All eyes were on Memo Gidley this weekend as he made his return to professional racing after recovering from his devastating crash in the 2014 Rolex 24 at Daytona. Memo teamed up with TKO Motorsports to wheel their Porsche 911 GT3 R in both GT Sprint 50-minute races at Sonoma Raceway.
This was TKO’s debut into road racing as their background has primarily been in drag and offshore boat racing. After an extensive summer of testing, the team was ready to take on this challenge and Memo was ready to get back in the cockpit.
“To be out racing the TKO Porsche GT3 R in the Pirelli World Challenge Series this past weekend at Sonoma Raceway was awesome,” said Memo. “Considering how talented the field is, I knew it was not going to be easy. But as a semi new driver, or at least one that hadn’t driven in four years, and TKO being in their first race, we came out here to get our feet wet and prepare for next year. So, it was a great weekend in that we all learned about so many important details of running in a series like PWC.”
Team owner and president David Traitel has previously shared he has his sights on a full PWC season for 2018. “Our time at Sonoma during this PWC race weekend was the best experience and education for next year,” said David. “Working with Memo has taught us a lot and leaning on his knowledge base will be an invaluable asset for the future.”
Memo’s road to recovery to get back in the cockpit was not accomplished alone and this race weekend gave him the chance to show his appreciation to fellow racers and his dedicated fans.
“It was great to say thanks personally to all my fans and friends that have been behind my healing for the last four years,” said Memo. “My goal however is not just to be out racing but to get back to the front. TKO Motorsports and I both share in this and have the determination to make this happen. I’m looking forward to what is next with TKO. I also want to say thank you again to everybody that has been behind me.”