HOME || NEWS || PHOTOS || ASTON MARTIN || TEAM || PARTNERS || MEMBERS || ABOUT || CONTACT

Latest News

Brave Performance from Secure Racing at Silverstone Finale

09 OCT 2011 - Secure Racing drove a brave performance in difficult conditions at the Avon Tyres British GT Championship series finale on October 8th. In a tense racing environment in which the Championship was still being contested, team driver Peter Erceg and special guest team-mate Tiff Needell drove a replacement race car to a creditable 7th place in class.

The race weekend began in difficult circumstances when a high speed crash on Friday practice effectively wrote off Secure Racing’s Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 race car for the weekend. However Aston Martin Racing offered to provide a replacement race car, and with financial support provided by team supporter Rapid 7, Secure Racing was able to qualify and take its place on the grid. Despite the superb efforts of the Barwell Motorsport team working until midnight to convert the replacement car to the drivers’ specifications, differences between the two cars’ set ups – including different suspension, no traction control and generally fewer options than the regular race car – resulted in a tough qualification session. But not to be undeterred the team still qualified 29th out of a field of 30, with a time of 2m 19.439 seconds.

On race day – as the green lights went up Peter Erceg made a solid start, keeping in touch with the leaders and gradually making up places. From the pit-lane Fifth Gear presenter Tiff Needell declared his team-mates performance as “Solid progress – Peter's laptimes are good, and he's getting even quicker”. Yet as the race progressed, it became apparent that the differences between the regular car and the spare were too great to push for a points finish.

Secure Racing Grabs First Podium Finish

12 JULY 2011 - IT Security Team Holds on to Take Third Place in Epic Belgian Battle

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 Grabs 5th At Inaugural Race

20 JUNE 2011 - RACE REPORT, BRANDS HATCH - IT security industry professionals gather to see first team success

Secure Racing, the motorsport team powered by the IT security industry, outperformed all expectations to grab fifth place in its first race at Brands Hatch on June 19th. Amongst a competitive starting grid and against some of the worst weather conditions known to man driver Peter Erceg and Chris Holmes kept the Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT4 nailed to the track to bring home a well deserved fifth place.

 Pressure was building from early on Sunday morning as the grandstands began to fill and the Secure Racing pit garage buzzed with more than 60 people, including leading professionals from companies such as PWC, Visa, Legal and General and Reuters, all battling to get their first glimpse of the car and drivers they had come to cheer on. Guests experienced a full day of VIP treatment exploring GT4 racing up close and personal. Tours of the car by Erceg and Holmes, a walkthrough of all the cars on the starting, perfect viewing from the Securing Racing hospitality suite, and the unveiling of a cipher challenge on the back of the Aston all made for a real occasion for Secure Racing’s first competitive drive.

 With torrential rain an hour before the start, Erceg knew he was going to have to work hard to keep the 1600kg Aston on the tarmac. And keep it nailed he did – through bright sunshine and yet more downpours Erceg kept position increasing his lap times at every stage of the first hour of racing. His best lap of the day – a 1.38.53 was simply outstanding given the hellish conditions thrown at him on track. And as the sun shone through the clouds Holmes took to the wheel and etched up increasingly faster times as the track dried and the Aston came good. Flying round the track Holmes chipped away at the leading Lotuses and KTMs ending up with a best time of 1.35.56 – matching the race leaders’ times consistently by the time the final lap came around. Holding strongly onto 6th place Holmes remembered the golden rule of endurance racing – to have a chance of finishing first, first you have to finish. Something race leader Phil Glew in the Lotus Evora clearly forgot as he speared off at the final corner pushing Secure Racing into 5th place as the chequered flag fell. 

“It was difficult conditions out there for sure,” said Erceg after the race. “But we kept the car on the island and that’s the main thing. A good finish in our first GT4 race of the season in our first competitive drive is fantastic so we’re all pretty pleased.”

 Holmes saw the first success as simply the start. “The aim of the weekend was to finish the race but by the closing stages we were right on the front runners and that is extremely promising. I know we can get faster and we have to look forward to the next round and see how we can get that pace going from lap one.”

