CrowdStrike Racing shows strength but knocked down to sixth in bruising IMSA Road America clash

CrowdStrike Racing by APR showed strength from the outset of the 2025 IMSA Motul SportsCar Grand Prix (1-3 August), but low blows late in the Road America “barfight” left it bruised in a disappointing sixth position.
The Portugal-flagged team featured inside the top four in Practice 1 and topped the Practice 2 leaderboard with drivers George Kurtz and Malthe Jakobsen, before the former placed second on the LMP2 grid.

Kurtz then capitalised on his front-row start by retaining second position on the blast to Turn 1, where an attempt by the #22 United Autosports USA to sweep around the outside of the #04 ORECA 07-Gibson led to incidental contact and an early Full Course Yellow (FCY).

The order at the very top of LMP2 remained relatively static after a second neutralisation presented teams from all four classes with a chance to carry out early pit stops cheaply.

All but one LMP2 car bailed for pit road, and a quick turnaround by CrowdStrike Racing ensured Kurtz was P3 and still in the wheeltracks of the pole-sitting #99 AO Racing for the remainder of his race run.

A third FCY fell neatly just as Bronze drivers’ minimum stint-time elapsed, so CrowdStrike Racing installed Denmark’s Jakobsen in the #04 prototype at the first available opportunity.

The duel for the LMP2 victory raged on and the gaps fluctuated ceaselessly as lapped traffic frustrated Jakobsen’s efforts to slay the #99 machine, affectionately nicknamed “Spike” with its purple dragon livery.

However, CrowdStrike Racing dropped to P4 in the final sequence of stops, which were conducted under a fifth FCY that was lifted with a little less than 40 minutes on the clock.

The team brimmed the #04 prototype’s tank in a well-drilled splash-and-dash that was marginally longer than some of the opposition, but the pace was relatively slow with many teams forced to save fuel and CrowdStrike Racing gave Jakobsen the green light to push on after the third-placed #74 Riley.

Clean overtakes on the four-mile, 14-turn circuit were at a premium and there were some significant shifts in the running order when Jakobsen was pushed wide in a last-ditch move at Turn 5.

The Danish pro recovered to the circuit with damage, but the opposition’s uncompromising defence had already opened the door to the #18 Era Motorsport and #2 United Autosports USA, and CrowdStrike Racing was subsequently resigned to a disappointing P6 result at Road America.

George Kurtz (#04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “I’m really happy with my performance in the IMSA Motul SportsCar Grand Prix weekend, as it was pleasing to qualify second and then have the pace to hold onto P2 in the race. As you’d expect, I’m disappointed with the end result – CrowdStrike Racing by APR once again gave us a very fast car and we should have been on the podium.”

Malthe Jakobsen (#04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “A lot of preparation in the weeks leading up to the IMSA Motul SportsCar Grand Prix paid off when George (Kurtz) secured second place on the grid and delivered an impressive race performance to hand the car to me in P2. From there, it was just a matter of keeping the car in front and then fighting for the victory at the end, but it didn’t work out that well for us.

 “A Full Course Yellow hit and CrowdStrike Racing chose to make a quick pit stop for fuel. We dropped to fourth place and I was overtaken once the race restarted. On the last lap, I took the chance to get back into P4, but it ended in a crash where we both went off the track. It wasn’t pretty to watch. I crossed the finish line with a really damaged car in sixth. The racing was really hard and I probably could have had my elbows out even more, but I chose to look after the car and be careful. It’s a shame that the team didn’t get a good result after a great effort to fight for the victory.”

Algarve Pro Racing Team Principal, Stewart Cox, said: “We had the pace for a podium at Road America, as we have in every IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race this season. I have to say, George (Kurtz) did a mega job throughout the weekend, and I’m over the moon with both drivers’ pace. We just need to learn how to box properly in IMSA.

“We were in the lead battle for much of the Motul SportsCar Grand Prix but lost track position while taking on fuel during the fifth and final Full Course Yellow. We were at a standstill for just one second longer than those around us but, having brimmed our tank in a perfectly executed pit stop, we knew we were good to push on while others saved fuel, and we had around 1.5s of pace in hand.”

Cox continued: “Malthe (Jakobsen) was able to attack the #74 Riley for third from the get-go, but the racing was pretty dirty across the board and he was run out wide every time he tried to pass, losing track position. IMSA racing is a barfight compared to what we’re used to in Europe and Asia, but we can’t bring our rules to their trainset. It wasn’t a nice race with so many cars hitting each other, but that’s how you have to behave to get anywhere. There’s no need to leave room for your competitors in IMSA.”