Sketchy Joins Porsche Dinosaur Legacy
Few teams in modern sports car racing have built a fan following quite like AO Racing. In only a handful of seasons competing in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the squad has transformed its dinosaur-themed Porsche 911 GT3 R entries into some of the most recognisable and commercially successful machines in endurance racing.
Now, the team has unveiled its latest creation: “Sketchy”, a striking throwback-inspired design introduced during the recent round at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. The white-based livery, covered in chaotic pencil-style scribbles, serves as a playful tribute to the original design process that eventually gave birth to the hugely popular “Rexy” character.
For team co-founder and manager Gunnar Jeannette, the project represented both a creative challenge and an opportunity to deepen the expanding mythology surrounding AO Racing’s growing cast of racing dinosaurs.
AO Racing Character Line-Up
| Character | Colour Scheme | Role / Identity | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rexy | Green dinosaur livery | Team flagship character | Full-time fan favourite |
| Roxy | Pink dinosaur livery | Sister car to Rexy | Active |
| Spike | Skeleton-inspired design | Special edition concept | Limited appearances |
| Sketchy | White sketch-style livery | Rexy “origin story” concept | One-off at Laguna Seca |
The idea emerged after IMSA announced that Laguna Seca would feature a special throwback livery theme. However, AO Racing faced an unusual problem: the team itself is still relatively new and lacks decades of historic liveries to revisit.
“With us only being around for a few years, we didn’t really have a heritage design to fall back on,” Jeannette explained. “So we started thinking creatively about what a throwback could mean for us.”
The answer became Sketchy — not necessarily the literal first draft of Rexy, but a character inspired by the artistic process behind the original concept. The design intentionally resembles a hand-drawn sketchbook illustration, complete with frantic black lines across the bodywork.
Ironically, producing what appears to be a deliberately rough aesthetic proved surprisingly complicated.
“As simple as scribbles may look, it actually took a huge amount of work to make them appear visually balanced on the car,” Jeannette said. “There was a lot of effort involved in getting the execution right.”
Yet for AO Racing, the visual design is only one part of a much larger strategy. The team has increasingly evolved beyond a conventional motorsport operation into something closer to a multimedia brand, complete with storytelling, merchandise, social media narratives and character-driven fan engagement.
“You can put a clever livery on a race car,” Jeannette noted, “but building a character with an evolving story is completely different.”
That broader narrative has become a major part of the team’s appeal. Rexy merchandise, ranging from plush toys to clothing collections, has become immensely popular among fans of all ages. According to Jeannette, some items sell out almost immediately after release.
Interestingly, none of this was part of a grand commercial plan when Rexy first appeared.
“I’d love to pretend we had this all mapped out from the beginning,” he admitted. “But the response from fans completely changed the scale of what this became.”
The overwhelming success of Rexy also created pressure surrounding the introduction of new characters. Jeannette openly acknowledged he was nervous about whether fans would embrace Sketchy in the same way.
“The first sketch of Rexy I ever showed my wife received a very blunt response,” he laughed. “She basically told me it looked terrible. Thankfully, I ignored that advice.”
The development of each character now requires substantial planning well beyond the racetrack itself. AO Racing coordinates themed liveries, digital content, merchandise launches and storytelling arcs throughout the season, all while continuing to operate competitive race programmes in North America and Europe.
“It takes an enormous amount of time,” Jeannette admitted. “We’re constantly thinking months ahead about future ideas and how each character fits into the broader story.”
For now, Sketchy appears destined to remain a one-off appearance. However, the overwhelmingly positive reaction from fans means a return has not been ruled out.
“At the moment, there are no plans for another outing this year,” Jeannette said. “But with how well people have received Sketchy, we’d absolutely love to find a reason to bring him back.”
Given AO Racing’s creativity and growing confidence in blending motorsport with entertainment branding, few would bet against another dinosaur-themed surprise appearing somewhere on the IMSA grid in the near future.
