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AO Racing
American racing team From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Autumn Oaks Racing, doing business as AO Racing, is an American sports car racing team that currently competes in the LMP2 and the GTD Pro classes of the IMSA SportsCar Championship and in LMP2 in the European Le Mans Series.[1][2][3] The team was founded in 2022 by P. J. Hyett and Gunnar Jeannette.[4] The team won the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship in the GTD Pro class with driver Laurin Heinrich.[5]
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AO Racing was founded in 2022 by GitHub co-founder and technology entrepreneur P. J. Hyett, and American race car driver Gunnar Jeannette. Hyett and Jeannette met through vintage racing and became friends.[4] In September 2022, they made the decision to form an auto racing team to compete in the IMSA SportsCar Championship.[6] The name AO stands for Autumn Oaks, which is the name of Hyett's car collection that helped start the race team.[7]
IMSA SportsCar Championship
2023
At the second round of the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship held at Sebring International Raceway, the team debuted an all new Tyrannosaurus Rex themed livery dubbed "Rexy" by driver and team co-founder Gunnar Jeannette.[8] T. J. Harley is the livery designer.[9] The livery was culminated by team co-founder P. J. Hyett after his two children inspired him to sport a T-Rex and a Unicorn on his race helmet. "Rexy" quickly became a fan favorite, and it has become one of the most recognizable sportscar liveries.
2024
The team announced that they would field a second car competing in the LMP2 class in the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship.[10] The announcement revealed that the Oreca 07 would feature a purple and orange dragon themed livery dubbed "Spike". The team signed Matthew Brabham and Paul-Loup Chatin to partner P. J. Hyett for the full season in the LMP2 entry, with Alex Quinn joining the team for the Michelin Endurance Cup.[11] The GTD Pro entry would see Michael Christensen, Laurin Heinrich, and Sebastian Priaulx drive the team's Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) for the full season.
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At the third round of the season at Laguna Seca, the team scored their first win as an organization in the GTD Pro class with Heinrich and Priaulx behind the wheel of "Rexy."[12] After two further wins at Detroit and Indianapolis, the team became GTD Pro champions by four points at the last race at Road Atlanta.[5]
2025
The team returned for the 2025 season once again competing in the LMP2 and GTD Pro classes.[13] 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship GTD Pro champion Laurin Heinrich remained with the team to drive the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R. Joining him would be Klaus Bachler, who drove the No. 77 Virginia International Raceway in 2024, and Belgian racer Alessio Picariello.[14] For the No. 99 LMP2 entry, the team signed Dane Cameron, Jonny Edgar, and Christian Rasmussen to partner team owner P. J. Hyett.[15]
European Le Mans Series
2024
On November 29, 2023, the team announced that they would field an LMP2 entry in the 2024 European Le Mans Series season in partnership with TF Sport. The team signed Louis Delétraz, Jonny Edgar, and former Formula One driver Robert Kubica to drive the car full-time.[16] Polish oil company Orlen would sponsor the car for the full season and the team would compete as Orlen Team AO by TF. The team would go on to win the LMP2 championship ahead of the No. 43 Inter Europol Competition entry.
2025
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The team returned to the European Le Mans Series for a second season in 2025, once again partnering with TF Sport.[17] LMP2 class champion Louis Delétraz remained with the team, with team owner P. J. Hyett entering the series for the first time.[18] The team would be competing in the LMP2 Pro-Am category as Hyett is an FIA Bronze driver.
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Racing record
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24 Hours of Le Mans results
Complete FIA World Endurance Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete IMSA SportsCar Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.
Complete European Le Mans Series results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.
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