André Ribeiro da Cunha Pereira () (January 18, 1966 – May 22, 2021) was a Brazilian

racing driver Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. In North America, the term is commonly used to describe all forms of automobile sport including non ...

who raced in

CART A cart or dray (Australia and New Zealand) is a vehicle designed for transport, using two wheels and normally pulled by draught animals such as horses, donkeys, mules and oxen, or even smaller animals such as goats or large dogs. A handcart ...

from 1995 through 1998, where he claimed three wins.

Career

Ribeiro started his career in karting and he finished second in the Paulista Kart Championship, Brazil's national karting championship, for three consecutive years between 1986 and 1988. In 1989 he moved to compete in

Formula Ford Formula Ford, also known as F1600 and Formula F, is an entry-level class of single-seater, open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held across the world have historically been an important step for many prospective Formula One dri ...

finishing third in his debut season in Brazil's national Formula Three Championship. In 1990 he moved to Formula Opel where he competed for Team Lotus Nederland. In 1991 he moved to British Formula 3 where he drove first for Paul Stewart Racing and then Fortec Motorsport. In 1994 he drove in

Indy Lights Indy NXT (pronounced "Indy Next"), previously Indy Lights, is an American developmental automobile racing series sanctioned by IndyCar, currently known as INDY NXT by Firestone for sponsorship reasons. Indy NXT is the highest step on the Roa ...

for Tasman Motorsports finishing second in his debut 1994 season where he won four races. Ribeiro remained with Tasman Motorsports when he moved to CART in 1995 and would remain with them until 1997. He finished 18th at the

1995 Indianapolis 500 The 79th Indianapolis 500 was held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana on Sunday, May 28, 1995. Sanctioned by USAC, it was part of the 1995 CART PPG Indy Car World Series season. Jacques Villeneuve was victorious in his s ...

, and got a win at New Hampshire. In 1996 he won two oval races at his homeland

Jacarepaguá Jacarepaguá (), with a land area of , is a neighborhood situated in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In 2010, it had a population of 157,326. The name comes from the indigenous name of the location, "shallow pond of caymans", yakaré (c ...

and at the Michigan summer race, and finished fourth at the

U.S. 500 U.S. 500 may refer to multiple races held at Michigan International Speedway: * 1996 U.S. 500, a CART series race held May 26, 1996, the same day as the 1996 Indianapolis 500 * Michigan 500, a CART series race that was held under the title U.S. ...

. The driver ranked fourth in points. In 1997 he scored a third place finish at Toronto and a fourth place at Laguna Seca. For the 1998 season Ribeiro remained in CART but moved to

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Day ...

, where he scored just 13 points with no top 5s. He retired at the end of the 1998 season. The Brazilian received an offer to work with

Roger Penske Roger Searle Penske (born February 20, 1937), also known as "the Captain", is an American auto racing team owner, businessman, and former professional driver. Penske is the owner of Team Penske, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, IndyCar, and ...

in South America, with United Auto, running over 15 car dealerships in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. He also promoted the Brazilian Formula Renault and Renault Clio Cup together with Pedro Paulo Diniz. Ribeiro died on 22 May 2021, aged 55, from

colorectal cancer Colorectal cancer (CRC), also known as bowel cancer, colon cancer, or rectal cancer, is the development of cancer from the Colon (anatomy), colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine). Signs and symptoms may include Lower gastrointestinal ...

Racing record

American open–wheel racing results

( key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in ''italics'' indicate fastest lap)

Indy Lights

CART

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ribeiro, Andre 1966 births 2021 deaths Brazilian Champ Car drivers Indianapolis 500 drivers Indy Lights drivers Brazilian racing drivers EFDA Nations Cup drivers Racing drivers from São Paulo Deaths from colorectal cancer Team Penske drivers Tasman Motorsports drivers Paul Stewart Racing drivers Fortec Motorsport drivers British Formula Three Championship drivers