The AO by TF Le Mans 24 Hours LMP2 Pro-Am effort will bring Spike the LMP2 dragon to Le Sarthe for the first time.
Chicago-based AO Racing, partnered with TF Sport will field PJ Hyett, Louis Delétraz, and Alex Quinn aboard the fan-favourite purple and orange Oreca.
“Rexy Racing at Le Mans for the 100th anniversary was an incredible experience, but we have some unfinished business at the Circuit de la Sarthe,” said Hyett, AO Racing Team Owner and Driver. “We’re coming back this year with Spike, our LMP2 dragon, to delight fans on the way to the top spot! Allons-y (Let’s go)!”
AO Racing’s now iconic ‘Rexy’ dinosaur livery has been a key part of the team’s dna since it’s introduction but fell short of Le Mans glory after mechanical woes spoiled a highly competitive run in the GTE Am class last year.
The baton is now handed to the Spike-liveried Oreca, up against a highly competitive field in the LMP2 Pro-Am class.
“We are hugely excited to bring our partnership with AO racing to Le Mans,” said Tom Ferrier, Owner of TF Sport. “It’s such a fantastic event and we have a brilliant line up. PJ is one of the best bronze drivers in the world and with Alex and Louis we have the drivers to back him up. A 24-hour race is always hard but we plan to be there at the end and fighting for the win.”
The race will bring back Hyett and Quinn, who have raced Spike together in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s 24 Hours of Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring. The combination has three more endurance races together slated to follow Le Mans.
“I’m really happy to be a part of this team effort for Le Mans,” said Quinn. “It was a pleasure to race with AO and PJ in Daytona at the start of the season. PJ is really fast, so I’m looking forward to seeing what we can achieve. It’ll be great to team up with both Louis and the TF side of the program for the first time and get to work to achieve a strong result at Le Mans. There is clearly only one target and that is to win.”
AO and TF have a current partnership in the European Le Mans Series, where they most recently earned a third-place finish at Circuit Paul Ricard with Louis Delétraz part of the full season crew.
“I’m very excited to take part in my fifth Le Mans with AO by TF,” said Delétraz. “It’s great to share the car with PJ and Alex. I feel like we have a strong crew between the teams and the drivers’ experiences. Le Mans is a very special event. The prep has started months ago and, of course, we want to do well so the motivation is high!”
The team will launch what is set to be very popular Le Mans-specific merchandise in the coming weeks.
