Rui Andrade
Andrade in 2023
Nationality	Angolan Portuguese via dual nationality
Born	(1999-09-23)23 September 1999 (age 26) Luanda, Angola
WEC career
Debut season	2021
Current team	TF Sport
Racing licence	FIA Silver
Car number	81
Former teams	G-Drive Racing,Team WRT
Starts	31
Wins	5
Podiums	13
Poles	2
Fastest laps	0
Best finish	1st in2023(LMP2)
Previous series
2021 2019–2020 2020 2019 2019 2018	Asian Le Mans Series Euroformula Open Championship Toyota Racing Series Formula 4 UAE Championship Formula Renault Eurocup F4 Spanish Championship

Rui Pinto de Andrade (born 23 September 1999) is anAngolan-Portuguese^[1] racing driver who is currently racing in the LMGT3 class of theFIA World Endurance Championship forTF Sport.

He won the LMP2 Pro-Am subclass title in the2021 European Le Mans Series and became the last LMP2 class champion of theFIA World Endurance Championship in2023.^[2][3] He also won the2025 European Le Mans Series title in the LMGT3 class. Andrade is the first Angolan to win an international motorsport title.^[4]

According to his own website, Andrade began racing karts at the age of 12.^[5] He raced in the Angolan championship and also took part in a round of the Portuguese championship in 2017.^[6]

Andrade's first experience in single-seaters came in 2018, where he competed forDrivex in theF4 Spanish Championship. He competed from the second round inValencia until the end of the season, finishing 12th in the standings, having achieved his best results atBarcelona andNavarra where he finished 5th respectively.

Andrade drove for Emirate team Dragon Racing in the2019Formula 4 UAE Championship. 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 atDubai Autodrome and second race atYas Marina Circuit.^[7]

At the2020 Toyota Racing Series Andrade raced forM2 Competition alongside the top two driver in the championship,Igor Fraga andLiam Lawson. 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 atPukekohe Park.^[8]

Andrade's first season at theEuroformula Open Championship was in2019 with Spanish outfitDrivex Racing.^[9] Andrade only finished in the points once and it was at the last round inMonza, ultimately this contributed to a 22nd-place finish with 6 points.

In2020 Andrade switched toCryptoTower Racing, driving alongsideYifei Ye.^[10] Whilst the Angolan improved compared to the previous year, scoring points in the majority of races, he ended up 14th in the standings.

For 2021, Andrade made the transition to sportscars, signing up to compete in theAsian andEuropean Le Mans Series withG-Drive Racing.^[11][12] The former championship would yield major success, as Andrade and his teammates,John Falb andFranco Colapinto 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 theRed Bull Ring.^[13][14] At the final round, Andrade secured the Pro-Am title alongside Falb. That year, Andrade also took part at the24 Hours of Le Mans, where he retired following a nighttime accident on the runup to Dunlop bridge.^[15]

The following season, the Angolan competed in theWorld Endurance Championship on a full-time basis, partneringFerdinand Habsburg andNorman Nato atRealTeam by WRT.^[16] Having taken two podiums in the opening two races, the outfit experienced a disappointingLe Mans, finishing 17th in class. That result was quickly forgotten, with Andrade and his teammates taking victory at the6 Hours of Monza, thus making Andrade the first Angolan to win anFIA-sanctioned World Championship race.^[17] A pair of top-five finishes ended their season, with the team ending up fourth in the championship.

In addition, Andrade raced in the Michelin Endurance Cup races of theIMSA SportsCar Championship, where he took three class podiums including a victory atPetit Le Mans forTower Motorsport alongsideLouis Delétraz andJohn Farano.^[18][19]

Andrade returned toTeam WRT for the2023 WEC season, where he would be driving alongside 2022Prema teammatesLouis Delétraz andRobert Kubica.^[20][21] Andrade also took on a full-season effort in theEuropean Le Mans Series withInter Europol Competition, where he joinedOlli Caldwell andJonathan Aberdein.^[22]

After starting the WEC campaign with a fifth-placed finish atSebring, Andrade and his teammates began their title charge atPortimão, scoring a podium as a result of a late-race overtake by Delétraz for third place.^[23] The6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps provided even more momentum, with the #41 taking their first victory of the season.^[24] At the24 Hours of Le Mans, Andrade, Kubica and Delétraz managed to finish second, missing out only to the #34 ofInter Europol Competition, before expanding their championship lead atMonza, where another third place would be added to their tally.^[25] Despite a collision withJosh Pierson during his opening stint, Andrade managed to help his squad to victory at the6 Hours of Fuji, which put them in a near-championship-clinching position going into the season finale inBahrain.^[26] There, both WRTs ran at the front, and with an issue at the final pit stop throwing the sister #31 car to second, the #41 crew were able to cross the finish line first, thereby winning the final championship of the LMP2 class in the WEC.^[27][28]

