{"id":83975,"date":"2026-09-03T10:25:21","date_gmt":"2026-09-03T10:25:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/83975\/"},"modified":"2026-09-03T10:25:21","modified_gmt":"2026-09-03T10:25:21","slug":"roxy-vs-grello-a-thrilling-battle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/83975\/","title":{"rendered":"Roxy vs. Grello: a thrilling battle"},"content":{"rendered":"

At a glance<\/p>\n

\tSebring, March 2026: the two most famous Porsche 911 GT3 R in the world meet for the first time with all-professional line-ups in IMSA’s GTD Pro class \u2013 AO Racing’s pink Roxy against Manthey’s yellow-green Grello.<\/p>\n

Manthey wins the twelve-hour classic in Florida by seconds.<\/p>\n

How two Porsche customer teams reached the top by entirely different routes: the newcomer with the dinosaur livery and the traditional squad with 30 years of experience. A Christophorus retrospective.<\/p>\n

Roxy bares her teeth, but Grello is not impressed. It\u2019s dark in Sebring. The 12-hour race at the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship on the historic banked track in Florida is a difficult test for both driver and machine. And the second round of a duel that has fans captivated: AO Racing versus Manthey. This season, the two Porsche customer teams will face off for the first time on the track in the GTD Pro class. And between them, they have quite possibly the two most famous Porsche 911 GT3 R cars in the world \u2013 the pink Roxy standing in for the dinosaur-green Rexy from AO Racing versus the yellow-and-green Grello from Manthey. The same race car model, but two Porsche customer teams based on very different approaches. They have met on the track before, including at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, but not yet with all-pro driver lineups like here at the IMSA. Fans have come to the race expecting to see a top-class battle.<\/p>\n

AO Racing \u2013 a success story born out of imagination<\/p>\n

With its race cars Rexy and Roxy, AO Racing is where German challenger Manthey wants to be in North America: in pole position with the fans. The car\u2019s unconventional dinosaur design and the team have taken the spectators\u2019 hearts by storm. Even the numerous factory teams can only watch on in amazement \u2013 no other team has as many fans coming to their IMSA paddock, and nowhere else are there such long lines at merchandise stands and autograph sessions. People of all ages join the motorsport parties with the inflatable dinosaur figures.\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n \"Dinosaur
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Creative design: AO Racing has created hype around its race car with its dinosaur mascot. <\/p>\n

The hugely successful idea actually came about by chance. AO Racing, founded by Phillip Jeffrey (P. J.) Hyett and Gunnar Jeannette, has quite a short history. IT entrepreneur Hyett from just outside Chicago and racing driver Jeannette from Florida first met in 2022 at a Porsche Track Days event. \u201cP. J. would come flying through each corner, drifting around, in his 911 R,\u201d Jeannette laughs. \u201cIt was clear he didn\u2019t have much experience with race cars, but he showed great control over the car and had a lot of natural talent.\u201d Shortly after, Hyett asked Jeannette for some travel tips before taking a family trip to the 24 Hours of Le Mans. \u201cI asked him whether he\u2019d prefer to just watch or if he\u2019d like to take part in a race.\u201d His answer was emphatic, and his performances in the Porsche Sprint Challenge were impressive. In his very first race, P. J. made the top 10 of his group, which was made up of 40 cars.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This experience ignited his passion. Hyett then stepped up to a 911 RSR, and competing together with Jeannette at the FIA World Endurance Championship season finale in Bahrain, the pair made the podium. \u201cP. J. then had the idea of setting up his own racing team \u2013 something I initially tried to talk him out of,\u201d Jeannette recalls, laughing. \u201cFortunately, I didn\u2019t succeed.\u201d The two Americans founded AO Racing at the end of 2022. Ahead of the first race in Daytona, Hyett asked his children, then aged three and five, what type of design he should put on his helmet. His son suggested a dinosaur, and his daughter a unicorn. Both wishes came true. \u201cAfter Daytona, we sat down and discussed the car design for Sebring. Then P. J. turned and said: \u2018Why don\u2019t we just turn the car into a dinosaur?\u2019 I loved the idea!\u201d<\/p>\n


\n \"Gunnar
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Team principals: In 2022, Gunnar Jeannette (above) founded the AO Racing team with Phillip Jeffrey Hyett.<\/p>\n

