Rui Andrade

Rui Pinto de Andrade (born 23 September 1999) is an Angolan-Portuguese racing driver who is currently racing in the LMGT3 class of the FIA World Endurance Championship for TF Sport.

Andrade won the LMP2 Pro-Am subclass title in the 2021 European Le Mans Series and became the last LMP2 class champion of the FIA World Endurance Championship in 2023. He also won the 2025 European Le Mans Series title in the LMGT3 class. Andrade is the first Angolan to win an international motorsport title.

Early career

Karting According to his own website, Andrade began racing karts at the age of twelve. He raced in the Angolan championship and also took part in a round of the Portuguese championship in 2017.

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 until the end of the season, finishing 12th in the standings, having achieved his best results at Barcelona and Navarra where he finished fifth respectively.

Formula 4 UAE Championship

Andrade drove for Emirate team Dragon Racing in the 2019 Formula 4 UAE Championship. With 201 points, Andrade attained fifth in the standings while standing on the podium six 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 and second race at Yas Marina Circuit.

Toyota Racing Series

At the 2020 Toyota Racing Series, Andrade raced for M2 Competition alongside the top two driver in the championship, Igor Fraga and Liam Lawson. Andrade won 70 points over the course of the season meaning he finished 16th, two points behind French teammate Émilien Denner. Two ninth places were the Andrade's best results at the first two races at Pukekohe Park.

Euroformula Open Championship Andrade's first season at the Euroformula Open Championship was in 2019 with Spanish outfit Drivex Racing. Andrade only finished in the points once and it was at the last round in Monza, ultimately this contributed to a 22nd-place finish with six points.

In 2020, Andrade switched to CryptoTower Racing, driving alongside Yifei Ye. Whilst Andrade 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 with G-Drive Racing. The former championship would yield major success, as Andrade and his teammates, John Falb and Franco 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 the Red Bull Ring. At the final round, Andrade secured the Pro-Am title alongside Falb. That year, he also took part at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he retired following a nighttime accident on the runup to Dunlop bridge.

2022: WEC and first victory The following season, Andrade competed in the World Endurance Championship on a full-time basis, partnering Ferdinand Habsburg and Norman Nato at RealTeam by WRT. Having taken two podiums in the opening two races, the outfit experienced a disappointing Le Mans, 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.

In addition, Andrade raced in the Michelin Endurance Cup races of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, where he took three class podiums including a victory at Petit Le Mans for Tower Motorsport alongside Louis Delétraz and John Farano. Andrade would win the LMP2 class here at the 2023 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.

2023: Return to WRT and WEC Title Andrade returned to Team WRT for the 2023 WEC season, where he would be driving alongside 2022 Prema teammates Louis Delétraz and Robert Kubica. Andrade also took on a full-season effort in the European Le Mans Series with Inter Europol Competition, where he joined Olli Caldwell and Jonathan Aberdein.

After starting the WEC campaign with a fifth-placed finish at Sebring, Andrade and his teammates began their title charge at Portimão, scoring a podium as a result of a late-race overtake by Delétraz for third place. The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps provided even more momentum, with the No. 41 taking their first victory of the season. At the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Andrade, Kubica and Delétraz managed to finish second, missing out only to the No. 34 of Inter Europol Competition, before expanding their championship lead at Monza, where another third place would be added to their tally. Despite a collision with Josh Pierson during his opening stint, Andrade managed to help his squad to victory at the 6 Hours of Fuji, which put them in a near-championship-clinching position going into the season finale in Bahrain. There, both WRTs ran at the front, and with an issue at the final pit stop throwing the sister No. 31 car to second, the No. 41 crew were able to cross the finish line first, thereby winning the final championship of the LMP2 class in the WEC.

2024: GT switch Having made his GT racing debut at the start of 2024, driving for Dragon Racing in the AsLMS, Andrade embarked on a WEC campaign in the LMGT3 class. He partnered Corvette factory driver Charlie Eastwood and bronze Tom van Rompuy at TF Sport, whilst also signing up to IMSA's GTD class with Lone Star Racing, driving in the endurance rounds. In a season described as a "character-building" one for the Corvette brand, Andrade and his teammates scored a closely-fought second at Bahrain and finished tenth in the drivers' standings. In the States, Andrade scored a best finish of eighth at Daytona.

