AO Racing’s dinosaur Porsche will start in pink at the IMSA race at Virginia Raceway – The team wraps it up in a nice story
Not only since the sponsorships of BWT and the “Iron Dames” has pink been a trendy colour in motorsport. The AO Racing team of Phillip Jeffrey “P.J.” Hyett and Gunnar Jeanette is now following the trend and giving its flagship “Rexy” a pink livery for the IMSA SportsCar Championship race in Virginia from 25 to 27 August.
The race is reserved for the two GT3 classes, so the Porsche will play a starring role. With the new livery comes a new name: Roxy, the little sister of Rexy.
This is how the team tells the backstory: Rexy will compete in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) at Fuji Speedway from 8 to 10 September. He can’t travel from the US to Japan that quickly, so sister Roxy is filling in for him in Virginia.
“With Rexy currently away on business, we’re looking forward to featuring his sister Roxy in prehistoric pink at the next race at Virginia International Raceway,” says team principal and driver Gunnar Jeannette.
“We hope the fans will show her as much love and admiration as they did her brother and give her a warm welcome to the IMSA paddock.”
Insiders know, of course, that the Porsche models in the IMSA SportsCar Championship and the WEC are fundamentally different anyway. In the WEC, the GTE cars, i.e. also the Porsche 911 RSR-19 from AO Racing in cooperation with Project 1, will be competing in Japan for the penultimate time.
BIG NEWS! Rexy will be returning to @FIAWEC, racing in Japan’s 6 Hours of Fuji in our effort with @Project1_93 on 9/10. Because of the long journey, Rexy’s sister, Roxy will race at @VIRNow on 8/27.
Full story: https://t.co/IhiS9Mwd6i
NEW MERCH: https://t.co/5nrRCkL3ig pic.twitter.com/1kEi8cV4y3– AO Racing (@AORacingUSA) August 14, 2023
In IMSA, a Porsche 911 GT3 R (or as the team writes: “Rawr”) will be used according to GT3 regulations. IMSA has already made the move from the GTE to the GT3 category in the winter of 2021/22. In the WEC, the GT3 category will be introduced in 2024.
Hyett’s children have inspired
The Dino Porsche has won the hearts of fans in no time. Dino mascots on the grid are a hit with spectators and especially with children.
The dino idea came about during a brainstorming session between Hyett and Jeanette, as Hyett’s son is a fan of dinosaurs and Jurassic Park.
Having fulfilled a big dream for his son, P.J. Hyett now dedicates the pink design to his daughter, who has a fondness for unicorns.
Besides, they both know how to monetise the new pink theme, as the new colour scheme also sees the launch of a new pink line in the fanshop.
In sporting terms, things are not yet going well in the first year. In the WEC, Hyett and Jeanette are 18th in the LMGTE Am standings after missing a race at Portimao (IMSA overlap) and retiring at Le Mans in a season in which the factory Corvette has dominated everything.
In the GTD category of the IMSA SportsCar Championship, Hyett is P17 after two no-laps, Jeanette is P28. The best-placed AO Racing driver is Sebastian “Seb” Priaulx, son of Andy Priaulx, in 13th place in the championship. All missed a race when Rexy had to be withdrawn at Long Beach after a practice accident.
