PETRONAS TEAM TOM'S
Driver Profile
May 2009

André Lotterer (アンドレ・ロッテラー)
- Super GT Series, GT500 Class
- Formula Nippon Championship

André  Lotterer, flying high

Born in the town of Duisburg in Germany, André Lotterer was raised in neighbouring Belgium since the age of 2. Though he attended a French-speaking school, André spoke German at home as the only child to a German mother and a Peruvian father. As a result of his multi-cultural background as well as his exposure to racing from a young age, André is also proficient in English and Italian.

His introduction to racing came quite naturally having been introduced to it early on through his father’s active involvement managing a racing team. Starting off with go-karts, André rose up the ranks rapidly competing in the Dutch, Belgian and German go-kart championships. The highlight of his young career came in 1995 when he became the Junior Kart World Champion at the age of 13.

It was not long before André switched to single seaters, joining the German Formula BMW ADAC championship and claiming the title in the junior cup category in 1998. Graduating to the senior category, André also took the title of champion in the 1999 Formula BMW ADAC, despite missing two rounds that clashed with the Formula Renault Euro Cup, another series he was competing in.

Claiming the Rookie of the Year title in the German F3 Championship the following year, André’s form did not go unnoticed as he earned his first Formula One test drive with the Jaguar F1 team that year. In addition to this F1 test driver role, André competed in British F3 championship in 2001. The following year he headed west for a one-off champ car event in the USA and even had his first taste in endurance racing when he competed in the Spa 24Hours finishing third with a Porsche GT3R.

After two full seasons as a test driver for the Jaguar F1 team, André headed to Japan to take up a seat with the PIAA Nakajima team in the All Japan Formula Nippon Championship. An impressive debut saw the German clinch 4th overall and the rookie of the year title. 2003 also saw André make his first appearance in the prestigious Japan GT Championship also with Nakajima (Honda).


Teammates in arms - Juichi Wakisaka (left) and André Lotterer

Since then his long list of accolades includes winning the Super GT Series championship title in both the drivers’ and teams’ categories in 2006 with his teammate Juichi Wakisaka in the TOM’S team. Together with Juichi, the pair also claimed the Super GT Series team championship title in 2008.

In 2009 the pair went one better taking the double; winning the drivers' and team championship title in an epic showdown at the season finale at the Twin Ring Motegi circuit. It was an emotional one for the German, who dedicated the title win to his late father, Henry Lotterer.



Enjoying a successful racing career in Japan, André has carved a niche that is entirely his own. Despite a huge following amongst Japan’s massive motorsports fanbase, the German prefers to keep his feet firmly planted to the ground. His friendly and down-to-earth demeanour belies his aggressive yet smooth driving style and supreme car-control skills. In a country that enjoys a healthy share of rain throughout the calendar race season, André has also earned an unrivalled reputation for his skills on Japan’s often wet and slippery tracks.

Fact Box: André Lotterer (アンドレ・ロッテラー)