2025: ELMS LMGT3 title

Andrade remained with Corvette and TF Sport in 2025, once again joining Eastwood and van Rompuy in the WEC, and partnering Eastwood and Hiroshi Koizumi in the ELMS. The WEC season started with a retirement in Qatar owing to a broken alternator shaft pulley. Sixth at Imola followed, before the Corvette No. 81 finished 12th in Belgium. Despite complaints from Corvette's drivers about the car's top speed in the prelude of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a well-executed race from Andrade and his teammates earned them a third place. They combined for back-to-back podiums at São Paulo, finishing second, before scoring a lowly 13th at Cota. At the penultimate round in Fuji, Andrade and his teammates claimed victory thanks to a late time penalty for the leading AF Corse Ferrari.

Andrade's ELMS season started modestly with sixth at Barcelona and a late retirement in Le Castellet. Round three at Imola however put the Corvette crew back into the title fight: though Andrade lost the lead to Matteo Cressoni mid-race, Eastwood returned to the lead and defended it until the end. This win constituted Andrade's first in GT racing, as well as being Corvette's maiden victory in ELMS's LMGT3 class. After finishing eighth in Spa, Andrade returned to the podium with a third place at Silverstone. The final round at Portimão 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. Eastwood then held on to finish first despite the advances of Wayne Boyd, thus earning TF Sport the LMGT3 title.

Personal life Andrade grew up in the United States, before moving back to his native Angola and later to Portugal. He is managed by Bullet Sport Management.

As part of Angola's 50th anniversary of national independence in 2025, Andrade was awarded the Peace and Development Medal by João Lourenço, the country's president, for his sporting achievements.

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) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 DC Points 2018 Drivex School ARA1 ARA2 ARA3 CRT1 CRT2 CRT3 ALG1 ALG2 ALG3 CAT1 CAT2 JER1 JER2 JER3 NAV1 NAV2 NAV3 NAV4 12th 43

Complete Formula Renault Eurocup results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Pos Points 2019 Drivex School MNZ1 MNZ2 SIL1 SIL2 MON1 MON2 LEC1 LEC2 SPA1 SPA2 NÜR1 NÜR2 HUN1 HUN2 CAT1 CAT2 HOC1 HOC2 YMC1 YMC2 26th 0

Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 DC Points 2019 Dragon Racing DUB11 DUB12 DUB13 DUB14 YMC11 YMC12 YMC13 YMC14 DUB21 DUB22 DUB23 DUB24 YMC21 YMC22 YMC23 YMC24 DUB31 DUB32 DUB33 DUB34 5th 201

Complete Euroformula Open Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Pos Points 2019 Drivex School LEC1 LEC2 PAU1 PAU2 HOC1 HOC2 SPA1 SPA2 HUN1 HUN2 RBR1 RBR2 SIL1 SIL2 CAT1 CAT2 MNZ1 MNZ2 22nd 6 2020 CryptoTower Racing HUN1 HUN2 LEC1 LEC2 RBR1 RBR2 MNZ1 MNZ2 MNZ3 MUG1 MUG2 SPA1 SPA2 SPA3 CAT1 CAT2 CAT3 CAT4 14th 28

Complete Toyota Racing Series results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 DC Points 2020 M2 Competition HIG1 HIG2 HIG3 TER1 TER2 TER3 HMP1 HMP2 HMP3 PUK1 PUK2 PUK3 MAN1 MAN2 MAN3 16th 70

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) Year Entrant Class Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 Rank Points 2021 G-Drive Racing LMP2 Aurus 01 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT RBR LEC MNZ SPA ALG 8th 42Pro-Am Cup 1st 122 2022 Duqueine Team LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 LEC IMO MNZ CAT SPA ALG 24th 2 2023 Inter Europol Competition LMP2 Oreca 07 Gibson GK428 4.2 L V8 CAT LEC ARA SPA POR ALG 7th 33 2025 TF Sport LMGT3 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R Chevrolet LT6.R 5.5 L V8 CAT LEC IMO SPA SIL ALG 1st 78 2026 Iron Lynx LMGT3 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 CAT LEC IMO SPA SIL ALG 14th* 14*Source: 2024 Lone Star Racing GTD Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo Mercedes-AMG M159 6.2 L V8 DAY SEB LBH LGA WGL MOS ELK VIR IMS PET 38th 945 Source: † Points only counted towards the Michelin Endurance Cup, and not the overall LMP2 Championship.