Rui Andrade (racing driver)

According to his own website, Andrade began racing karts at the age of twelve.^[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 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.

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.^[7]

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.^[8]

Andrade's first season at the Euroformula Open Championship was in 2019 with Spanish outfit Drivex Racing.^[9] 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.^[10] Whilst Andrade 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 the Asian and European Le Mans Series with G-Drive Racing.^[11][12] 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.^[13][14] 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.^[15]

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.^[16] 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.^[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 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.^[18][19]

Andrade returned to Team WRT for the 2023 WEC season, where he would be driving alongside 2022 Prema teammates Louis Delétraz and Robert Kubica.^[20][21] 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.^[22]

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.^[23] The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps provided even more momentum, with the No. 41 taking their first victory of the season.^[24] 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.^[25] 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.^[26] 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.^[27][28]

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.^[29] 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.^[30][31] 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.^[32][33][34] In the States, Andrade scored a best finish of eighth at Daytona.^[35]

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.^[36][37] The WEC season started with a retirement in Qatar owing to a broken alternator shaft pulley.^[38] Sixth at Imola followed, before the Corvette No. 81 finished 12th in Belgium.^[39][40] 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.^[41][42][43] They combined for back-to-back podiums at São Paulo, finishing second, before scoring a lowly 13th at Cota.^[44][45] At the penultimate round in Fuji, Andrade and his teammates claimed victory thanks to a late time penalty for the leading AF Corse Ferrari.^[46]

Andrade's ELMS season started modestly with sixth at Barcelona and a late retirement in Le Castellet.^[47][48] 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.^[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 in Spa, Andrade returned to the podium with a third place at Silverstone.^[52][53] 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.^[54] Eastwood then held on to finish first despite the advances of Wayne 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 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.^[58]