SUNNYVALE, Calif. – CrowdStrike Racing has confirmed its motorsports program for SRO America competition, with an expanded effort planned for this year.
George Kurtz and Colin Braun will partner together in GT World Challenge America for the second straight year in their No. 04 CrowdStrike/AWS Mercedes-AMG GT3. They will drive together in the 13-round professional sports car championship with DXDT Racing beginning March 6-8 at Circuit of The Americas.
The Kurtz/Braun pairing acclimated themselves in their first season together as part of SRO America’s top championship with a fifth-place GT championship finish and two podium results in their Mercedes-AMG GT3 – runners-up at VIR and third at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
“I’m very excited to team again with Colin Braun in the 2020 GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS,” Kurtz said. “We learned a lot during the past year. We are both eager to compete again for race wins and championships together in the CrowdStrike/AWS Mercedes-AMG GT3. This stands to be the most notable season yet for CrowdStrike Racing with our involvement on the competition and commercial sides. As always, we strive to make a maximum impact for our team, our partners and our guests.”
The Mercedes-AMG GT3 has been updated this year to enhance its performance for customer teams. It weighs just over 2,800 pounds, features a six-speed sequential transmission with ABS and traction control, and is powered by a 6.3-liter V8 engine.
Kurtz begins his fourth season in the series formerly known as World Challenge. Kurtz is a past series champion, is a three-time class winner at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill and has experience with a wide array of manufacturers.
In Braun, CrowdStrike Racing returns one of America’s leading young sports car talents. Braun is coming off a second career victory at the prestigious Daytona 24 Hours in prototype competition, and he has finished on the podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in a GT car.
“I’m excited to be returning to CrowdStrike Racing in 2020,” Braun said. “George and I have great chemistry and I am looking forward to co-driving with him again. As a team, we learned a lot last year, and I think in our second year with DXDT and the Mercedes-AMG GT3 we will be in a great position to compete for wins and a championship especially with the update Mercedes brings to the car. We have an excellent team and I’m looking forward to getting the season started.”
New for this season is CrowdStrike Racing’s entry into TC America. The exciting addition is the No. 04 CrowdStrike/AWS Honda Civic Type R TCR for C.J. Moses. Moving over to DXDT brings the two programs into the same operation. Entering his second season of top-level road racing, Moses will contest a majority of the TC America season starting at Circuit of the Americas.
He already has gotten a taste of TCR action at the SRO Motorsports America Winter Invitational with two recent victories at Thermal Club in southern California. The Honda Civic Type R TCR features a sequential gearbox and a turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine.
The move to TCR and full-time competition is one for which Moses is well-prepared. He has been racing since 2005 with multiple Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) titles as both driver and crew chief; that experience bodes well for learning the ins and outs of the Honda Civic Type R.
“I’m really looking forward to the TC America season with the CrowdStrike/AWS Honda Civic Type R TCR,” Moses said. “Racing the Honda TCR car feels like coming home since I’ve driven Touring cars for most of my racing career. The car is a joy to drive and shows great potential for the season. This will be a great way to expand and showcase the CrowdStrike and AWS brands as leaders both on the racetrack and professionally with our hospitality and activation programs.”
He competed with CrowdStrike Racing in four events as part of the Pirelli GT4 America series last year with a pair of podium finishes, highlighted by second place at Virginia Int’l Raceway. He will make a return to GT4 competition with a special CrowdStrike/AWS Audi GT4 LMS entry fielded by GMG Racing, in the GT4 SprintX round at the Long Beach Grand Prix Powered by AWS.
Both CrowdStrike/AWS full-season racing entries will be fielded by Utah-based DXDT Racing, which enters the second year of a technical alliance with CrowdStrike Racing.
“I’m really looking forward to another season with CrowdStrike Racing, George Kurtz and Colin Braun,” said DXDT team principal David Askew. “George is coming off a great 2019 season and I know he’s ready to pick up where he left off. He’s been busy in the off-season running some of the international 24-hour races, basically keeping sharp and getting additional seat time in the Mercedes-AMG GT3. He and Colin are serious and determined racers, and this makes the team want to give them everything we have. I’m also looking forward to running the CrowdStrike/AWS Honda TCR. This is a new program for us and we are really excited to support CJ Moses in his first full season in TCR.”