 For more information about Secure Racing please contact richard.moss@secureracing.co.uk

Brands Hatch Cipher Challenge & Team Membership Programme Now Online

20th JUNE 2011 - Brands Hatch PwC cipher challenge has been released online, following it's reveal at Brands Hatch yesterday and a successful debut race in GT4 class.

Piece together the photos and decipher the code hidden within the car livery. Those who attended the Secure Racing debut at Brands Hatch got to see the cipher first, but online contestants are still in with an equally good chance of winning the challenge - anyone can enter and the winner will be drawn at random from the first 100 correct answers received. The lucky winner will get to jump in the Secure Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 to experience the exhilarating speed of getting around a circuit alongside a professional race driver. The winner will also get tickets to join the team at the Silverstone British GT Championship round and membership to the Secure Racing Aston Martin Members Club. Check out the cipher on our photos page.

Secure Racing Launches Team Membership Programme

20th JUNE 2011 - Individual members offered unique benefits including their name on the Secure Racing Aston Martin.

Secure Racing, the motorsport team powered by the IT security industry, has launched a team membership programme for individuals. For £100 anyone involved in the IT security profession, or interested in cyber security, can now become a formal part of the Secure Racing team and receive a raft of unique benefits including:

• Your name on the Secure Racing Aston Martin for the race season

• Entry into a prize draw prior to each race of the seasons for free tickets to that race

• A certificate of membership signed by our drivers along with a signed photo of the car

• Exclusive entry to our end of season party to meet our sponsors and drivers

“Secure Racing’s ethos is that motorsport should be an accessible pursuit for everyone that wants to play a role,” says Mohan Koo, team principal. “We designed this team so that any individuals that love motorsport, have a passion for information security and want to be part of something unique have an opportunity to be part of the race experience. Our ambition is that everyone in this industry finds a role to play and a chance to be part of this team. It’s not an exclusive club for the few. It’s a chance for everyone that wants to participate to get involved.”

The new membership package is launched today at our inaugural race at Brands Hatch. For further information or to register your interest, contact richard.moss@secureracing.co.uk or lisa.lee@secureracing.co.uk 

Secure Racing Offers World First ‘Decode the Race Car’ Cipher Challenge

2nd JUNE 2011 – Secure Racing, the Information Security industry’s motorsport team, has laid down a challenge to anyone with a flair for code-breaking or a passion for cryptography.

At the team’s first race on 19th June at the Brands Hatch circuit in Kent, the Secure Racing Aston Martin will feature a hidden coded message somewhere within its livery and decals. The question is – can you find it and decipher it?

This is the first time a motorsport team anywhere in the world has offered a competition like this on their car. Developed by the Threats and Vulnerabilities Team at PWC, it forms the basis of a competition for anyone who wants to test their mettle and win fantastic prizes. Anyone can enter.  One week after the race, one winner and nine runners up will be drawn at random from the first 100 correct answers that we receive. Later this year, the lucky winner will get to jump in the Secure Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT4 to experience the exhilarating speed of getting around a circuit alongside a professional race driver. The winner will also get tickets to join the team at the Silverstone British GT Championship round and, along with the nine runners up, they will also receive complimentary membership to the Secure Racing members club – the details of which will be announced on race day.

Anyone who attends the Brands Hatch race on 19th June will have a chance to get up close and personal with our Aston and therefore have the best chance of spotting and cracking the code. For those that can’t make it, we will be posting pictures of the car on our website a couple of days after the race so you can take part.

Those who find and crack our code should email their answer to richard.moss@secureracing.co.uk

Ladies and gentlemen – the fun begins here. Start your engines, the Secure Racing story is about to begin.

Discounted admission tickets available exclusively for Secure Racing fans at: www.motorsportvision.co.uk/secracing

Autosport Publication Features Secure Racing

12th MAY 2011 - Driver Chris Holmes interviewed in Autosport following a successful test day at Silverstone.