ELMS - Three questions to Rui Andrade (Inter Europol Competition)

Before the start of the ELMS season, tell us more about yourself?

I’m looking forward to racing with Inter Europol Competition for the first time in Barcelona. I was born in Angola in 1999. I lived in the US for a while, came back to Angola and then to Portugal to pursue my dream of racing in professional motorsport. I’m a big football fan, watching and playing. I love MotoGP and it was that that got me into racing in the first place. Thanks to my older brothers I followed Valentino Rossi and got into the sport!

Outside of the track competition, I would admit I am a bit of a gym fanatic! While others in the sport enjoy cardio work, I really like lifting weights! I do the cardio anyway, but I’m not a fan really, but for me, it’s the weights.

Tell us about how you will prepare for this event in terms of the test programme, adapting to the differing demands of the circuit this year as well as working with your two new teammates?

We have the pre-season test, the Prologue, in Barcelona ahead of the first race and that will be a nice way to get to know the team, the guys, and to be with my teammates for the first time. Obviously it’s important to know and understand your teammates well, talk about our car setup preferences, to best suit our combined strong points. The only way to do this is to drive together and see how we like the car, how we work together, it’s all so important for the chemistry as a team and subsequent success.

We’ll do some simulator work before we arrive at the circuit, as there has been a change to the last corner this year. This makes the final sector much faster with the removal of the chicane and it will be interesting in the LMP2 ELMS high downforce kit and additional power than I am used to in WEC.  So yes, it’s all very exciting!

What will be your season expectations, and goals ?

The level of competition in the ELMS is extremely high and this year will be no different with some great drivers in great cars. We will have to give our absolute best to try and achieve our goals, beating the others, but I think the team made great gains last year. Podiums should be attainable, as we have the car, and the team to do it. We go race by race and the results will, hopefully, speak for themselves!

We’ll give our best race to race and I know all of the circuits well, except for Imola. I’ve not raced there but I know it’s a fantastic track from watching races and from my sim work. We have the test day before the race in the ELMS, which is nice.

I’m confident in myself, I love tracks like Portimao, which I conder to be my only home race as there is no option in Angola, and I now live in Portugal. I like, everyone, enjoy Spa. It’s been a while since I last raced in Barcelona, but it will be cool and yes, I love all of these circuits that we’ll race on this year.