André Couto (安德烈·高度) is a Macanese racing driver, born 14 December 1976 in Lisbon, Portugal, and moved to Macau aged four. In 2000 he won the Macau Grand Prix Formula 3 race, becoming the first Macanese driver to win the event — after pole-sitters Narain Karthikeyan and Takuma Sato crashed in leg one, Couto, driving for Opel Team BSR, took the lead and the win. In 2015 he won the Japanese Super GT GT300 drivers' championship with Katsumasa Chiyo, the first foreign driver to take the GT300 title. He also contested the International Formula 3000 series (1998–2000) and the FIA World Touring Car Championship (2005–2012), and in 2024 won the Lamborghini Super Trofeo Asia Pro-Am title.
In 2000 he became the first Macanese driver to win the Macau Grand Prix Formula 3 race — and fifteen years later the first foreign driver to win the Japanese Super GT GT300 title.
André Couto is a Macanese racing driver whose career spans single-seater formula, touring cars and GT racing. Born in Lisbon in 1976 and raised in Macau from the age of four, he is regarded as one of the most prominent figures in Macau motorsport.
Profile
- Chinese Name: 安德烈·高度 (media-used transliteration)
- English Name: André Couto
- Portuguese full name: André Bragança Macedo e Couto
- Born: 14 December 1976, Lisbon, Portugal (moved to Macau aged four)
- Domains: Sports · Motor racing
- Signature achievements: 2000 Macau Grand Prix F3 winner; 2015 Super GT GT300 drivers' champion
Background
André Couto was born in Lisbon and moved to Macau with his family at the age of four, growing up in the city famous for its Grand Prix. He is generally described in the press as a Macanese driver. "安德烈·高度" is a media-used phonetic transliteration, not a legal or given name; this archive presents it as the form used in the press.
Career
I. Single-seater years (1998–2000)
Couto contested the International Formula 3000 series from 1998 to 2000, his best result a third place at the Nürburgring in 2000.
II. The 2000 Macau Grand Prix F3 win
In 2000, Couto drove for Opel Team BSR in the Macau Grand Prix Formula 3 race. In leg one, pole-sitters Narain Karthikeyan and Takuma Sato crashed; Couto took over the lead and went on to win, becoming the first Macanese driver to win the event.
III. Touring cars and GT racing (2005–2015)
From 2005 to 2012 Couto raced in the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC). In 2015 he moved to Japan's Super GT, where he won the GT300 drivers' championship with Katsumasa Chiyo, the first foreign driver to take the class title.