In the gap between the IGTC races at Suzuka and Indianapolis, Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific (PMAP) gathered the architects of Porsche’s landmark 12th overall win at the historic Suzuka 1000km together to share what the victory meant to all of them.
One of those leaders was Gunnar Jeannette, the team principal of AO Racing from its inception in 2022. DSC readers will be well aware that the American super-privateer has very quickly filled up its trophy cases in just a few short years, whether its in IMSA in the team’s home region of North America, or whether its in Europe via its connection with British squad TF Sport.
As the team quickly amassed championships and victories under the leadership of Jeannette and team owner PJ Hyett, it has also amassed an incredible following via its race cars inspired by fantastical creatures like the dinosaur siblings Rexy and Roxy, and the dragon known as Spike. It’s proven successful, helping young children (and the adults who are young at heart) engage with the sport – and not just in their core markets in the West, either.
“One of the things that we’re doing a little bit different, with the characters and the cars and the story, is we have quite a big following,” Jeannette said in a roundtable discussion for the press organised in late September. “All of the merchandise, the toys, all of these things that helps fund part of our programmes.
“Over the last couple of years, we’ve seen a really large interest in our cars and what we’re doing in the Asian market, in China and Japan. We did race in Fuji in 2023 with the WEC and had an absolutely great experience over there.
“And so when a couple members of our team last year, Laurin (Heinrich) and Chaz (Cleland, engineer) and a couple of other people did the Suzuka race, they came back with quite a few very good stories. That is what really put it on our radar as something that we should look at for next year.”
It started with a chat between Jeannette and Volker Holzmeyer of Porsche Motorsport North America (PMNA), which turned into a connection with PMAP managing director Alexandre Gibot, and eventually a connection with leading Porsche customer team Absolute Racing.
From there, AO and Absolute joined forces to enter the #8 Porsche for the 50th Suzuka 1000km, putting together the best that all parties had to offer – drivers, engineers, mechanics, and of course the creative side of AO Racing, which manifested in the form of Rexy’s ancient samurai ancestor, Bushi Rex.
“Suzuka is one of the major races in Asia,” said Absolute Racing director and co-founder, Fabien Fior. “So this year we really wanted to win the race, and we did everything to prepare for it.”
Since joining forces with Porsche in 2019, Absolute Racing had put at least one car on the podium in the last two Suzuka summer endurance classics (third in 2019, then second in the 2025 revival).
“And then we had the opportunity to do it in partnership with AO. This went, actually, quite well. It was a very good first experience. It’s not always easy to mix some people to do a one-off race, but it went very well,” Fior added.
Led by Laurin Heinrich, Alessio Picariello, and Julien Andlauer, Bushi Rex fought its way into contention, took the lead with a brilliant switch-over pass from Heinrich, and dominated the second half of the six and a half hour race to give Porsche its first win at the Suzuka 1000km since 1994, when Jack Leconte’s Larbre Competition team won the race in its first year as part of the then-new BPR Global GT Series.
It was a successful first outing for AO Racing in the SRO Intercontinental GT Challenge, the biggest endurance win for AO and Porsche’s partnership since Rexy won the 2025 Twelve Hours of Sebring. Weeks after the victory, Jeannette stills swells with pride, knowing what it meant to him personally, and to the manufacturer.
“Our relationship with Porsche has lasted from the onset of our team,” Jeannette said. “Initially in (IMSA) GTD, and in the WEC with the last year of GTE, then immediately into GTD Pro. But my relationship with Porsche really goes back to my entire life. My father (Kevin) restores Porsche race cars. He was a crew chief on Porsche racing teams with the Bob Wolleks, the Derek Bells, and the Brian Redmans and all that.
“It’s quite deep into my veins, so it’s very special for us on the team front because that was our first overall GT victory.
“On the other big victories that we’ve had on the GT programme, certainly, the Sebring 12 Hours would be at the top. But winning an iconic race like this overall, I would say, is even more important than having a class win in Sebring.
“It’s a significant milestone in our organisation, and I think it’s very cool and a great story to do it with Absolute and PMAP in the manner that it was done.”
This went beyond the execution of the race weekend on the track for AO and Absolute. The two teams and PMAP were the only organisations to organise any sort of major off-site promotional activities for the Suzuka 1000km, exhibiting Absolute Racing’s two Pro-class 911 GT3 Rs around Tokyo across all the city’s major tourist destinations the week before the race.
For the dedicated fans who attended Suzuka for the 1000km, Bushi Rex merchandise flew off the store shelves in record time – from clothes to plush toys to diecast models.
And then of course, the team went out and won the race, making all of the effort that went into assembling this one-off endeavour feel meaningful.
“We showed up with some engineers and drivers that we had worked with before. We had a car and equipment that was absolutely at the top level, able to go out and win one of the banner GT endurance races,” Jeannette continued.
“For me, and our organisation, that says so much.”
Having said that, Jeannette has no intention of leaving Suzuka as a mere one-off for AO Racing. The 1000km is one of three races in the Australasia region that are the prime targets to PMAP, along with the Bathurst 12 Hour and the FIA GT World Cup on the streets of Macau.
“It gets us very excited for future projects that we can do together,” he said, “and while I would say this race and the programme this year is what we’d consider kind of a toe in the water, is there potential for future expansion with regard to partnerships and extra races in the region?
“And I would say, it’s a resounding yes.”
Jeannette has hinted that there has been great interest and a possibility of taking the AO/Absolute partnership to Macau later this year, although as of publication, no official programme has been revealed.
And for AO Racing, the Absolute Racing partnership could be the key to gaining as strong a foothold in Asia as the team has enjoyed in Europe with TF Sport.
“Asia is absolutely an emerging automotive market, but also in the racing standpoint, and with what we’ve seen from the fans’ desire to have cool, fun liveries and stories with it, it gives us a lot of opportunity for expansion in the area,” Jeannette continued.
“You know, I’ve always been a fan of the Japanese GT Championship (SUPER GT), not that I’ve ever gone to the race, but I always pay attention and watch on YouTube, that kind of thing. So certainly that’s one of the things that will be a topic of discussion once we get through the immediate future of the next couple of months.
“For us and the size of our organisation right now, it 100 per cent makes sense, for the time being, to do it with partners that have known resources in the area. It’s similar to how we’ve been operating the European Le Mans programme for the last couple of years with TF Sport.
“I really appreciate having team principals and managers that work in the same mindset as how we operate, and so, finding the teams and the people that you can rely on and enjoy working with is so important to the relationships and what you can build together.”
Since the inauguration of the FIA GT World Cup in 2015, the race has been run eight times, broken up in the early 2020s by COVID. In those eight races, Mercedes-AMG, BMW, Ferrari, and an upside-down Audi have combined to shut Porsche out of the top step of the podium in Macau’s feature GT race.
Macau is the last pillar of GT3 racing in the region that Porsche has yet to win, and it’s no secret that AO wants to be part of making more history for the marque in Asia, as soon as it possibly can.
Images © Porsche Motorsport Asia Pacific
