AO Racing, Manthey rock up special liveries for Petit Le Mans

AO Racing will once again run a pair of special liveries at this weekend’s Petit Le Mans, as its LMP2 and GTD Pro programs bid for IMSA SportsCar Championship title glory.

The fan-favorite “Skeleton Rexy” Halloween design will return on its No. 77 Porsche 911 GT3 R (992.2), having debuted at Petit Le Mans last year. The Harry King, Nick Tandy and Alessio Picariello-driven machine will feature one key difference compared with 12 months ago, however, as Skeleton Rexy now has glowing elements on his doors and mouth.

AO Racing’s No. 99 ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2 will also feature a livery making its second appearance, with “Rockie the Pegasus,” which debuted at this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans and is now making its North American debut at Road Atlanta.

Dane Cameron, PJ Hyett and Jonny Edgar will seek to defend AO Racing’s LMP2 teams’ title aboard the No. 99 ORECA, with the former pair also looking to retain their drivers’ championships. AO Racing currently sits 108 points down in LMP2, while its GTD Pro effort has a 154-point margin to overturn this weekend.

Another Porsche partner team that’s undergoing a makeover for Petit Le Mans is Manthey. The German outfit, which has been competing in the Endurance Cup rounds this year, is swapping its famous “Grello” livery for a striking orange color scheme. The design change is part of a drive to raise awareness of the fight against cancer, and to raise money through its partner Viessmann, which will donate 50,000 Euros to the German Cancer Research Center and Austin Hatcher Foundation as part of the initiative.

Manthey also welcomes Mathieu Jaminet into the fold for the event. The 2025 IMSA and 2022 IMSA GTD Pro title-winning Frenchman is standing in for Ricardo Feller and will race in the No. 911 in GTD Pro with Klaus Bachler and Thomas Preining.