CrowdStrike Racing by APR Breaks Through at Daytona with Hard-Fought Rolex 24 Win

CrowdStrike Racing by APR delivered a long-awaited breakthrough victory in the 64th Rolex 24 at Daytona (24–25 January), one of the most famous and revered endurance races in the world.

With a focused, never-say-die performance across 24 hours, the USA-flagged team recovered from early adversity to finish on top of the LMP2 class, with drivers George Kurtz, Toby Sowery, Alex Quinn and Malthe Jakobsen earning Rolex Cosmograph Daytona winners’ watches.

The result closed a chapter of unfinished business for CrowdStrike Racing by APR after multiple near-misses in recent years, including a runner-up finish decided by just 0.016 seconds in 2023.
 

CrowdStrike Racing by APR Delivers a Breakthrough Win at Daytona

Confident it had a strong race car, CrowdStrike Racing spent much of the Roar Before the Rolex 24 (16–18 January) and free practice refining the No. 04 ORECA 07-Gibson’s short-run pace, while maintaining its class-leading consistency across long stints.

In a highly competitive LMP2 field where marginal gains can decide the outcome, drivers felt the team started the 64th edition of the Rolex 24 with its strongest overall package to date.

Responding to Early Adversity with Focus and Execution

CrowdStrike Racing’s prospects took a hit early in the race when the No. 04 car received rear-end contact from a spinning competitor as the prototype field came off Daytona International Speedway’s high banks and into Turn 1.

Left-rear suspension and bodywork damage was remedied in a rapid stop, but laps were lost to the LMP2 frontrunners during a second pass through pit road, before a ten-second penalty for an improperly served emergency service was leveled against the team. With more than 23 hours remaining, the focus shifted to recovery, and the fightback began as soon as a second Full Course Yellow (FCY) was lifted.

CrowdStrike Racing by APR’s Recovery Drive Takes Shape

The first task was to get back on terms with the main LMP2 field, and that was achieved when two laps were recovered during a brace of third-hour FCY pass-arounds.

CrowdStrike’s Kurtz completed an Ironman stint after 96 laps and 3h15m, stabilizing the race as the team worked back into contention, before INDYCAR driver Sowery surged from ninth to second with a series of decisive moves over just ten laps of the 3.56-mile Daytona course.

In fact, the Englishman had pace to match the class-leading No. 99 AO Racing entry during golden hour, as lap times quickened with the transition from day to night.

However, an early evening neutralization not only presented an opportunity to switch Sowery for Quinn but also brought CrowdStrike Racing directly into the fight for the lead.

British driver Quinn applied sustained pressure and stretched out an advantage just after the first tranche of 2026 Michelin Endurance Cup points were awarded at the six-hour mark.

Unsynchronized pit cycles later saw American Am Kurtz trade the lead with the No. 99 entry during his night run, until a rear-end collision from another LMP2 car multiple laps down caused him to spin at the International Horseshoe, forcing CrowdStrike Racing into another recovery effort when Jakobsen was introduced prior to midnight.

Strategy and Execution Win the Race

Fifth but still off the lead lap, CrowdStrike Racing returned to contention when dense fog compromised visibility enough for Race Control to implement a FCY lasting 6h33m, the longest in Rolex 24 history.

The prolonged neutralization reshaped the competitive order, allowing CrowdStrike Racing to gain a fuel advantage through strategy and position itself for a stronger restart.

Quinn was onboard at the green flag and immediately went on the offensive, charging from P5 to P1 and opening a gap to the opposition.

Although a drive-through for an alleged blocking offence dropped Quinn to seventh, CrowdStrike Racing methodically erased the deficit, demonstrating an ability to run longer than its rivals between fuel stops.

A podium challenge by the No. 343 Inter Europol Competition was thwarted and the second-placed No. 99 vaulted in pit lane, before Denmark’s Jakobsen took control at the front, pulling away from the race-leading No. 43 by seven seconds.

However, it was up to Quinn to finish, and the grip from single-stint tyres and efficient pit services balanced his fuel-saving efforts, allowing him to keep his pursuers at arm’s length and close out a long-awaited Rolex 24 victory for CrowdStrike Racing by APR.

George Kurtz (#04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “Overall, CrowdStrike Racing by APR did an amazing job to recover after getting caught up in an incident at Turn 1. We never gave up, we focused on executing and simply did our jobs, and to have the monkey off our backs is one of the greatest feelings ever. Winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona makes us look forward to the rest of the 2026 IMSA season.”

Toby Sowery (#04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “It’s great to finally get the monkey off our backs by winning the Rolex 24 at Daytona. This race win had eluded CrowdStrike Racing by APR for multiple years and it’s also my first win with the team in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, so for this to come together is a spectacular feeling.

“From being taken out and receiving some damage on lap one to fighting back to the top step of the podium is a real testament to our team, mindset and skills. It highlights how you have to always keep your head up and in the game. I couldn’t be more thankful to George (Kurtz), Alex (Quinn) and Malthe (Jakobsen), as well as Sam and Stewart Cox. It was a truly amazing team effort and it’s a special achievement.”

Alex Quinn (#04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “It really is a dream come true to win the Rolex 24 at Daytona and, for sure, it’s the biggest victory of my career to this point. I’m so happy to have joined CrowdStrike Racing by APR, knowing and feeling the heartbreak they have been through at Daytona in the past. To go and bring the car home on the top step is something I’m very proud of. The entire team and all three of my teammates, George (Kurtz), Toby Sowery) and Malthe (Jakobsen), were perfect all week long. It’s a dream start to 2026.”

Malthe Jakobsen (#04 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “The 2026 Rolex 24 at Daytona was an amazing race and this victory stands as the biggest and best of my career to date. I’m very happy for everybody at CrowdStrike Racing by APR, George (Kurtz), and especially Stewart and Sam (Cox). To share the car with George, Toby (Sowery) and Alex (Quinn) is something really nice and I think we had a strong team around us.

“I’m very pleased it finally worked out after so many attempts and it shows you do need a little bit of luck. It’s a special race to win and the Rolex watch is a super cool prize. It’s an experience I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Algarve Pro Racing Team Principal, Stewart Cox, said: “For me, it was more relief than a celebration because we have contested the Rolex 24 at Daytona so many times, led it and had the victory snatched away from us by milliseconds. We have always turned up at Daytona with a car that’s capable of winning and have come so close, but we aligned our ducks this year.

“It was tense at the end because Inter Europol Competition had two cars in contention for the win and put us under a huge amount of pressure by splitting their strategies, boxing one car earlier than the other. It meant that if we had boxed before their car on the same strategy and there was a FCY, they would have won. It put us in the lap of the gods, with them praying for a yellow so that they could leapfrog us. Thankfully, we made the right call.”

Cox continued: “I have to thank absolutely everybody for doing such a stunning job. All four of our drivers were fuel-saving for much of the race and Alex (Quinn) was the only one who was released to show our true pace as a warning shot to the competition – he was quickly reined in, though!

“The dense fog that rolled in during the middle of the night was bizarre and we had fun with some radio banter to keep the drivers awake while touring around behind the Safety Car for hour-after-hour. The race wasn’t without its challenges and, as I said, I felt an overwhelming sense of relief that we have finally taken P1 and won those iconic Rolex watches.”