Rui Miguel Alves da Silva; born 18 April 1990 in Porto, Portugal) is a racing driver who drove for OnlyOne Racing Kart teams during a four-year stint as part of the European circus. In the first year of his European Kart career (2001) he set a new record for the most fastest laps by a driver in a season (8) and had several wins before his serious injury. In 2008 he was the Portuguese National Kart Champion. Early career Born in Porto, Portugal, Rui was inspired by his father to begin racing, and drove in the 1997 Portuguese Kart Cup. He took 5 wins and 5 pole positions to become B-class champion and rookie of the year. In 1998, he moved on to the French Championship, finishing 12th overall and taking the rookie of the year award. He continued in the championship in 1999, taking one win and three other podium positions to finish 6th overall. In the International Finals held at Estoril, Rui claimed the third place after taking pole position and the fastest lap of the race but was eventually disqualified In 2000, Monteiro again competed in Portuguese Kart Cup, this time finishing 2nd in the championship after taking 4 wins throughout the season. He also competed in the single Kart 300 Junior European Championship double-header race, finishing 2nd overall with one win at Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps. He also competed in a couple of one-off events, coming 2nd in the Spanish Super Prix.
|