Several Tweaks but Core Remains Intact for IMSA’s 2025 LMP2 Champs in AO by TF Le Mans Entry
By Tony DiZinno
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – The three core characters from AO Racing’s universe have been united in winning in their three-plus years crisscrossing continents on the global sports car racing calendar. While “Rexy,” “Roxy” and “Spike” all have wins to their name, the team’s newest creation – “Rockie” the Pegasus – looks to add its name to AO’s win roster this 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The new red-and-white livery developed in collaboration with Mobil 1 seeks to defend the AO by TF win aboard the team’s No. 99 ORECA 07 Gibson in the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) Pro/Am division at this year’s race.
“It’s always exciting going back to Le Mans for the 24 hours, but this year is extra special,” said team principal Gunnar Jeannette. “First, (we’re) returning as winners in the P2 Pro/Am category but also introducing the world to the newest AO character. We’ve put a massive amount of effort into bringing Rockie to life, and we can’t wait to see how the fans across the globe react to meeting her at the best racing event of the year!”
PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron continue as a collective unit, as they do in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship where they race the full season in LMP2, after claiming the LMP2 Pro/Am win at Le Mans in 2025.
“Winning Le Mans last year was a dream come true,” Hyett said when the team’s entry was confirmed for 2026. “I cannot wait to go after it again with this phenomenal crew.”
Cameron added, “To win last year was an absolute dream come true and I’d love nothing more than to do it again. Nothing is guaranteed but being back and with the support from AO by TF gives us confidence that we will fly high again this year.”
The Le Mans win springboarded Hyett into a summer stretch of excellence. Hyett captured the Jim Trueman Award as the IMSA LMP2 champion alongside Cameron in 2025, with a pair of wins midseason at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and Road America. The same pair joined Louis Deletraz to win the European Le Mans Series’ LMP2 Pro/Am title later in the year.
Deletraz was intended to continue but was called up to Cadillac Hertz Team JOTA in Hypercar. He’ll fill in for the injured Alex Lynn in the No. 12 Cadillac V-Series.R, where coincidentally, he’ll race against his Cadillac Wayne Taylor Racing IMSA teammates Jordan Taylor, Ricky Taylor and Filipe Albuquerque in their No. 101 Cadillac.
Left needing a Gold-rated replacement driver for Deletraz, AO astutely prepared for the contingencies and revealed both the new livery and its new third driver in mid-May. AO drafted in James Allen to fill “Rockie.” Allen has won in LMP2 machinery at both the Rolex 24 and 24 Hours of Le Mans and was part of the LMP2 Pro/Am winning lineup at Le Mans in 2023.
“AO have proven to be an exceptional team during their time in LMP2 and the results they have achieved in such a short time in the category speak for themselves,” he said. “I’m looking forward to working with Dane, PJ and everyone at the team with the goal of repeating their success at Le Mans from last year!”
In Sunday’s Le Mans Test Day, the No. 99 car was fifth in Pro/Am in both sessions, 13th and 11th overall among all LMP2 runners. The car also advanced to Hyperpole following Thursday’s first qualifying session.
Despite the changes, AO has remained focused and determined to continue its success. The team entered the year with a chance to win a full-season IMSA title in three straight years across two different classes, or potentially, win both class titles in the same season. It won the 2024 GTD PRO and 2025 LMP2 titles, respectively.
AO’s LMP2 performances to start 2026 have seen them up front frequently, just not at the right times.
In the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup, the No. 99 car led a race-high 298 of 686 laps at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and a race-high 192 of 338 laps at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, for a total of 490 of 1,024 laps out front. Those laps out front mean the No. 99 car ranks best in LMP2 Michelin Endurance Cup points – up by four over the No. 8 Tower Motorsports and Rolex 24-winning No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR entries. But they are sixth in the overall WeatherTech Championship standings after Sebring. The team sits sixth in European Le Mans Series LMP2 Pro/Am points through its first two rounds, too.
There’d be no better place or time to turn its 2026 form around and as Cameron noted, Le Mans is a big part of the AO program and where its 2025 season turned last year.
“When I joined the program, I knew obviously Le Mans was likely to be a part of it and doing the stuff in Europe also,” Cameron explained. “Right from the get-go I believed that having Louis and I and PJ together meant that I was eyeing straight away that I thought we could win Le Mans.
“It’s obviously a bit of a dream until you get there, and it was kind of a dream week for us. That was, yeah, more than I would have expected.”
AO’s fans can go along for the ride at this year’s Le Mans, too. The team will feature a live YouTube stream and team chat, which are free. The team will live stream the in-car feed for qualifying and the race. Beyond the team chat returning, AO will also be doing giveaways periodically during the race.
It adds up to one of the key entries IMSA onlookers should be monitoring in France.
2025 24 Hours of Le Mans AO Podium Courtesy of Chris duMond