Muscle Milk Extreme athlete, Memo Gidley may be a long shot to win the 2010 DJSA Outlaw 850cc Expert class championship, but it won’t be for lack of trying. Gidley, a first year racer in the expert stand up class has wasted no time in getting himself and the #3 Muscle Milk/M&M Marine/Ultimate Watercraft/Kawasaki to the front of the field. Battling 20mph winds and heavy rains at Round #10 of the DJSA series held in Rio Vista, CA, Gidley had a stellar ride and came home with first overall for his efforts. “I like to always be prepared and because of my crazy busy schedule the last three weeks, I was a little worried that I was not going to be strong and at my best.” states Gidley.
What Gidley is referring to is a three week span of not being home that included many adventures. First, three weeks ago, Gidley was sailing out the Golden Gate Bridge and heading South on a ten day trip with friend and past Indy Lights team owner, Bob Lesnett, aboard his Bennatau First 42 sailboat Rosinante. Gidley was part of a three man crew that was responsible to take the sailboat to San Diego.
“We had many great adventures on this trip,” said Gidley. “Starting off we sailed straight for two days and nights to get from San Francisco around the notoriously dangerous Point Conception on the way to southern California. Just as we cleared that obstacle the wind died and we had motor problems. For two days we were up to our elbows in grease trying to repair the Iron Horse so we could continue our trip. Upon fixing the engine, we battled heavy fog and just to top it all off we had a couple of windless days where we were going nowhere fast and trying to cross the busy shipping lanes off the coast of Santa Barbara! But ultimately we made it to San Diego and had a great trip.”
Immediately upon returning from San Diego, Gidley headed to Laguna Seca Raceway to compete in the SCCA Illgen Classic Enduro teamed with good friend Steve Baumhoff in his Spec Racer. “There are only a few types of cars I have not driven, with the Spec Racer being one of them,” said Gidley. “I kept referring to the car as The Beast with its not so powerful 115 horsepower motor! But seriously, the class is one of the most successful classes in US club racing and the competition is awesome. Even though one of my co-drivers had a crash taking us out of the race, I still had a great time and look forward to another drive in a spec racer with my buddy Steve.”
And then the next day, Gidley headed off to the Rolex Series open test at Virginia International Raceway with Team Sahlen and their new Mazda RX8 GT car that Gidley will be racing for the 2011 season. “We had a good two day test with no real problems,” said Gidley. “For our team right now the key is to learn the new Continental Tire, and also with the expansion that Team Sahlen has done, learn each other. I was happy with the progress Team Sahlen made and super excited for the 2011 season.”
So after all of this, and with only three days of preparation, Gidley still managed to bring home the win in Round #10 of the DJSA Outlaw Jet Ski series. With one race to go, the points have tightened up. “I now have a couple of weeks with my main focus to prepare and win the last DJSA Jet Ski race of the year. The current point’s leader, Pete Zernik, is a fantastic rider that has also given me a lot of help over the last year to fast forward my riding ability. When the competition helps to create more competition for himself, in my book that’s the sign of a true racer. The neat thing about the DJSA series is that so many of the riders are like that which makes the racing awesome and the series so fun to be part of.”