Rear tires are now fitted onto the front of the car, increasing the contact patch by 7%, indicating that the vehicle center of mass was more forward placed than its contemporaries.

The ARX-02a were campaigned by two teams, de Ferran Motorsport (Gil de Ferran, Simon Pagenaud and Scott Dixon) and Highcroft Racing (David Brabham, Scott Sharp and Dario Franchitti), and made its competition debut at the 2009 12 Hours of Sebring.

Scott Dixon put the de Ferran entry on pole position at Sebring ahead of all the diesels of Audi and Peugeot due to slippery but dry track conditions.

Scott Sharp crashed heavily at Petit Le Mans and spend the next 24 hours rebuilding the car with assistance from de Ferran.

At the final race at Laguna Seca, Gil de Ferran won a hard-fought battle with the Fernandez ARX-01.