Rolex Grand-Am series star and Muscle Milk extreme athlete, Memo
Gidley, got back on his winning form this past weekend at round #11 of
the DJSA Outlaw jet ski race series this past weekend… but it sure
didn’t come easy!
Rolex Grand-Am series star and Muscle Milk extreme athlete, Memo Gidley, got back on his winning form this past weekend at round #11 of the DJSA Outlaw jet ski race series this past weekend… but it sure didn’t come easy!
“I have never ridden in conditions that changed so much from race to race,” said Gidley. “The water was so rough that in first practice I could not even hold my Muscle Milk Kawasaki SXR throttle wide open… on any part of the track! Then the waves started to lie down during the middle of the day… and then just as I got in a groove, it got rough once again for the final race… unbelievable!”
Current points leader, Memo, started third for the first of three races. “I started third in the first race, and was trying to catch leader Jason Ward but just ran out of energy,” said Gidley. “I get so excited in the races that sometimes I forget to breathe… which can be a problem for endurance!”
In the second race, Gidley would start on the outside of the front row. “I knew on the start that I needed to be in front through the first merge of buoys to have a shot to beat Jason,” said Gidley. “I heard that they don’t call him Jason ‘The Psycho’ Ward for nothing and I expected him to fight me for the lead very hard!”
That he did as Gidley and “Psycho” Ward went side by side for nearly the entire first lap. “I was pushing so hard to stay in front that I would slide a couple of feet wide past the buoys,” said Gidley. “And I could hear Psycho on the inside of me and I new he didn’t earn that nickname for nothing… he was not going to back off!” Gidley held on to bring home the win in race #2 which would give him the pole position to start the third and final race.
At the start of the final race, Gidley jumped to the hole shot and although pressured, put his head down and was able to pull out slightly to grab the win. “Heading into the third race, I was tied with ‘Psycho’ Ward for points and new that who ever won this race would win the overall,” said Gidley. “I pushed real hard the first two laps to try to build a little gap and was so happy to hang on for the win!”
Gidley now has a commanding lead in the points with one race to go. “I really have had a blast this year racing stand up jet skis and really liked the way it has physically challenged me to get the most out of myself,” said Gidley. “And the other riders I race against don’t give you any slack on the track but also have become great friends off the track… it’s been a really nice experience. But you can bet that I will be training like a madman in preparation of the last jet ski race in three weeks!”