ST. CHARLES, Ill. — The 92nd running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans takes center stage next month, and AO Racing is poised to return to the iconic event.
The Chicago-area-based team will partner with two-time Le Mans winning entrant TF Sport to race Spike, the dragon LMP2 Oreca. P.J. Hyett, Louis Delétraz and Alex Quinn will pilot the purple and orange AO by TF LMP2 car at the sport’s crown jewel event.
“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)!”
Last year, AO Racing won the hearts of motorsport enthusiasts worldwide when the team brought the fan-favorite Rexy Porsche 911 RSR to the 24-hour endurance race. Driven by Hyett, Gunnar Jeannette and Matteo Cairoli, the team had a strong performance and was in contention in the final hours until a mechanical issue hampered their debut.
This year, AO by TF will seek redemption, hoping to fly up front on June 15-16.
“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. P.J. 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 P.J. in Daytona at the start of the season. P.J. 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 Delétraz, the current World Endurance Champion.
“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 P.J. 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!”