans Series champion, 2021 European Le Mans Series champion, and former member of the Renault Sport Academy. In ...
. Whilst the Angolan improved compared to the previous year, scoring points in the majority of races, he ended up 14th in the standings.
Endurance Racing
2021: ALMS, ELMS and Le Mans debut
For 2021, Andrade made the transition to sportscars, signing up to compete in the
Asian and
European Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
with G-Drive Racing.
The former championship would yield major success, as Andrade and his teammates, John Falb and
Franco Colapinto
Franco Alejandro Colapinto (born 27 May 2003) is an Argentine-Italian racing driver who is due to compete in FIA Formula 3 for MP Motorsport. He is the 2019 F4 Spanish champion and a race winner in the European Le Mans Series. He is a member ...
scored three podiums, leading the team to finish third in the standings. Meanwhile, their European efforts were just as successful, with six class podiums out of six race starts, including an overall podium at the
Red Bull Ring
The Red Bull Ring is a motorsport race track in Spielberg, Austria, Spielberg, Styria, Austria.
The race circuit was founded as Österreichring (translation: Austrian Circuit) and hosted the Austrian Grand Prix for 18 consecutive years, from t ...
.and won the Pro-Am title alongside Falb. That year, Andrade also took part at the
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose w ...
, where he was forced to retire following an accident.
2022: WEC and first victory
The following season, the Angolan competed in the
World Endurance Championship on a full-time basis, partnering
Ferdinand Habsburg and
Norman Nato
Norman Nato (born 8 July 1992) is a French professional racing driver who is currently driving for Realteam Racing in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Nato is known for finishing as the runner-up in the 2010 F4 Eurocup 1.6 season and the 20 ...
at
RealTeam by WRT. Having taken two podiums in the opening two races, the outfit experienced a disappointing
Le Mans
Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le ...
, finishing 17th in class. That result was quickly forgotten, with Andrade and his teammates taking victory at the
6 Hours of Monza, thus making Andrade the first Angolan to win an
FIA-sanctioned World Championship race. A pair of top-five finishes ended their season, with the team ending up fourth in the championship.
2023: Return to WRT
Andrade returned to
Team WRT for the
2023 WEC season, where he would be driving alongside former
Prema teammates
Louis Delétraz
Louis Delétraz (born 22 April 1997) is a Swiss racing driver currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series for Prema Orlen Team and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Tower Motorsport. He is the 201 ...
and
Robert Kubica
Robert Józef Kubica (; born 7 December 1984) is a Polish racing and rally driver. He was the first and, , the only Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW Sauber F1 team, promoted from test d ...
.
Andrade also took on a full-season effort in the
European Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
with
Inter Europol Competition
Inter Europol Competition is a Polish motorsports team that competes in the endurance racing. The team contests the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series, Asian Le Mans Series and Le Mans Cup in 2023. T ...
, where he joined
Olli Caldwell
Oliver "Olli" Caldwell (born 11 June 2002) is a British racing driver who is competing for Alpine in the FIA World Endurance Championship. He is a race winner in the FIA Formula 3, Formula Regional European, Italian F4 and ADAC Formula 4 cham ...
and
Jonathan Aberdein
Jonathan Aberdein (born 14 February 1998) is a South African racing driver. He currently competes for Jota Sport in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship.
He previously competed in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship with Motopark. He ...
.
Racing record
Career summary
† As Andrade was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.
* Season still in progress.
Complete F4 Spanish Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Euroformula Open Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Toyota Racing Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete Asian Le Mans Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
Complete European Le Mans Series results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
† As Andrade was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.
* Season still in progress.
Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
(
key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; results in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)
† Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.
* Season still in progress.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Andrade, Rui
1999 births
Living people
Angolan racing drivers
Spanish F4 Championship drivers
Formula Renault Eurocup drivers
Euroformula Open Championship drivers
Formula Ford drivers
Toyota Racing Series drivers
European Le Mans Series drivers
Asian Le Mans Series drivers
FIA World Endurance Championship drivers
24 Hours of Le Mans drivers
Portuguese racing drivers
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship drivers
Drivex drivers
FA Racing drivers
M2 Competition drivers
Motopark Academy drivers
G-Drive Racing drivers
W Racing Team drivers
Starworks Motorsport drivers
Portuguese people of Angolan descent
UAE F4 Championship drivers
Sportspeople from Luanda