Secure Racing: IT Security Team Holds on to Take Third Place in Epic Belgian Battle

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Secure Racing, the motorsport team powered by the IT security industry charged to its first podium place at the British GT Championship race at the Spa race circuit in Belgium this weekend.


In only their third race of the season, drivers Peter Erceg and Chris Holmes fought an epic battle to fend off the challenge of determined competitors for over an hour and grabbed third place in the closing laps of the race. A trophy after just two rounds of the championship demonstrates the potential of the team to win big by the end of the year.

Erceg and Holme’s result is even more impressive considering the Secure Racing Aston Martin is almost 200kg heavier than most of its competition, making it a tough job to match their speed over the course of the chase. Not only did they match it, on several occasions they bettered it and Secure Racing held fourth, third, second and first positions at various points during the hour long race.

Secure Racing was set up in April to provide IT security organisations the chance to demonstrate that information security has a role to play outside the office environment, in some of the most exciting areas of modern life. The Secure Racing team comprises individuals from across the industry and all major sponsors are Information Security companies. Everyone involved in the industry is invited to take part.
Each GT Championship stage must involve both drivers and a changeover during the race. Starting fourth on the grid, Holmes took the first stint powering the Aston to second by the time the pit change came along. The speed of the pit change gave Erceg the opportunity to go out in the lead and he took it. But the hot sun, the harsh track and heavy car took its toll on the tyres but with some tough scrambling at the front of the pack including a blown gearbox for the Ginetta holding second, Erceg managed to pull out all stops holding on for a well deserved podium finish in third place.

“This is a huge achievement and we are rightly proud of the hard work everyone put in leading up to this race”, says Mohan Koo, MD of team sponsor Dtex Systems. “We’re not just another team on the grid – we are a team on the podium challenging for first place. The Information Security industry doesn’t just have a motorsport team – it has a championship challenging team right from the start.”

“This circuit is something special and today we have used it to produce a special result,” says driver Chris Holmes. “Of course we all wanted to retain first place but this is only the second time we’ve raced this car, and our power to weight ratio as limited by homologation is a clear disadvantage. But even with this challenge, on the right day, on the right track, and with the right team behind the car, it’s unstoppable.”
But it was down to Erceg to have the last word. “This was epic. We worked hard all weekend to get to that podium and it paid off. We trained, and practiced, and practiced again. We’re a formidable team on the track now and that third place is well justified.”

Secure Racing
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