FMO Racing announced today that Memo Gidley will be back racing prototypes in their Norma LMP3. The team is making its IMSA debut next weekend in the LMP3 class with two cars at Barber Motorsports Park during the Honda Indy Grand Prix of Alabama on April 20-21st.
“About a month ago, I was asked to do a test day with FMO Racing and everything just jelled right away,” said Gidley. “The car felt like home, and the team felt like family. We all had strong similarities in our dedication and determination and I felt like we would do more.”
After that first test, it did not take long for team owner and co-driver Charles Chi to get Memo back out testing again and express his interest in having them race as teammates in the Norma LMP3. “Memo is a world-class race car driver, and his record clearly demonstrates that,” said Charles. “But what his race statistics don’t reveal is that he is a world-class person. He is the ultimate team player, caring for team at the race track and outside the track. He is consistent with the team persona of Five Miles Out Racing yet seemingly also simultaneously defines it.”
Chi most recently has been racing in a “prototype light” car in SCCA regional racing, winning his regional championship. He wanted to take his racing and team to the next level and the IMSA Prototype Challenge series offered all of that. He hired Brian Garzelli, owner of Competition Touring Cars, to manage the team which is based at Sonoma Raceway in Northern California, and added a second car for vintage F1 ace Nicholas Colyvas and well-known IndyCar driver Jay Howard.
“I have been fortunate to drive for great people, and Charles and the FMO Racing team are perfect,” said Gidley. “Charles and everybody on the team are skilled, talented, and fantastic individuals. They have a passion for racing and the dedication to be successful. I could not ask for more and I can’t wait for FMO Racing to hit the track at Barber next week!”