CrowdStrike Racing by APR delivers back-to-back global victories

CrowdStrike Racing by APR backed up its momentous Rolex 24 at Daytona triumph with consecutive victories in the Asian Le Mans Series (ALMS) 4 Hours of Dubai (31 January-1 February), heading an historic and unprecedented one-two-three finish for the Algarve Pro Racing team on Sunday.

The maximum scores at the mid-point of the 2025-26 season have lifted CrowdStrike Racing, George Kurtz, Malthe Jakobsen and Louis Delétraz to joint first in the ALMS LMP2 Teams and Drivers standings with 50 points still available in the two remaining races in Abu Dhabi.
CrowdStrike Racing delivers championship-critical ALMS victory

CrowdStrike’s Kurtz set a best qualifying time of 1m49.333s to place the #4 ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2 fifth on the Race 1 starting grid but was an early mover on the first racing laps of Dubai Autodrome.

The American Am snatched fourth from the #88 Proton Competition in the opening exchanges and then homed in on the top three, showing intent by ducking and diving into braking zones.

A better run through traffic on the back straight provided Kurtz with an opportunity to show his nose to the third-placed #49 High Class Racing, which closed the door as the pair dropped their anchors for Turn 10.

The battle was then taken into pit lane and, while High Class short-fuelled to gain track position, CrowdStrike Racing held station in fourth and put Kurtz within striking distance of the podium contenders.

The team switched its Rolex 24 at Daytona winners during a timely second-hour Full Course Yellow (FCY), Kurtz giving way to Jakobsen, who judged the Safety Car restart to perfection, gliding around the outside of the third-placed #49 machine at Turn 1.

After snatching P2 from the #20 Algarve Pro Racing entry, Denmark’s Jakobsen hunted down the race-leading #5 United Autosports, relentlessly cranking up the pressure and forcing his rival to take big risks in traffic.

Jakobsen switched tact and bided his time with more of a focus on tyre-management, but he spotted his chance to grab the initiative when the #5 car got bottled up between Turns 11 and 12 on lap 56.

Frustratingly, CrowdStrike Racing was severely compromised by a mid-race neutralization, tumbling out of the top ten because, unlike many of its rivals, it had been unable to box before the pit lane closed.

An emergency service preceded a driver-change with the Safety Car still on-track, and a punchy restart marked the beginning of a spirited performance from Delétraz.

The experienced Swiss clawed his way back into podium contention and an inspired decision by CrowdStrike Racing to fit new tyres to the #4 ORECA during a Virtual Safety Car (VSC) pit stop gave him all the grip and confidence he needed to surge forward from third.

Delétraz inherited P2 from the #20 Algarve Pro as the field accelerated up to full racing speed following the VSC, before going wheel-to-wheel with the rival #64 car of CrowdStrike Racing’s Rolex 24 winner Alex Quinn on the start/finish straight.

British ace Quinn just about left an ORECA’s width while squeezing his opponent in a hard but fair defence of the lead, Delétraz stubbornly keeping his foot to the floor to complete a spectacular overtake that ultimately locked in a championship-critical ALMS victory.

CrowdStrike Racing consolidates bid for second ALMS title with back-to-back wins

The 2025-26 ALMS entered its second half on Sunday (1 February) and CrowdStrike Racing faced more of an uphill battle from eighth on the Race 2 grid.

A place was given up in a cautious start, therefore Kurtz ran ninth after a trio of early neutralizations.

However, the American gathered momentum and set personal best lap times to breach the top six towards the end of his hour-long stint.

Jakobsen once again took over the controls during the middle phase of the 240-minute race and the Team Peugeot Hypercar driver ascended the leaderboard to join the race-leading #20 and #25 cars in an APR one-two-three.

A Safety Car restart shook up the order, as Jakobsen kept a watching brief while the APR duo went toe-to-toe into Turn 1, to then snatch the initiative from both further around the 3.35-mile lap.

A repeat overtake on the #25 was required after the next round of stops, and Jakobsen then used a tire advantage to close down the #3 DKR and hold back APR stablemate Enzo Trulli, who stubbornly clung on to his coattails during a tire-management phase.

CrowdStrike Racing replicated Saturday’s winning strategy by sending Delétraz out on aging tires, before fitting fresh rubber for a big push to the finish.

In a critical moment for the championship, Delétraz took advantage of a slight fumble from the #47 Cetilar Racing car to snatch a position with a surprise switchback as the pair braked for the first corner.

However, a second consecutive ALMS victory was ultimately sealed when Delétraz passed the #20 and #30 cars with less than 20 minutes on the clock, leading an historic one-two-three result for APR (Algarve Pro Racing) that is unprecedented in Automobile Club de l’Ouest competitions.

George Kurtz (#4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “CrowdStrike Racing by APR once again delivered an amazing race-winning car, and all credit to my teammates Malthe (Jakobsen) and Louis (Delétraz) because the passes they executed in both Asian Le Mans Series races at Dubai Autodrome were unbelievable. The level of competition in the ALMS is really fantastic so there are no easy passes, but we all contributed some important overtakes.

“We kept our heads when things didn’t go our way in Race 1 on Saturday. We didn’t start Race 2 where we wanted but did everything we could to finish where we deserved to be – on the top step of the podium. I couldn’t be prouder of the team and I’m excited to be in the championship hunt going to the season finale in Abu Dhabi.”

Malthe Jakobsen (#4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “It’s really nice to see CrowdStrike Racing by APR on the top step of the podium in both Asian Le Mans Series races at Dubai Autodrome after such a momentous victory at the Rolex 24 at Daytona. I have to thank George (Kurtz), Louis (Delétraz) and the entire team for their efforts and I’m delighted that we’re in the title fight going forwards to Abu Dhabi.

“In Race 2, it was nice to take over the car from George in a position that was much further forward than where he started. There were a few good battles out there, but I still had to manage my tires so that we could put our strategy together and save a fresh set for the end. I was careful and it’s really pleasing it worked out so that we could do the double in Dubai.”

Louis Delétraz (#4 CrowdStrike Racing by APR ORECA 07-Gibson LMP2): “Two wins from two races makes the Asian Le Mans Series 4 Hours of Dubai a perfect weekend and it feels awesome. We’re super happy and it’s good for our championship aspirations. A big thanks to CrowdStrike Racing by APR, George (Kurtz) and Malthe (Jakobsen) because there were no mistakes and we were fast from start-to-finish. There were plenty of on-track battles and the wins certainly weren’t given to us, but we came out on top and that’s very satisfying.”