SUNNYVALE, Calif. – Weekends in SRO America are becoming more and more important for CrowdStrike Racing. The next-to-last event of the season takes place this weekend at Circuit of The Americas – the second visit of 2020 for CrowdStrike and its drivers to the ultra-modern circuit just outside Austin, Texas.
Momentum and championship points have been coming in large amounts for CrowdStrike in GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS and the TC America series. Three CrowdStrike Racing drivers in two CrowdStrike-sponsored entries are in the thick of their respective championships heading to back to COTA.
George Kurtz and Colin Braun share a one-point lead in the GT World Challenge Pro-Am Drivers Championship thanks to two victories and seven top-three finishes in its No. 04 CrowdStrike/AWS/DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
In TC America, Kevin Boehm is coming off a three-win weekend at Road America – including his first victory in the series – and is only three points out of the lead in the TCA Drivers Championship during his rookie season with his No. 9 CrowdStrike/AWS/DXDT Honda Performance Development Civic Si. In addition, CJ Moses is solidly entrenched in the top-five of the TCR Drivers Championship standings in the No. 04 CrowdStrike/AWS/DXDT HPD Civic Type R TCR.
In addition to its standing as a championship contender, CrowdStrike continues to display an innovative approach in its commitment to GT World Challenge America as Official Internet & Cloud Security Partner. CrowdStrike will continue to offer exclusive live streams of GT World Challenge America at crowdstrikeracing.com, as well as rewarding drivers in all SRO America series with the CrowdStrike Fastest Lap Award in each race.
GT WORLD CHALLENGE POWERED BY AWS
Kurtz and Braun are on quite a roll lately – two wins and two runner-up finishes in their last five races in the #04 CrowdStrike/AWS/DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. The duo won overall at Virginia International Raceway in July and recorded a second win at the last GT World Challenge America event at Road America.
The hot streak has the Kurtz/Braun pairing ahead by a single point in the Pro-Am Drivers standings with four races left – two at COTA and two at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October.
“The last three events with Colin have been very satisfying,” said Kurtz, a past SRO Drivers champion in 2017. “I feel like in nearly every situation, we have made the best of our performance and scored maximum points when we have been able. With a one-point lead going back to COTA, limiting mistakes will be critical not just to the outcome of races but in the championship as well. That will be our goal over the final two events of the season.”
In March, Kurtz and Braun debuted a new evolution of the Mercedes-AMG GT3, and they scored a pair of runner-up finishes on the weekend. With that experience and the momentum from Road America, Braun is confident of finishing one spot better this time around in Texas.
“Our first race of the year at COTA was a learning process in a lot of ways,” he said. “We knew the track from years past, of course. But we also continued to learn about the new Mercedes-AMG package at that event. Now we are coming back with familiarity not just of the circuit but the car, as well. We are feeling very confident. The unknown for this weekend will be the weather conditions and how high the ambient temperatures reach. The good news is that the Mercedes-AMG GT3 platform is proven and drives well in pretty much any condition.”
BEYOND THE TRACK
Both Circuit of The Americas and the season-finale weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will feature full live streams of the two 90-minute GT World Challenge America Powered by AWS races.
With a focus on CrowdStrike's Mercedes-AMG, play-by-play will be provided, as will technical insight by both Moses and Boehm using advanced data display using P1Software and tools from Amazon to give fans the most complete analysis of GT World Challenge competition.
In addition, CrowdStrike continues its support of SRO America and recognizing its competitors. The CrowdStrike Fastest Lap award is presented at the end of each race for GT World Challenge America, Pirelli GT4 America Sprint and SprintX, and TC America. At season’s end, the driver with the greatest number of fastest race laps will receive a year-end reward package from CrowdStrike.
The COTA weekend also is another opportunity for CrowdStrike to partner with Operation Motorsport in placing retired or injured service members within teams during the weekend. It is one of many ways CrowdStrike supports and lifts up those who have sacrificed by their military service.
A military veteran from Operation Motorsport – Staff Sgt. William Babineau (Ret.) – will join Kevin Boehm’s No. 9 CrowdStrike/AWS/DXDT HPD Civic Si team for another weekend of competition. Staff Sgt. Babineau was part of Boehm’s triple-win weekend at Road America.
He is one of the many veterans whom Operation Motorsport has helped transition into new careers following their military service. Operation Motorsport is a veteran-led and operated, not-for-profit (US 501(c)(3)) that serves American & Canadian service members and veterans, and was founded on the basis of three simple words: Excite, Engage and Empower.
The premise is to engage ill and injured service members and veterans affected by military service, through motorsport activities and opportunities to aid in their recovery and rehabilitation. Operation Motorsport provides a chance for veterans to use their skill sets in a variety of areas including paddock operations, car and tire prep, marketing, social media and other key areas that are part of a racing program.
The GT World Challenge Powered by AWS and TC America championships will return to action at Circuit of The Americas from Sept. 17-20. For more information on the series, visit the new crowdstrikeracing.com.