It worked out perfectly. At the next race in Sebring, spectators got their first glimpse of Rexy\u2019s distinctive front design with its white fangs bared. The race car, which looked like something straight out of a Marvel comic, received a great response. AO has since fully adopted this design. The theme is also followed in the drivers\u2019 suits and helmets, the mechanics\u2019 overalls, and the team\u2019s tent furnishings. The car has now taken on a character of its own, something that Hyett and Jeannette continue to build on with obvious pleasure. Following a rear-impact collision, Rexy was fitted with braces for its next race. After claiming the title victory in IMSA 2024, a gold tooth was added to the green 911. And in the season finale at Road Atlanta, held close to Halloween, the entire team and the car itself were kitted out in special black-and-white skeleton guise. In 2025, Gunnar Jeannette even added some dinosaur elements to his personal 911 GT3 RS (992.1) through the Porsche Sonderwunsch program.<\/p>\n

Rexy has become a global brand. The merchandising program includes everything from T-shirts and model cars to soft toys. It\u2019s even on the shelves in the form of a LEGO\u00ae Technic set. The team principal is delighted, though he does add: \u201cCompetition is still our number-one priority.\u201d And the team has been very successful in competition. In 2024, two years after the team was founded, AO Racing won the IMSA Championship in the GTD Pro team standings. Former Porsche Junior and current factory driver Laurin Heinrich won the driver\u2019s title for AO, taking the crown home to Germany.\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n \"LEGO\u00ae
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Racing driver Alessio Picariello signs a LEGO\u00ae Technic set of Rexy.<\/p>\n

Rexy now has a sister: Roxy, the pink model. \u201cWe wanted to create a second character, so we came up with the idea of a girl dinosaur for P. J.\u2019s daughter\u2019s birthday,\u201d Gunnar Jeannette reveals. \u201cWe\u2019re going to use her in two races per season.\u201d She made her endurance debut in Sebring in the hands of Nick Tandy, Harry King, and Alessio Picariello. \u201cWe\u2019re also sending her to Long Beach. Roxy\u2019s going to Hollywood!\u201d<\/p>\n


\n \"Porsche
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Premiere: In Sebring ging erstmals Roxy an den Start \u2013 das Schwestermodell vom gr\u00fcnen Rexy.<\/p>\n

Manthey \u2013 a business model based on perfection<\/p>\n

While Rexy and Roxy have made their name in North America, Grello \u2013 with its yellow-and-green neon design \u2013 has built up a cult following on the Nordschleife, throughout Germany, and beyond. It embodies the philosophy of the Manthey Porsche customer team like no other race car: high speeds and competing at the very highest level. \u201cWe\u2019ve set a very high bar for ourselves,\u201d says managing director and team principal Nicolas Raeder, who runs Manthey together with his brother Martin. \u201cWherever Grello goes, he must be in the mix to win.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWherever Grello goes, he must be in the mix to win.\u201d
\n Nicolas Raeder<\/p>\n

The racing team from Germany\u2019s Eifel region, originally founded by motorsports legend Olaf Manthey, celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this year. Since it was taken over by the Raeder brothers and Porsche acquired a stake in 2013, the team has grown into a company with four different divisions: Racing, Road Cars, Race Cars, and Experience. The company has gone from employing 40 people to over 350. From the outset, Manthey has been associated with the Nordschleife, the N\u00fcrburgring Langstrecken-Serie (NLS), and the N\u00fcrburgring 24 Hours race. \u201cWe were working at a very professional level right from the beginning,\u201d says Raeder.\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n \"Porsche
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Siegerfahrzeug: Beim zweiten IMSA-Einsatz holte sich der Grello vom Team Manthey den ersten Sieg.<\/p>\n

Alongside various Porsche factory race entries, including in the FIA World Endurance Championship, Grello was created in 2016. Once the design was created, the name quickly followed \u2013 a combination of the words \u201cgreen\u201d and \u201cyellow\u201d. \u201cI used to have a bike that color back in the nineties,\u201d Nicolas Raeder explains. Today, there are onesies available in the Grello design; fans want to adopt the same style for their own cars; and children are sending hand-drawn pictures to Grello\u2019s home in Meuspath, close to N\u00fcrburgring. Ever since joining the DTM as a customer sports team and winning titles in 2023 and 2025, Grello has also become a household name beyond the Eifel region.<\/p>\n

