CrowdStrike, the Official Internet and Cloud Security Provider of SRO America, gave its local supporters, along with great Canadian race fans, many reasons to cheer during the Blancpain GT World Challenge America weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
George Kurtz and Colin Braun teamed to drive the No. 04 CrowdStrike/AWS/Accel/DXDT Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the pair of 90-minute Blancpain GT World Challenge America races at the historic 2.5-mile, 10-turn circuit outside Toronto. The Victoria Day weekend drew thousands of Canadian fans, and CrowdStrike did its part to entertain.
It started Friday with GT qualifying for both Saturday’s and Sunday’s races. In the first qualifying session, Kurtz set the second-best time in the Pro-Am category to give the No. 04 CrowdStrike Mercedes-AMG its best starting position of the season for Race One.
Kurtz drove the first 42 minutes with a consistent pace and pitted from third place. The CrowdStrike/DXDT Mercedes-AMG re-emerged in the same position with Braun at the wheel for the final 48 minutes. He maintained that gap to ensure the second podium finish of the season for CrowdStrike Racing.
“It was a great weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for everyone at CrowdStrike,” Kurtz said. “The fans here are always great, as were our CrowdStrike staff and guests who joined us for the weekend. Qualifying second for Race One was a big thrill, as was reaching the podium with Colin again. It’s all great momentum for our season. A big thanks to team sponsors AWS, Accel, CeramicPro, SimCraft, SINET and Sparco for all their support this weekend and all season.”
Sunday’s 90-minute race was another smooth and measured drive for both Kurtz and Braun, who started from fifth in class. By the time Braun pitted for the mandatory driver change to Kurtz, the CrowdStrike Mercedes-AMG ran third. Kurtz rejoined the race in fourth place and drove the final 42 minutes without incident.
“Overall it was a solid weekend for the CrowdStrike team at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park,” Braun said. “George had a fantastic stint on Saturday and we were able to finish on the podium in third place! Sunday was a little more challenging for us. We finished just shy of the podium in fourth but learned a lot for the next race. Can’t thank CrowdStrike and the DXDT Racing guys enough for all they do to prepare great cars for us.”
Added Kurtz: “We saw a little bit different conditions Sunday and couldn’t replicate our podium finish. But it was great to see our DXDT Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3 teammates Ryan Dalziel and David Askew finish second in the Pro-Am category. Congratulations of them and everyone at DXDT Racing for their efforts.”
It was the first international event for CrowdStrike Racing this season, and the program’s presence on Victoria Day weekend sets the stage for CrowdStrike’s Motorsports Partnership with Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport during next month’s FORMULA 1 PIRELLI GRAND PRIX DU CANADA.
It will be the first North American race in CrowdStrike’s first year as the official cybersecurity partner for Mercedes-AMG Petronas Motorsport.
The Blancpain GT World Challenge America next competes at Sonoma Raceway from June 7-9. Race One is set for 2:10 p.m. PT on Saturday, June 8 with Race Two at 11:15 a.m. PT on Sunday, June 9. For more information, visit CrowdStrikeRacing.com.
About Me: Adam has been a race fan since the first time he went through the tunnel under the Daytona International Speedway almost 30 years ago. He has had the privilege of travelling to races all across the state of Florida (as well as one race in Ohio), watching nearly everything with a motor compete for fame and glory, as well as participating in various racing schools to get the feel of what racecar drivers go through every week. Adam has spent the last three years covering motorsports for Examiner.com., where he had the opportunity to see the racing world from behind the scenes as well as the grandstands. He invites everyone to follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Google Plus, and looks forward to sharing his enthusiasm for all things racing with the readers of SpeedwayDigest.com.Be sure to tune in for his weekly sports talk program, Thursday Night Thunder, where he discusses the latest in motorsports news with drivers, crew members, and fans. The show takes place every Thursday at 8:00 pm EST on the Speedway Digest Radio Network.
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