Gidley conquers DJSA “Widow Maker”

Widowmaker1The DJSA Outlaw Jet Ski Series held Round #3 this past weekend on the beautiful downtown water front of Suisun, CA. As tranquil and nice as the location, the event is nicknamed the “Widow Maker” because it is not only the shortest course they run due to limited space, but the entire course is surrounded by concrete walls…some less than teen feet from the turns, which have been known to create havoc for the racers.

Muscle Milk/ Molecule MEGA athlete Memo Gidley was making his first Jet Ski race this year as car racing schedule conflicts have kept him out of the water. “To say I was a little anxious for the event…would be a tad bit of an understatement!” said Gidley. “Not only was I a little rusty, but this course is brutal with the wave action that bounces off the walls, so making a mistake and hitting the concrete walls…not good!”

This round, DJSA promoter Jim Lambert, also decided to mix it up by having single lap timed qualifying to set the grid position for the first heat race. After all was said and done, Gidley surprised the competition by having fast time and would start in position #1 for the first heat race. “I knew I was a little rusty, and I knew I was a little out of “Jet Ski” shape due to limited practicing,” said Gidley. “It was going to be key for me to nail qualifying and have a front row start position…which means smoother water.”

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At the drop of the green flag for heat one, Gidley launched off the line and was first ski round turn one. The first half of the race, Gidley continued to hold a slight advantage over the rest of the 8500cc Expert field and was looking strong to the end. Then the struggle began. In one lap, Gidley’s racing pants went from waist to knees to completely wrapped around his ankles and the Muscle Milk athlete was struggling to keep from falling at every turn. As soon as the announcer saw Gidley’s predicament, he started jokingly saying that if you drank Muscle Milk you went so fast your pants blew off. Somehow, Gidley kept it together and just crossed the line first. “Honestly, I thought my biggest struggle was going to be getting tired or recovering from a mistake…but not my racing pants coming down!” said Gidley. “I was very happy that I was able to pull off the win…but my best decision that day and one of the best in my life…was that I decided to wear shorts under my racing pants that day!”

Because of his win in heat one, Gidley would once again be starting on pole for heat two. At the start, Gidley rocketed off the line and rounded turn one in first place. “Along with being embarrassing, the pants incident in heat one really tired my legs out and they were cramping up even before the final heat, said Gidley. “As I faded towards the end of the final, second place Ian Roberts was going to the inside of me and trying to make his move. I was going to either win or crash.”

Gidley managed to hang on and crossed the line just ahead of second place.

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“Wow that was close,” said Gidley. “It was a fantastic race for me…the win and because I had so many friends and sponsors out cheering me on. The pants incident…well that only happens in Hollywood and could not have been scripted any better. Thanks to all the people from Muscle Milk, Red Line Oil, my team mate “Mad Dog” Mike Guasch, and all my friends and family for coming out!”