From Spanish F4 and Euroformula Open to an LMP2 world title, a Monza win and a 2025 LMGT3 championship with TF Sport.
Rui Andrade, born in 1999, is an Angolan-Portuguese driver who won the 2023 WEC LMP2 title with Team WRT and the 2025 ELMS LMGT3 championship with TF Sport. His 2022 Monza victory was a landmark for Angolan motorsport, and he has raced in Asia, Europe and North America.
Rui Andrade is an Angolan-Portuguese driver whose titles include the 2021 European Le Mans Series LMP2 Pro-Am class and the 2023 World Endurance Championship LMP2 crown. In 2025 he added the ELMS LMGT3 title with TF Sport. His achievements earned him a national honour in Angola.
His route to the top of endurance racing ran through karts, several single-seater championships and a stint in Euroformula Open. Each season was a step on a ladder that led him into sportscars.
Where did Andrade grow up?
Andrade spent his childhood in America. Later he returned to Angola, his native country, before settling in Portugal, and he is now managed by Bullet Sport Management.
Those moves shaped a driver who has raced across three continents and in several championships. His early life in America did not stop him from becoming a figure in Angolan sport.
From a Spanish F4 start to a world title, Andrade's route has been one of steady step-ups.
Where did Andrade's racing career begin?
Andrade took up karts at twelve, racing in the Angolan championship and in a Portuguese round in 2017. His first single-seater season followed in 2018, when Drivex entered him in the F4 Spanish Championship from the second round at Valencia.
He finished that Spanish season 12th overall. His best results came at Barcelona and Navarra, both fifth places, and they were the marks he could build on.
In 2019 he raced for Dragon Racing in the UAE F4 series. He ended fifth with 201 points and six podiums, though none of them was a win. Two of those podiums were second places, at Dubai Autodrome and Yas Marina.
How did the Toyota Racing Series and Euroformula Open go?
His 2020 Toyota Racing Series campaign with M2 Competition ended 16th with 70 points. He was teamed with Igor Fraga and Liam Lawson, and he finished two points behind Emilien Denner, his French teammate. Two ninth places at the opening weekend at Pukekohe Park were his best results.
Euroformula Open was harder. In 2019 he scored once, at Monza, and finished 22nd with six points. In 2020, with CryptoTower Racing and Yifei Ye, he scored in most races and ended 14th.
What did the 2021 sportscar debut bring?
Andrade moved into sportscars in 2021 with G-Drive Racing, competing in both Asian and European Le Mans Series events. In Asia he and his co-drivers John Falb and Franco Colapinto collected three podiums, and in Europe the crew reached six class podiums from six starts.
It was his first full season in sportscars, and the Red Bull Ring produced a top-three finish overall. At the last round Andrade and Falb claimed the LMP2 Pro-Am title.
The 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans ended early for him. He was forced out after a nighttime accident on the run to Dunlop bridge. It was his Le Mans debut, and it ended in the dark.
Why did the 2022 Monza win matter?
In 2022 Andrade became the first Angolan to win a race in an FIA-sanctioned world championship, when RealTeam by WRT took the 6 Hours of Monza. He drove the full World Endurance Championship that year alongside Ferdinand Habsburg and Norman Nato.
Early in the season the team took two podiums in the opening two races. Le Mans brought a 17th place in class, a result the Monza victory went a long way to offset.
The season ended fourth in the championship after two top-five results, and the IMSA outings showed he could move between series without losing pace. Andrade also raced in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, where Tower Motorsport gave him three class podiums, including a win at Petit Le Mans with Louis Deletraz and John Farano.
How did Andrade win the 2023 WEC LMP2 title?
Andrade rejoined WRT for 2023, teaming with Louis Deletraz and Robert Kubica in the WEC. He also ran a full European Le Mans Series season with Inter Europol Competition alongside Olli Caldwell and Jonathan Aberdein.
The season opened with fifth at Sebring. A late overtake by Deletraz secured third at Portimao, and then the team won at Spa-Francorchamps in the No. 41 car.
Le Mans gave them second place, behind the No. 34 Inter Europol Competition entry. Monza added third, and at Fuji a collision with Josh Pierson during Andrade's opening stint did not stop the crew winning.
Bahrain was the decider. Both WRT cars were at the front, and a problem at the final pit stop sent the sister No. 31 car back to second. That left the No. 41 crew to take the final LMP2 class championship of the WEC. It made Andrade the last LMP2 class champion in the series' history.
What changed when he moved to GT cars?
Andrade's first GT season began in 2024 with a debut for Dragon Racing in the AsLMS. In the WEC he moved into LMGT3 with TF Sport, sharing a Corvette with Charlie Eastwood and Tom van Rompuy.
The team described the year as character-building for the brand. The crew finished second at Bahrain and ended tenth in the drivers' championship, and in the IMSA GTD class with Lone Star Racing their best Daytona result was eighth.
How did the 2025 European Le Mans Series LMGT3 title happen?
In 2025 Andrade stayed with Corvette and TF Sport, rejoining Eastwood in the WEC and joining him and Hiroshi Koizumi in the ELMS. The LMGT3 title came at Portimao, where Eastwood won and TF Sport clinched the championship.
The WEC campaign started with a retirement in Qatar, when a broken alternator shaft pulley ended the race. Sixth at Imola followed, and the Corvette finished 12th in Belgium. Third at Le Mans came despite complaints about top speed in the build-up, and it was the high point of the WEC year.
Brazil brought a second place and Cota a 13th. Fuji produced a win after a penalty handed to the leading AF Corse Ferrari late in the race.
The ELMS campaign began modestly, with sixth at Barcelona and a retirement at Le Castellet. The Imola round turned things around. Andrade gave up the lead to Matteo Cressoni mid-race, but Eastwood retook it and held on to win. It was Andrade's first GT win and Corvette's first ELMS LMGT3 victory.
Silverstone brought third. At Portimao Koizumi took pole on the Friday, and Andrade handed the car back to Eastwood in the lead. Eastwood held off Wayne Boyd to win, and TF Sport took the LMGT3 crown.
What is Andrade's title record?
Andrade has won titles in three different series and classes: the ELMS LMP2 Pro-Am class, the WEC LMP2 class and the ELMS LMGT3 class. Each reflects a different stage of his career, from the early sportscar years to his time with Corvette. Taken together, they show a driver who moved from open-wheel racing into two different endurance classes with little fuss.
In 2025 he received the Peace and Development Medal from Joao Lourenco, Angola's president, for his sporting achievements. The award came in the country's 50th year of independence.
Racing record at a glance
| Season | Series | Team | Best result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | F4 Spanish Championship | Drivex | 12th overall, fifth at Barcelona and Navarra |
| 2019 | Formula 4 UAE Championship | Dragon Racing | Fifth overall, six podiums |
| 2020 | Toyota Racing Series | M2 Competition | 16th overall |
| 2021 | European Le Mans Series | G-Drive Racing | Pro-Am champion |
| 2022 | FIA World Endurance Championship | RealTeam by WRT | Monza win, fourth in championship |
| 2023 | FIA World Endurance Championship | Team WRT | LMP2 champion |
| 2024 | FIA World Endurance Championship, LMGT3 | TF Sport | Tenth in drivers' standings |
| 2025 | European Le Mans Series, LMGT3 | TF Sport | Champion |
Where does Andrade race now?
Andrade races in the LMGT3 class of the World Endurance Championship for TF Sport, partnering the Corvette drivers. He is managed by Bullet Sport Management. The current season finds him in the same LMGT3 category he has raced in since 2024, alongside Charlie Eastwood and Tom van Rompuy, with TF Sport as his team.
