Cameron: AO by TF “Much More Prepared” for Title Defense

Dane Cameron says that AO by TF “feels much more prepared” as the team looks to defend their European Le Mans Series LMP2 Pro-Am class title.

The American shares the team’s No. 99 Oreca 07 Gibson with PJ Hyett in both the ELMS and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, with the pair being joined by Louis Deletraz in the European series.

Speaking with Sportscar365 at the opening round in Barcelona this weekend, Cameron said: “We have everything that we need to do it again. Last year we had all the pieces in place, but it was all a new championship for us, the intricacies of it were unknown.

“Obviously we had the huge benefit to have Louis and the backing of TF Sport. [They’re] well experienced in the championship to guide us through those unknowns and I think that was the difference-maker last year.

“The championship looks even more competitive than last year. A few more cars again and some quite strong lineups across Pro-Am.

“What happened last year was, while amazing and a season we can always be very proud of, not necessarily anything we can use to our advantage to do it again this year.

“Everyone starts from scratch here.”

Cameron said that he felt he and FIA Bronze-rated driver Hyett “have a much better handle” on transitioning between the Goodyear tires in ELMS and the Michelin tires used by LMP2 cars in WeatherTech Championship competition, and that competing in both series would be more “seamless” for them in their second ELMS campaign.

The 37-year-old added that there were things that the team can learn in ELMS which can be carried over to IMSA, and vice versa.

“It doesn’t always work,” he said. “The circuits are different, the style of circuits is different, the tire is very different.

“Every once in a while you find something that you like, whether it’s a small direction or just something you’ve never tried before, and you give it a go on the other side of the world.

“The continuity between the engineering group that’s still running us in both championships is also a big benefit.  So, even that small detail of just that working relationship is strengthened now after 18 months.”

“No Guarantee” of Back-to-Back Le Mans Class Victory

The AO by TF squad also took top honors in the LMP2 Pro-Am class at Le Mans in 2025, but Cameron said that, while the team’s past success “gives you a little bit of confidence” there’s “certainly no guarantee” that it will have the same sort of performance this year.

“I was very excited for it last year,” he said. “I thought with the combination of everything we had, it was certainly one I had circled that this could be a very good year and a very good opportunity for all of us. That turned out to be the case.

“If we can arrive with a similar level of speed that we had last year, then certainly we’ll be in the game. PJ is driving very well. He did an excellent job last year at Le Mans.

“I’m sure it’ll feel different going there having won the race. It’s a different kind of pressure.

“I can think of nothing better than to do two in a row there.”