The Pilette racing dynasty stretches back to the dawn of motorised sport. Théodore Pilette was one of the first Europeans to compete at the Indianapolis 500, finishing fifth in the 1913 edition, and also finished third in the 1913 ACO Grand Prix at Le Mans. Working as the Belgian agent for Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft, he was a protégé of Gordon Bennett winner Camille Jenatzy and one of the best-known Belgian names in early Grand Prix racing. Théodore died in 1921 when André was just three years old.
André Pilette became a founder of the Ecurie Nationale Belge in 1955 after earlier stints with Ecurie Belgique in Talbot-Lagos. His Formula One career included entries with Gordini and Connaught, with notable non-championship results at Chimay and Cadours. He finished fourth at Le Mans in 1959 and second in 1960 sharing a NART Ferrari with Ricardo Rodriguez.
Teddy grew up in the margins of this motorsport world and was sent to England to attend the Jim Russell Racing School. His time there led to an unexpected film career alongside his racing work — connections formed in England gave him a role in John Frankenheimer's motorsport film Grand Prix and later an appearance in Steve McQueen's Le Mans.
Pilette raced for Carlo Abarth in 1963 and 1965, then in 1967 formed an association with Count Rudy van der Straten's VDS team — a partnership that would define much of his career in subsequent years. Driving Alfa Romeos and Lolas in European and North American competition, he showed well in Can-Am races before he and VDS turned their attention to single-seaters and the European Formula 5000 Championship.
Pilette's greatest single-seater achievements came in the European Formula 5000 Championship. He won the title in 1973 driving a Chevron B24 for VDS. After Bob Evans took the 1974 honours, Pilette reclaimed the championship in 1975 with a Lola T400, making him the second driver in history to win two European F5000 titles.
Pilette made his Formula One World Championship debut on 12 May 1974 at the Belgian Grand Prix at Nivelles, driving a Brabham BT42 as a private entry. He finished 17th and last, four laps down on winner Emerson Fittipaldi.
His Formula One aspirations were renewed in 1977 when he joined the struggling BRM team. The car was the P207, designed by Len Terry and powered by an ageing BRM V12, and had already failed to qualify with previous drivers Larry Perkins and Conny Andersson at multiple rounds. Pilette drove the BRM at the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim — where he qualified dead last — and again at the Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort and the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, failing to qualify on all three occasions. BRM's withdrawal from Formula One followed the conclusion of the 1977 season.
Pilette continued with the same BRM P207 in the inaugural Aurora AFX Formula One Championship in 1978, where his best classified result was a fourth place at Oulton Park.
Pilette made three attempts to qualify for the Indianapolis 500. He failed to make the field for the 1977 edition. He was entered for the 1982 and 1983 Indianapolis 500 but failed to qualify on both occasions. He started a CART Championship Car race at Watkins Glen International in 1981, retiring after 14 laps with a gearbox failure — his only Champ Car start.
Pilette entered the 24 Hours of Le Mans on eight occasions between 1968 and 1987. His best results were eighth overall and fourth in class in 1972, and twelfth overall and sixth in class in 1975. He won the Spa 24 Hours in 1978 driving a Ford Capri — the final edition of that race held on the full historic Spa-Francorchamps circuit.
In 1992 Pilette founded the Pilette Speed Tradition Formula Ford team in Europe. Two years later he constructed his own Formula Three car, the Pilette PWT 94C — a Ralt 94C-based chassis with a Fiat engine designed by former Lotus engineer Martin Ogilvie, who had worked on the Lotus 78, 79, and the twin-chassis 88. The project proved unsuccessful; Warren Hughes and Jérémie Dufour refused to race it after testing, and Paolo Coloni and Dirk Müller each made only one start with the car in the German Formula 3 Championship. By 2000 the Pilette Speed Tradition outfit had pivoted to promoting Formula 3 racing in the United States, fielding a Dallara-Volkswagen at the inaugural US Formula 3 Championship event.
In September 2013, Pilette was elected vice president of the Grand Prix Drivers Club.