Braun Switches to LMP2 With CrowdStrike by APR

Rolex 24 at Daytona and Motul Petit Le Mans winner Colin Braun will drive for LMP2 team CrowdStrike Racing by APR in the next IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season.

The 35-year-old American has been confirmed in the Algarve Pro Racing-prepared Oreca 07 Gibson alongside CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz for a full-season effort.

Braun returned to the WeatherTech Championship’s top category this year with Meyer Shank Racing and finished third in the drivers’ standings alongside Tom Blomqvist.

However, an announcement from MSR that it would exit GTP after the 2023 season left Braun to pursue other avenues to remain on the grid.

He will do so by continuing his long-standing partnership with Bronze-rated driver Kurtz, with whom he won the LMP2 Pro-Am class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year.

The pairing also won the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS Pro-Am title in a Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo run with support from Riley Motorsports.

“I can’t wait to get going with CrowdStrike Racing by APR in 2024 and make a run at the LMP2 championship alongside George,” said Braun.

“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!”

Braun is set for his first full season in an Oreca 07 Gibson since he finished second in the 2018 prototype standings alongside CORE autosport team owner Jon Bennett.

He also won the LMP2 class at Daytona in 2020 with DragonSpeed before two seasons with CORE in the LMP3 ranks that yielded a championship win and led to his promotion to an Acura GTP seat with MSR.

Braun, Kurtz and Malthe Jakobsen were recently confirmed as CrowdStrike Racing by APR’s drivers for the Asian Le Mans Series which begins at Sepang next month.

“As a team, 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,” said APR team principal Stewart Cox.

“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.”

Kurtz earned one of IMSA’s automatic invitations to next year’s Le Mans edition for winning the Jim Trueman Award.

As previously announced, his WeatherTech Championship co-driver from this year Ben Hanley has signed for United Autosports and will partner with Ben Keating.

“After the success of our first season together, the expectations are high for CrowdStrike Racing by APR in the IMSA LMP2 championship,” said Kurtz.

“It will be good to enter the new season with the experience and knowledge of having worked with the 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.”