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Founded | 2022 |
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Founder(s) | P. J. Hyett (owner) Gunnar Jeannette |
Base | St. Charles, Illinois, United States |
Team principal(s) | |
Current series | IMSA SportsCar Championship European Le Mans Series FIA World Endurance Championship |
Current drivers | IMSA SportsCar Championship: 77. ![]() ![]() ![]() 99. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() 177. ![]() ![]() European Le Mans Series: 99. ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Noted drivers | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Teams' Championships | IMSA SportsCar Championship : 2024 (GTD Pro class) European Le Mans Series : 2024 (LMP2 class) |
Drivers' Championships | IMSA SportsCar Championship : 2024: Laurin Heinrich (GTD Pro class) European Le Mans Series : 2024: Louis Delétraz, Jonny Edgar, Robert Kubica |
Website | https://aoracing.com/ |
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]
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 is an abbreviation for Autumn Oaks, which is the name of Hyett's car collection that helped start the race team. [7]
In lieu of the conventional approach focusing on sponsor exposure and brand prestige, AO Racing promotes a playful and expressive brand personality, utilizing faux creature designs and mascots as part of their brand identity with a large focus on fan engagement, a strategy which has allowed them to grow into a fan favorite team in sports car racing. [8] [9]
As of 2025, the team has three mascots, each represented on the cars that they use; 'Rexy', a green male Tyrannosaurus rex, [10] 'Roxy', a pink female Tyrannosaurus rex, [11] and 'Spike', a purple and orange dragon. [12]
Their branding approach was first introduced at the 2023 12 Hours of Sebring, when the team first sported 'Rexy' for their Porsche 911 (992) GT3 R. [13] The livery, created by T. J. Harley, was culminated by P. J. Hyett after his two children inspired him to sport a Tyrannosaurus rex and a unicorn on his race helmet. [14] [15]
'Roxy' was first introduced at the 2023 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR as a new mascot and as a substitute to the team's full-season 'Rexy' design, which they had temporarily taken and applied to their Porsche 911 RSR-19 entry, racing in conjunction with Project 1 Motorsport, ahead of the 2023 6 Hours of Fuji. [11] 'Roxy' has reappeared as an alternate livery in select IMSA SportsCar Championship races in the seasons following the design's debut, [16] [17] a decision that the team like to describe as 'Rexy' "taking a vacation". [18] The next year, AO Racing announced that they would field an Oreca 07 and expand into the LMP2 class for the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship. Following the announcement, the team introduced a new mascot for the car, a purple and orange dragon named 'Spike'. [12]
AO Racing completed their sports car racing debut at the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona, entering a Porsche 911 (992) GT3 R driven by Harry Tincknell, Sebastian Priaulx, and team founders Gunnar Jeannette and P. J. Hyett. The team sported a tribute livery based on the Porsche 935 from Henn's Swap Shop Racing that won the race 40 years prior. [19] AO Racing experienced a difficult race, finishing 19 laps down on the GTD class winner.
At the 2023 12 Hours of Sebring, AO Racing unveiled a new full-season livery named 'Rexy', a green Tyrannosaurus rex themed design that would become the basis for the team's bold brand personality that would grow the team into a fan favorite racing team. The livery was inspired by P. J. Hyett's two children, who had both influenced his helmet design which included a Tyrannosaurus rex and a unicorn. [13] The race would prove difficult, finishing the race 16 laps down on the GTD leader.
The team spent most of the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship season in the midfield, completing the season 13th in class.
The team announced that they would field a second car competing in the LMP2 class in the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship. [12] 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. [20] 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.
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." [21] 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]
The team returned for the 2025 season once again competing in the LMP2 and GTD Pro classes. [22] 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. [23] For the No. 99 LMP2 entry, the team signed Dane Cameron, Jonny Edgar, and Christian Rasmussen to partner team owner P. J. Hyett. [24]
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. [25] 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.
The team returned to the European Le Mans Series for a second season in 2025, once again partnering with TF Sport. [26] LMP2 class champion Louis Delétraz remained with the team, with team owner P. J. Hyett entering the series for the first time. [27] The team would be competing in the LMP2 Pro-Am category as Hyett is an FIA Bronze driver.
Year | Entrant | No. | Car | Drivers | Class | Laps | Pos. | Class Pos. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | ![]() | 56 | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | LMGTE Am | 309 | 35th | 7th |
2024 | ![]() | 14 | Oreca 07-Gibson | ![]() ![]() ![]() | LMP2 (Pro-Am) | 295 | 20th | 2nd |
2025 | ![]() | 199 | Oreca 07-Gibson | ![]() ![]() ![]() | LMP2 (Pro-Am) | 366 | 20th | 1st |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Class | No | Chassis | Engine | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Pos. | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | ![]() | LMGTE Am | 56 | Porsche 911 RSR-19 | Porsche M97/80 4.2 L Flat-6 | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() | SEB 12 | POR 6 | SPA WD | LMN 7 | MON 8 | FUJ 5 | BHR 10 | 11th | 36 |
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
* Season still in progress.
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Year | Entrant | Class | No | Chassis | Engine | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | Pos. | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | ![]() | LMP2 | 14 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK-428 4.2 L V8 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | CAT 7 | LEC 3 | IMO 2 | SPA 1 | MUG 5 | POR 2 | 1st | 93 |
2025 | ![]() | LMP2 | 99 | Oreca 07 | Gibson GK-428 4.2 L V8 | ![]() ![]() ![]() | CAT | LEC | IMO | SPA | SIL | POR |
* Season still in progress.