WATCH: 24 Hours of Daytonna insight from Priaulx's AO Racing

Friday 02 February 2024

Seb Priaulx’s AO Racing team operated “flawlessly” on the way to the podium in their GTP Pro-class debut at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.

Priaulx was driving alongside Laurin Heinrich and Michael Christensen in “Rexy,” the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R, eventually finishing second after a gruelling race.

Last season AO Racing were in the GTD class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, but not only have they stepped up to Pro they have expanded to enter another car into the LMP2 class.

"The team did a great job, and my teammates did a great job too," said Priaulx after the race, having qualified the car in pole the weekend before.

"Unfortunately, I got a bit sick during the race and couldn't contribute as much as I would have liked to, but I'm happy with the result. I'm sad we didn't get our win, but like Laurin said, it just wasn't there for us today."

P2 finish at the Rolex 24, and solid effort from @AORacingUSA and my teammates did an incredible job all race long. Super pound of everyone. pic.twitter.com/qtm35DBziC

— Sebastian Priaulx (@SebPriaulx) January 31, 2024

Heinrich said that to finish second always has a bitter taste.

"But I don't think winning was possible with what we had. The team did an amazing job. The car was quick and had an amazing balance. We had no mistakes at all. My teammates supported me really well with all the questions I had before the race. We extended our package to the max. It's a long season and we'll see if we can get the victory in Sebring."

They were joined by Porsche factory driver Christensen for Daytona.

"I'm very proud of this result. Even though we started from pole, this was the maximum effort we had. In the first hour of the race, we saw that our true pace was not there for a win. So we just had to stick together and stay clean throughout the race without any mistakes. Great job from the team. I think this was a great result for us."

The Porsche effort ran error-free throughout the 24-long event, making a strong debut performance despite being on the losing end of the series-mandated Balance of Performance restrictions.

Through focusing on safe and consistent driving and fast and efficient pit stops, the team behind the Porsche was able to position themselves to run for a top-three position in the final hour.

Rexy starts his 2024 season off with a podium in his very first @imsa GTD PRO race, and at the Rolex 24 At Daytona, no less! pic.twitter.com/7AcbjfCtUk

— AO Racing (@AORacingUSA) January 28, 2024

"It's been a very long lead-up and off-season of preparation to get to this point," said Team Principal Gunnar Jeannette.

"It all seems surreal. We've done our first race in 2024 with two cars, two programs, and two characters. It was great to see both programs lead their classes at various points in the race. With that, the team operated absolutely flawlessly. We spent the least amount of time in pit lane, and that's a strong testament to the pit crew, the engineering calls, and to the drivers."

The team's LMP2 car, the No. 99 Oreca known as Spike the Dragon started seventh out of 13 cars.

Once the entry of PJ Hyett, Paul-Loup Chatin, Matt Brabham, and Alex Quinn climbed to the top of the field, it stayed near the top five, despite not always having the outright pace.

@AORacingUSA
Here’s the shot I was looking for ????????????
Spike and Rexy pic.twitter.com/3IBObCIpsq

— ???????????????????? (@ScottWilfong) January 28, 2024

The car ended the race in seventh.

"The crew did a fantastic job," said Jeannette. "As did the drivers and engineers. In the end, a couple of mishaps dropped us down the running order, but to make it to the finish with both cars was very special."

The team's IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship effort will race next with both cars at the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, March 13-16.