Today, customers from all over the world line up to sit behind the wheel with Manthey in the FIA World Endurance Championship. In 2024 and 2025, the German team won the LMGT3 class at Le Mans, where professionals and amateurs share the cars, and also secured both the team and drivers\u2019 titles at the end of the season. \u201cWe now receive so many enquiries we\u2019re simply not able to respond to them all,\u201d says Nicolas Raeder. The market has continued to evolve, as customers want to experience this level of professionalism and race with Manthey. This season, the team entered the Asian Le Mans Series, the DTM, the IMSA Championship, the NLS, the FIA WEC, and the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC) \u2013 together with the other business units, a total of over 150 events throughout the year.\u00a0<\/p>\n


\n \"Nicolas
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Team principals: Brothers Nicolas and Martin Raeder took over the Manthey racing team in 2013.<\/p>\n

How does this work? The answer is always the same: It\u2019s the people who make the team what it is. Whether it\u2019s the company founder Olaf Manthey, who continues to provide valuable insights as an observer, or the team on the track. \u201cWe give everybody on our team the chance to keep reinventing themselves,\u201d explains Martin Raeder. \u201cOur engineers sit down and come up with new ideas all the time. They have a lot of freedom and great passion for what they do.\u201d One innovation being developed is the \u201cTool chain\u201d software. This enables a wide range of vehicle data to be read and compared, helping to create an ideal damper setup, for example. Over the years, the team has also developed its own tire heating tents and a wheel measurement system that fits into a transport case, for example, and adapted these to its own needs. This led to the creation of the \u201cEquipment for Rennsport\u201d business unit.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Entering the IMSA Championship makes sense for multiple reasons. On the one hand, it represents a new sporting challenge, while on the other hand, the North American market also offers great potential for the kits developed by Manthey for Porsche road sports cars.<\/p>\n


\n \"Porsche
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Both teams on the podium<\/p>\n

The two customer teams show that there is more than one road to success. Each team has written its own history. On the one side, there is Manthey, a team steeped in tradition, built upon decades of experience and insights. On the other is AO Racing, a fearless newcomer that has quickly made a name for itself and has already claimed the IMSA title.<\/p>\n


\n \"Porsche
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

In Sebring, the prestigious endurance race is now drawing to a close, with only fractions of a second separating Manthey and AO Racing. All of a sudden, headlights flash out of the slipstream as Grello pulls past Roxy, securing victory in the GTD Pro class \u2013 a tremendous result for the German team, their first win in their second IMSA race. \u201cThat was a typical Manthey win,\u201d says Klaus Bachler, part of the trio of drivers piloting Grello alongside Thomas Preining and Ricardo Feller. \u201cWe made no mistakes. We had a perfect strategy and a reliable car.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n \"Nick
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

On the podium: Nick Tandy, Harry King, and Alessio Picariello from second-placed AO Racing and Thomas Preining, Ricardo Feller, and Klaus Bachler from the victorious Manthey team (from left to right).<\/p>\n

The fans have plenty to look forward to, as Rexy and Roxy will be hungry for revenge. The rivalry between the world\u2019s most famous Porsche 911 GT3 R cars is only just beginning.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"\/<\/p>\n


\n \u201cRexy\u201d on the podium
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

At the Road Atlanta the two British drivers Harry King and Nick Tandy delivered a strong performance.<\/p>\n

Info<\/p>\n

Text first published in Christophorus Magazine, issue\u00a0419.<\/p>\n

Text:\u00a0Bianca Leppert,\u00a0Klaus-Achim Peitzmeier
Images:\u00a0J\u00fcrgen Tap,\u00a0Manthey<\/p>\n

Copyright: All images, videos and audio files published in this article are subject to copyright. Reproduction in whole or in part is not permitted without the written consent of Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG. Please contact\u00a0newsroom@porsche.com<\/a>\u00a0for further information.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"At a glance Sebring, March 2026: the two most famous Porsche 911 GT3 R in the world meet…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":83976,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21181],"tags":[8406],"class_list":["post-83975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-porsche","tag-porsche"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83975"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83975\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83976"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}