The Duo Raced Together in LMP3 in 2021 and ’22, and Won This Year at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – They’ve been a winning combination before so George Kurtz and Colin Braun are reuniting in 2024 to drive the No. 04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA LMP2 07 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the full Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) season.
Kurtz and Braun have co-driven across multiple sports car series, including the 2021 and ’22 WeatherTech Championship seasons when they shared a CORE autosport Le Mans Prototype 3. They also teamed with James Allen this year to win the LMP2 Pro-Am class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in an Algarve Pro Racing (APR) entry.
Kurtz finished second in the WeatherTech Championship LMP2 standings this season with co-driver Ben Hanley, taking LMP2 wins at the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen and the Motul Petit Le Mans, in addition to winning the Jim Trueman Bronze Cup and the accompanying automatic invitation to the 2024 24 Hours of Le Mans. Braun, meanwhile, was a three-time winner for Meyer Shank Racing with Curb-Agajanian in the 2023 Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class, pushing his career victory total to 25.
The CrowdStrike team has set the primary goal of winning the season championship and earning a second consecutive Jim Trueman Bronze Cup for Kurtz as the top Bronze-rated LMP2 driver, which includes an invitation to drive at Le Mans in the following year.
“After the success of our first season together, the expectations are high for CrowdStrike Racing by APR in the IMSA LMP2 championship,” Kurtz said. “It will be good to enter the new season with the experience and knowledge of having worked with the (APR) team in IMSA and at Le Mans. I’m excited about Colin joining the team. His experience with prototypes and our history and success together make him a natural fit. I can’t wait to get the season started at Daytona.”
Braun is a three-time IMSA champion who brings a wealth of experience from a sports car career that began in 2005. He has won at least one race in 10 of the past 12 seasons.
“I can’t wait to get going with CrowdStrike Racing by APR in 2024 and make a run at the LMP2 championship alongside George,” Braun said. “The dedication and professionalism of CrowdStrike Racing is unmatched and I’m honored to share a seat with George, who did such a fantastic job in 2023. It sure looks like LMP2 is going to be stacked with tough competitors, but we are ready for the challenge. IMSA racing is really special, and I look forward to another season.”
Stewart Cox, APR team principal, said the team learned from where it fell short of the 2023 LMP2 championship, which will make it better in 2024. Kurtz, Hanley and the No. 04 ORECA did capture the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup title for the class and are aiming to repeat that achievement in ’24 as well.
“We’re pleased with how CrowdStrike Racing by APR’s 2023 campaign went, but we’re already pushing on with the intention for next season being to win the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship LMP2 titles,” Cox said. “We missed out on this year’s by only a few points and we know exactly why, so we will come back with a slightly amended approach that all the math and data says will put us in the best possible position to win the overall championship, and also defend the Michelin Endurance Cup.”
The 2024 WeatherTech Championship season opens with the Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 27-28.