Memo Gidley Takes Another 1st Place Win for TKO Motorsports Followed by a 3rd Place Podium at Sonoma Raceway April 1-2
Reno, NV: TKO friends and family filled the crowd at Sonoma Raceway this last weekend in support of the entire TKO Motorsports and Flying Lizard team at their home track where they ecstatically witnessed Gidley bring home a 1st place finish for TKO Motorsports during Race 1 Saturday afternoon in the teams’ #101 Mercedes AMG GT3 followed by an unexpected, but well-deserved phantom podium finish taking 3rd place in Race 2 early Sunday morning.
TKO Motorsports and Gidley remain in 1st place for the GT America 2023 series with a point total of 83, followed by CRP racing in second position with 64 points, and 59 points for RealTime Racing in third position.
“What a fantastic SRO GT America race weekend at Sonoma Raceway! It has been a long time since I have been able to do a local pro race in front of so many family and friends and to be able to grab two podiums with one being a race win in the #101 TKO Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3 … is so unbelievably special! Thank you to everyone on the TKO Motorsports and Flying Lizard team for helping to make this weekend happen,” said Gidley.
With a great run in the qualifying round Saturday morning, Gidley was able to secure a 2nd place finish for himself and TKO Motorsports out of the 22 total cars entered. Only 6/10ths of a second separated Gidley from front-runner, Adam Adelson in the #120 Porsche, putting TKO Motorsports and Gidley in a great starting position and potential result for Race 1 later that day.
“The track felt good, it was nice to have the sun out and I am pleased with a P2 finish,” said Gidley as he came off the track.
Race 1 ran seamlessly with a green flag for the entire 40-minute race all the way through the checkered flag, giving fans ample entertainment as they watched Gidley hold off Adelson after making an early pass in the 101 Mercedes AMG GT3, sweeping into first place around Adelson on the outside of turn one. The remainder of the race was nail-biting as the gap between Gidley and Adelson would narrow and expand quite a bit at times due to the high traffic left to contend with from the slower GT4 cars. Smart maneuvering and awareness of both the heavy traffic as well as Adelson’s position try to close in kept Gidley on his toes and able to block Adelson’s attempt at a pass later in the race. In the end, Gidley was able to hold on to that front-running position for a Race 1 victory.
Race 2 slick track conditions as well as car conditions proved to be a little more challenging for Gidley and the #101 Mercedes AMG GT3 with the waving of the green flag taking place at 8:55am, much earlier than the 1:00pm race the day prior.
Gidley began this race in P3 based on lap times from Race 1 and worked hard to make his way up to the front in the first few laps, but realized the adjusted set-up and conditions of the #101 Mercedes AMG GT3 that were made weren’t going to allow for that as fans witnessed Antony Bartone in the #427 Mercedes make a pass on Gidley under braking for Turn 9, setting TKO Motorsports to take, what would turn out to be, a provisional P4 finish for Race 2.
“At the start and for a few laps, because of how good the Mercedes felt, I thought this was going to be another win for us. However, with the changes we made (on the Mercedes) the outright speed was there, but our tires went off and I was not able to charge to the front. We are talking tenths of a second! So not a lot and as a team we are always looking to be a little faster. It just did not quite work for us Sunday, but what a great weekend overall for me and the TKO Motorsports team!” said Gidley.
Gidley earned Fastest Lap for Race 2, proving that they did have the speed early on, while Memo proudly accepted his award with his 2-year-old daughter, Emmie, on his shoulders.
After leaving the track from a great weekend, TKO Motorsports and Gidley, learned that a post-race technical infraction dropped former first place winner, Adam Adelson, to last in class leaving Gidley and TKO Motorsports to earn a 3rd place podium finish.
Unfortunately, the team was without one of their drivers, TKO Motorsports Owner Dave Traitel and the beloved #102 Bentley Continental GT3 were unable to make their pro debut over the weekend due to an injury that occurred during Practice on Friday. Dave, and the car, are doing well and will be back on the track next season for their pro racing debut.
TKO Motorsports #101 Mercedes AMG GT3 and team driver, Memo Gidley, will back on the track in just a few weeks participating in SRO GT America’s next race at Nola Motorsports Park in Louisiana April 28-30.
Don’t forget to watch this season’s races live at https://www.gtamerica.us/live and view our race weekend photos and videos on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram!
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