Having made his GT racing debut at the start of 2024, driving for Dragon Racing in theAsLMS, Andrade embarked on aWEC campaign in the LMGT3 class.^[29] He partneredCorvette factory driverCharlie Eastwood and bronze Tom van Rompuy atTF Sport, whilst also signing up toIMSA's GTD class with Lone Star Racing, driving in the endurance rounds.^[30][31] In a season described as a "character-building" one for the Corvette brand, Andrade and his teammates scored a closely-fought second atBahrain and finished tenth in the drivers' standings.^[32][33][34] In the States, Andrade scored a best finish of eighth atDaytona.^[35]

Andrade remained with Corvette and TF Sport in 2025, once again joining Eastwood and van Rompuy in theWEC, and partnering Eastwood andHiroshi Koizumi in theELMS.^[36][37] The WEC season started with a retirement inQatar owing to a broken alternator shaft pulley.^[38] Sixth atImola followed, before the Corvette #81 finished 12th inBelgium.^[39][40] Despite complaints from Corvette's drivers about the car's top speed in the prelude of the24 Hours of Le Mans, a well-executed race from Andrade and his teammates earned them a third place.^[41][42][43] They combined for back-to-back podiums atSão Paulo, finishing second, before scoring a lowly 13th atCota.^[44][45] At the penultimate round inFuji, Andrade and his teammates claimed victory thanks to a late time penalty for the leadingAF CorseFerrari.^[46]

Andrade's ELMS season started modestly with sixth atBarcelona and a late retirement inLe Castellet.^[47][48] Round three atImola however put the Corvette crew back into the title fight: though Andrade lost the lead toMatteo Cressoni mid-race, Eastwood returned to the lead and defended it until the end.^[49][50] This win constituted Andrade's first in GT racing, as well as being Corvette's maiden victory in ELMS's LMGT3 class.^[51] After finishing eighth inSpa, Andrade returned to the podium with a third place atSilverstone.^[52][53] The final round atPortimão began well, as Koizumi took pole position on Friday. Despite an issue with the rearview camera during his stint, Andrade was able to return the car to Eastwood in the lead.^[54] Eastwood then held on to finish first despite the advances ofWayne Boyd, thus earning TF Sport the LMGT3 title.^[55]

Andrade grew up in the United States, before moving back to his native Angola and later to Portugal.^[56] He is managed by Bullet Sport Management.^[57]

As part ofAngola's 50th anniversary of national independence in 2025, Andrade was awarded the Peace and Development Medal byJoão Lourenço, the country's president, for his sporting achievements.^[58]

^† As Andrade was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position) (Races initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap)

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; races initalics indicate fastest lap)

^† As Andrade was a guest driver, he was ineligible for championship points.

Year	Team	Co-Drivers	Car	Class	Laps	Pos.	Class Pos.
2021	G-Drive Racing	Roberto Merhi John Falb	Aurus 01-Gibson	LMP2 Pro-Am	108	DNF	DNF
2022	RealTeam by WRT	Ferdinand Habsburg Norman Nato	Oreca 07-Gibson	LMP2	362	21st	17th
2023	Team WRT	Louis Delétraz Robert Kubica	Oreca 07-Gibson	LMP2	328	10th	2nd
2024	TF Sport	Charlie Eastwood Tom van Rompuy	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	LMGT3	267	43rd	15th
2025	TF Sport	Charlie Eastwood Tom van Rompuy	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	LMGT3	341	35th	3rd

(key) (Races inbold indicate pole position; results initalics indicate fastest lap)

^† Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.

• Rui Andrade career summary at DriverDB.com

• 1999 births
• Living people
• Portuguese people of Angolan descent
• Sportspeople of Angolan descent
• Sportspeople from Luanda
• Angolan racing drivers
• Spanish F4 Championship drivers
• Formula Renault Eurocup drivers
• Euroformula Open Championship drivers
• UAE F4 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
• Duqueine Team drivers
• TF Sport drivers

• CS1 Portuguese-language sources (pt)
• CS1 European Portuguese-language sources (pt-pt)
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