'Spike the Dragon' goes gold for the Rolex 24

AO Racing has revealed a special gold livery for its No. 99 ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2, affectionately known as “Spike the Dragon,” for the 64th Rolex 24 At Daytona.

“While Spike the Dragon rested in his lair, he molted and his purple scales were shed,” the team explained in Tuesday's reveal. “This month, the IMSA WeatherTech and European Le Mans Series champion returns to Daytona International Speedway, reborn in gold!”

It’s a thematic step-up for Spike, which sported a gold tail after winning the 24 Hours of Le Mans in LMP2 Pro/Am. AO’s GTD PRO car, the No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R affectionately known as “Rexy,” entered 2025 with a golden-diamond fang to commemorate its 2024 GTD PRO championship.

Spike’s return to Daytona offers the quartet of PJ Hyett, Dane Cameron, Jonny Edgar and Christian Rasmussen to avenge a difficult loss in last year’s Rolex 24; the crew led more laps than any other team but was knocked out of the lead due to a battery issue with less than 90 minutes left.

Hyett and Cameron would bounce back, winning back-to-back IMSA races in the summer at CTMP and Road America, on the way to their first IMSA LMP2 championships.