Dane Cameron – 5 Time IMSA Champion
Dane Cameron – 5 time IMSA Champ
By Eddie LePine and Jack Webster. Photos by Jack Webster
We had the opportunity to sit down with Dane Cameron at Motul Petit Le Mans before the final IMSA race of the season, just before he sewed up his latest IMSA Championship – this time in the LMP2 Class with AO Racing.
Just a year ago, Dane was crowned GTP Champion – winning the top class in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, driving a Porsche 963 for Porsche Penske Racing. Despite his success in leading the team and Porsche to the title, Cameron was not offered a contract to continue with Team Penske for 2025. Most observers were somewhat shocked (including us), for 2024 was Dane’s second championship driving for Penske (the first being with Acura in 2019).
Not to worry, however, as Dane Cameron landed on his feet and perhaps had something to prove in 2025.
Looking for other opportunities, and perhaps for a breather from the high-tension world of being a factory driver for Roger Penske, Cameron got hooked up with PJ Hyett and AO Racing to pilot the team’s very popular “Spike” liveried ORECA 07 Gibson in the LMP2 class.
“But jumping in and driving is pretty easy. I felt pretty comfortable right away”
- Dane Cameron
It turned out to be a very smart move, as PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron wrapped up the LMP2 Driver’s Championship at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta at the conclusion of Motul Petit Le Mans, where they combined to finish 6th in LMP2. Their nearest competitor was Steven Thomas of TDS Racing, who won at Petit to finish 2nd in the Championship and with that finish vaulted ahead of Daniel Goldberg (of United Autosports), who, going into Petit Le Mans, had the only real opportunity to overtake the AO Racing duo for the championship. It was a nailbiter until near the end, when Goldburg’s United Autosports entry, which was leading at the time, suffered a mechanical failure and a DNF.
So how was the transition from the Penske Porsche program to a privateer operation like AO Racing? Dane: “It’s been fun to be here at AO. It’s different, you know, obviously to leave a massive works project like that (Porsche Penske) to a single car kind of private thing…. it’s also just nice to do something that’s quite simple. There’s no BOP here (in LMP2). You just drive the car and do your thing, which is kind of nice.
“You know, when I was on the backside of the Penske thing, LMP2 looked like a pretty good option. And I think that if you’re going to somewhere (in LMP2), it is important to have the best bronze driver you can have (PJ Hyett).”
How big of an adjustment was it, going from the Porsche 963 in 2024 to the ORECA LMP2 car in 2025? “It was pretty easy. I mean, the LMP2 is similar to the DPi kind of car. You know, this ORECA chassis is something I spent a lot of time with in its Acura form, so I was pretty used to all that kind of stuff. You’re always trying to find the intricacies of each individual car…so you are always trying to understand that. But jumping in and driving is pretty easy. I felt pretty comfortable right away.”
Dane, 37, who is from California, started racing in 2005. Quickly moving up through the ranks – winning championships in Formula Palmer Audi in 2006 and the Star Mazda Championship with JDC Motorsports in 2007, he went on to win his first IMSA Championship in GTD for Turner Motorsports in 2014. Then it was a Prototype Championship with Cadillac and Action Express Racing in 2016, the DPi Championship for Acura Team Penske in 2019, and then the GTP Championship for Porsche Penske Motorsport in 2024. The GTP Championship in 2024 was his 4th IMSA Championship – his LMP2 Championship with AO Racing in 2025 is now his 5th – and counting, for he shows no sign of slowing down.
Oh, and while busy winning that LMP2 Championship for AO Racing in the IMSA WeatherTech Championship, he and the AO team found time to go to France, where they proceeded to win the LMP2 Pro-Am Class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
All in all, an outstanding season, and career so far, for Dane Cameron. As he said after winning the Championship at Petit Le Mans: “Pretty Amazing. Obviously, this is the goal when you start the year. I believed in the project and the potential that was there. It just needed a little glue to hold everything together and elevate things a little more. I’m grateful to PJ and Gunnar (AO Racing Team Principal Gunnar Jeanette) that they had the trust in me to be the guy to get them there.”
With the current chemistry of the AO Racing team, with Gunnar Jeanette at the helm and PJ Hyett and Dane Cameron handling the driving duties in LMP2, the sky seems to be the limit for IMSA’s most fan friendly and popular team. With 2024 GTD-PRO Champion “Rexy” and 2025 LMP2 Champion “Spike”, what more could you ask for?
Perhaps a GTP entry? Stay tuned.
See you at the races.
