Originally, AO Racing’s next race was scheduled to be at Laguna Seca, the site of their first IMSA victory. However, they announced Wednesday (March 26) that they would be returning to the GTD class at the Long Beach Grand Prix with drivers Laurens Vanthoor and Jonny Edgar. The team will be running the No. 177 in Long Beach.
“Long Beach is a very special event, and it’s unfortunate that it’s not on the GTD PRO calendar,” said team principal Gunnar Jeannette in a release from the team. “A lot of Rexy & AO Fans expressed their desire to see Rexy racing around the famous streets, and ‘Life Found a Way!’ With our full-season drivers off at a GT World Challenge race, we’ve been able to draft in some fantastic guys to fill their shoes in Laurens and Jonny. A big thank you to PJ Hyett, Porsche Motorsport North America, and everyone else that has come together to help make this one-off GTD race a reality for Rexy and AO.”
Vanthoor, the reigning champion in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class, has a perfect record in IMSA in 2025 after winning at Daytona and Sebring with Porsche Penske Motorsport. He will switch from GTP to the GTD class to run Rexy.
“I’m really looking forward to driving the famous Rexy car,” said Vanthoor. “The Grand Prix of Long Beach is one of my favorite events on the IMSA calendar. It’s always a great atmosphere and the whole event just feels special. I know some of the AO Racing guys from the Porsche RSR program, and I can’t wait to get to know the rest of the team. Hopefully, we have a strong weekend.”
Edgar raced with the team in “Spike,” their LMP2 entry, at Daytona and Sebring. He will be making his debut in the Porsche 911 GT3 R, however the team has mentioned he has completed private testing in the car.
“I’m really looking forward to racing at Long Beach with Rexy,” said Edgar. “I’m really excited to race a Porsche for the first time and for my first time at Long Beach. It’s a very exciting event, and I think it’d be really cool to share the car with Laurens as well. I think we have a really good chance at winning the race.”
Regardless of what happens in Long Beach, AO Racing is hoping for better luck than what happened in 2023. The picture above is from practice. During qualifying, team owner/driver Hyett crashed his Porsche at turn 8. The damage was severe enough to force the team to withdraw.
