Winning any race is tough, winning a 25 Hour Endurance Race with 70 cars in the race is a feat that most can never do. But this weekend, the Motorsports Solutions/ Ehret Family Vineyards Porsche 997 Cup Car fought back after much adversity and battled to the front with a well deserved victory in the 10th annual National Auto Sport Association’s United States Air Force 25 Hours of Thunderhill this past Sunday at Willows, Calif.
Muscle Milk MEGA Athlete, Memo Gidley, was teamed with Anthony Ward, Pierre Erhet, Tyler McQuarrie, and Christian Bollrath.
Even though in the end, the No. 00 scored a convincing 16-lap win over the runner-up No. 18 Davidson Racing RCR/Eagle ES on the 2.866-mile Thunderhill Raceway Park layout, it was far from easy.
The team battled back from 15 minutes worth of penalties for passing under yellows, one accident which resulted in a punctured radiator, and in the last hour, a failed half shaft. “The Motorsport Solutions team really did a fantastic job to get us back on the racetrack as fast as possible,” said Gidley. “In any endurance race you will always have some adversity and the key is being able to assess the situation and then react quickly for really anything that may happen, which they did.”
And acting quickly was what got the No. 00 back on the racetrack at hour 24 when the car suffered a failed half shaft oh so close to the checkered flag. The repair was made and the No. 00 was put back in the hands of Memo with just a three lap lead and 45 minutes to go. “I was put in the car for the last stint to try to protect our lead after our half shaft was repaired,” said Gidley. “It was not going to be easy because my pursuer was a 650 HP prototype, which was considerably faster than us. I was pushing hard, trying to not make any mistakes while getting through traffic as quickly as possible…it was a little tense.”
At the 30 minutes to go mark, the second place No. 18 Davidson Racing RCR/Eagle ES made contact with a slower car and was off the track high sided on a curb. This left the door wide open for Gidley and the Ehret Family Vineyards #00 Porsche car to cruise to the finish.
“I can’t describe how happy I am,” said Gidley. “This race I had so many emotions all weekend…and the checkered flag parade lap just felt awesome! Thank you so much to my co drivers, Anthony, Pierre, Tyler and Christian and the Motorsports Solutions team. This is one hard fought win that I will never forget.”