• First year for CrowdStrike as title sponsor of world’s premier GT3 race
  
• George Kurtz, Colin Braun, Felipe Fraga, Ian James teaming in CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3
• Kurtz, Braun coming off class victory at 24 Hours of Le Man

AUSTIN, Texas (June 29, 2023) – CrowdStrike Racing is ready to take on the world in its biggest event of the season. The CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa is the crown jewel of the SRO Motorsports global calendar. As title sponsor, CrowdStrike, the official internet and cloud security provider for SRO Motorsports’ global championships, will play a massive role in the  world’s premier GT3 race  both on and off the racetrack.

CrowdStrike Racing will be featured in a highly competitive, 10-car class for Pro-Am entries. Drivers George Kurtz and Colin Braun – recent winners of the LMP2 Pro-Am class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and full-season teammates in Fanatec GT World Challenge America – will lead the driving lineup in the No. 4 CrowdStrike Racing by Riley Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3. 

The pair will team with Felipe Fraga and Ian James in the CrowdStrike Mercedes-AMG to give the CrowdStrike Racing by Riley team one of the stronger Pro-Am lineups in the race. Kurtz’s victory last year in the Am class – also in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 –  provided him valuable front-running experience ahead of this year’s race.

Also part of the Pro-Am class is the No. 70 CrowdStrike Racing by Leipert Motorsport Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2 of Gerhard Watzinger - making his first start in the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa - alongside Brendon Leitch, Kerong Li and Jean-Francois Brunot. Although this is his first Spa 24 Hours, Watzinger is a veteran and winner of multiple 24-hour races in the Creventic 24H Series.

More than 70 GT3 cars will take part in this year’s CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, which is also part of SRO’s Intercontinental GT Challenge. 

A significant group of CrowdStrike employees, VIPs and guests will be among the huge crowds that will enjoy 24 hours of world-class GT3 racing. The cybersecurity company will hold a CXO Summit early in the event weekend where CrowdStrike executives will visit with guests to discuss trends and opportunities for cyber protection in a business-to-business environment. Shawn Henry, CrowdStrike Chief Security Officer, and Angelo Comazzetto, Senior Principal, Office of the CISO at AWS, are among the speakers that will address the CXO group at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa.

In addition, title sponsorship of the race ensures that CrowdStrike guests will enjoy premium-level hospitality and experiential activities at the track and surrounding the event.

CrowdStrike Racing by Riley competes at the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa from Thursday, June 29 through Sunday, July 2. Live coverage – including a streaming on-board of the No. 4 CrowdStrike Mercedes-AMG GT3 – plus timing & scoring will be available at CrowdStrike24HoursofSpa.com and SRO’s GT World YouTube channel.

For more information, visit CrowdStrikeRacing.com. Follow #CrowdStrikeRacing on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates.

George Kurtz, No. 4 CrowdStrike Mercedes-AMG GT3: “We are very excited to have CrowdStrike as the title sponsor of the most prominent event in the SRO Motorsport season. 

I am also excited for the opportunity to compete in one of the biggest GT3 races in the world. The tradition that surrounds this event, from the parade to the podium ceremony, make it such a memorable and unique experience. 

I feel really good about our team’s chances. We have built up a lot of momentum from the two wins at VIR in GT World Challenge America and our success at Le Mans. The addition of such accomplished drivers like Felipe and Ian will make us that much stronger. I’m looking forward to getting on the track and working toward the race.”

Colin Braun, No. 4 CrowdStrike Mercedes-AMG GT3: “This a cool event for myself, George and CrowdStrike, and I’m really looking forward to it. George and I have raced before at Spa a couple of years ago, and George won last year with SPS in the Am class. I think we have a lot of positive momentum heading into that. Having the Riley team from our U.S. SRO program is huge. There will be familiar faces, a familiar engineer, all the people we are used to. In a race like that, those little details matter. We’re excited to have that familiar group to go and carry on like we’ve done in the U.S. We have two strong co-drivers in Felipe and Ian. The chemistry of the whole group will have us going for big things.”

Felipe Fraga, No. 4 CrowdStrike Mercedes-AMG GT3: "I’m super happy to be joining CrowdStrike by Riley for this year's CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. I've been in this race five times and all of them in the Mercedes-AMG GT3. I simply love racing there and racing his car. Together with George, Colin and Ian, we have a great lineup and I’m sure we will have a good race. Testing went really well, and I can’t wait to start the weekend. I've won before with CrowdStrike at the 2022 Thunderhill 25 Hours so I hope we can repeat this and I can have two victories in two races with CrowdStrike!"

Ian James, No. 4 CrowdStrike Mercedes-AMG GT3: “I’m very excited to join the CrowdStrike by Riley effort for the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. I’ve been good friends with George for a long time, and this is a great opportunity to do a race together at one of the marquee races in the world. Felipe and Colin are world-class drivers, we had a great test a couple weeks ago in Belgium and the CrowdStrike Mercedes is well suited to Spa so confidence is high heading into the race.”

Gerhard Watzinger, No. 70 CrowdStrike Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2: “This is a great opportunity to compete in one of the world’s great races under the CrowdStrike Racing banner. I’ve been fortunate to race in many long-distance races and at tracks like Le Mans, Dubai, Sebring, Nurburgring, Barcelona and Spa. This will be extra special to be part of an event of this magnitude. The goal is to stay out of trouble and stay out of the pitlane as much as possible. If we can do that, we will have a good event.”