AO Racing
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. The team was founded in 2022 by P. J. Hyett and Gunnar Jeannette. The team won the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship in the GTD Pro class with driver Laurin Heinrich.
Background
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. In September 2022, they made the decision to form an auto racing team to compete in the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The name AO is an abbreviation for Autumn Oaks, which is the name of Hyett's car collection that helped start the race team.Branding approach
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. Hyett credits Jeannette for originating AO Racing's brand approach, stating that he had come up with the idea based on the public reception towards Hyett's race helmet. His race helmet includes a Tyrannosaurus rex and a unicorn on either side, a design he began using at the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona that was inspired by his son and daughter.As of 2025, the team has three mascots, each represented on the cars that they use; 'Rexy', a green male Tyrannosaurus rex, 'Roxy', a pink female Tyrannosaurus rex, and 'Spike', a purple and orange dragon. 'Roxy' is described by AO Racing as "Rexy's sister", and 'Spike' is the pair's cousin.
The team first sported 'Rexy', a green faux Tyrannosaurus rex livery designed by T. J. Harley, for their Porsche 911 GT3 R at the 2023 12 Hours of Sebring, drawing widespread fanfare for its unique design. 'Roxy' was introduced five months later at the 2023 Michelin GT Challenge at VIR as a new mascot and as a substitute to the team's full-season 'Rexy' design. AO Racing had temporarily taken and applied their 'Rexy' livery on their Porsche 911 RSR-19 joint entry with Project 1 Motorsport ahead of the 2023 6 Hours of Fuji. 'Roxy' has reappeared as an alternate livery in select IMSA SportsCar Championship races in the seasons following its debut, a decision that the team like to describe as 'Rexy' "taking a vacation". 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, they introduced a new mascot for the car, a purple and orange dragon named 'Spike'.
Racing history
IMSA SportsCar Championship
2023
AO Racing completed their sports car racing debut at the 2023 24 Hours of Daytona, entering a Porsche 911 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. 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. 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.
2024
The team announced that they would field a second car competing in the LMP2 class in the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Championship. 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. The GTD Pro entry would see Michael Christensen, Laurin Heinrich, and Sebastian Priaulx drive the team's Porsche 911 GT3 R for the full season.File:Panning.jpg|thumb|The No. 77 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 featuring the alternate "Roxy" livery at the 2024 IMSA SportsCar Weekend
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." After two further wins at Detroit and Indianapolis, the team became GTD Pro champions by four points at the last race at Road Atlanta.