IMSA SportsCar GTD Pro Championship leader AO Racing has hired Julien Andlauer for the following round of Road America races, following the surprising departure of Seb Priaulx on Wednesday.
AO has already revealed that its green T-Rex-themed 911 GT3 – nicknamed ‘Rexy’ – might be replaced for the following two races by its pink sibling called ‘Roxy’.
Team boss Gunnar Jeannette said it was since the automotive was “tiring his little hands so we decided to give him some rest and relaxation”.
#80 AO Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R 992: PJ Hyett, Seb Priaulx in “Roxy”
Photo: Art Fleischmann
As for why Priaulx is parting ways with AO, the 23-year-old Briton “wants to focus on his growing commitments at Multimatic,” adding in a team statement: “Growing commitments and scheduling conflicts have forced this change earlier than expected.”
Priaulx and his co-driver Laurin Heinrich took further class victories at Laguna Seca and Detroit. Jeannette said of the move: “All of us at AO Racing wish Seb all the perfect and are grateful for the time Multimatic has allowed him to spend with us.
“He was an important part of our team when we first brought Rexy to life, and we’re proud to say that our early successes were with him.”
#5 Porsche 963 Proton Competition: Gianmaria Bruni, Alessio Picariello, Julien Andlauer
Photo: Art Fleischmann
The 25-year-old Porsche-contracted Andlauer, who previously competed on this yr’s IMSA series within the Proton Competition 963 hypercar on the 12 Hours of Sebring, will race alongside season-long driver Heinrich starting next week at Road America.
“I’m incredibly excited to be returning to IMSA and joining the AO Racing Team, which has enjoyed great success to date,” said Andlauer. “I’m really looking forward to jumping within the automotive and giving it my all to provide the team a likelihood at a championship.
“I don't know Road America yet, but it looks like an amazing track and I hope it suits our beautiful Roxy. I'll be fighting hard and I can't wait to be there and work with the whole team.”
Andlauer rose to fame by winning the 2018 Le Mans 24 Hours within the GTE Am class in a Dempsey-Proton 911 RSR with Matt Campbell and Christian Ried. This yr he races full-time in a Proton 963 within the World Endurance Championship.
Jeannette added of the previous French and German Carrera Cup champion, who previously raced the 911 in IMSA with WeatherTech Racing and Riley: “We are thrilled to welcome Julien to AO Racing for Road America. We have raced him in numerous championships around the world and we can’t wait to see what he can do with the Roxy at our home race.”
Heinrich and Priaulx lead the championship on 1955 points, due to 4 podium finishes this season, ahead of Ross Gunn of Heart of Racing Aston Martin who scored 1857 points.
