Filipe Albuquerque will celebrate his 30th birthday on the Saturday of the Le Mans weekend. He has driven for Audi since he was 25 years old and began his sportscar career last year after three years in the DTM.

It’s typical for Filipe Albuquerque that he completed the change from touring cars to Le Mans Prototypes focused yet relaxed. “I’m looking forward to developing my abilities and to giving my career a new direction,” said the Portuguese when he was finally given the opportunity to break into the sportscar scene after a stint in formula racing and in Audi DTM touring cars. He collected his first experience at the wheel of an Audi R18 e-tron quattro in the 6 Hours of Spa, the 24 Hours of Le Mans and during many tests. In parallel to this, he finished runner-up in the European Le Mans Series with privateer team Jota Sport.

To the question, what was the best advice he ever received, Albuquerque answers: “Never give up”. Hardly any other motto characterizes the 1.74-meter tall racing driver than these three words. The Portuguese who comes from the university city Coimbra always tackles every challenge positively, is normally seen with a smile on his face, and is one of the most sociable and communicative people on the motorsport scene. When he enters a new environment, he also tries to get familiar with any new aspect as quickly as possible away from the track. For him, it was perfectly natural to learn German when he came to Audi. Just how deep the passion for new challenges is rooted in his character, is shown by his answer to the question about which historical event he would like to have witnessed: “I would love to have travelled on a voyage of discovery with the medieval sailor Vasco da Gama.”

His partner Joana provides the necessary balance in his private life and an escape from the hectic activity of motorsport. He especially values the fact that she is a talented chef. “Everything that she cooks tastes fantastic. But her salmon is very tasty,” raves the racing driver. Filipe Albuquerque also nurtures his love of culinary delights: the Argentinian star chef Chakall is one of his close friends. 

Profile

Date of birth: June 13, 1985
Place of birth: Coimbra (P)
Place of residence: Coimbra (P)
Marital status: single
Height/weight: 1.74 m/65 kg
Motorsport since: 1994 (Audi driver since 2011)
Le Mans starts: 1

Sporting career

1994-2004 Kart
1998 1st in Iniciados class in Portugal Cup, 2nd in Iniciados Class in National Kart Championship
2000 3rd in Portugal Cup, 3rd in National Kart Junior Championship
2002 2nd in European ICA Kart Championship, 2nd in Italian ICA Kart Championship
2003 10th in Formula A Kart World Championship
2005 3rd in German Formula Renault, best rookie; 5th in Formula Renault Eurocup, best rookie; 6th in Spanish Formula 3 Championship, best rookie
2006 1st in Formula Renault NEC, 1st in Formula Renault Eurocup
2007 4th in World Series by Renault 3.5, best rookie; two races in GP2, Formula 1 test driver for Red Bull and Toro Rosso
2008 Four races in A1GP Series
2009 3rd in A1GP Series, 1st in Race of Champions Iberia, two races in Italian GT Championship (Audi R8 LMS)
2010 1st in Race of Champions, 2nd in Italian GT Championship (Audi R8 LMS)
2011 12th in DTM (Audi A4 DTM)
2012 11th in DTM (Audi A5 DTM)
2013 18th in DTM (Audi RS 5 DTM), 1st in GT class Daytona 24 Hours (Audi R8 GRAND-AM)
2014 Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R18 e-tron quattro), 6th in Spa 6 Hours (Audi R18 e-tron quattro), European Le Mans Series, 22nd in FIA World Endurance Championship WEC (Audi R18 e-tron quattro)
2015 4th in Spa 6 Hours, 7th in Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R18 e-tron quattro), European Le Mans Series

www.filipealbuquerque.com
www.facebook.com/filipe.albuquerque1
Twitter @AlbuquerqueFil