Factory Trackmagic Kart driver and Grand-Am Rolex Series star Memo
Gidley, once again grabbed the pole in qualifying for Race #3 of the
Pro Kart Challenge Series race this past weekend at Infineon Raceway. In an intense 7-minute qualifying session that saw the top 4 drivers go
back and forth, Gidley edged out series point leader, Jacob Neal, by
.013 of a second.
Factory Trackmagic Kart driver and Grand-Am Rolex Series star Memo Gidley, once again grabbed the pole in qualifying for Race #3 of the Pro Kart Challenge Series race this past weekend at Infineon Raceway.
In an intense 7-minute qualifying session that saw the top 4 drivers go back and forth, Gidley edged out series point leader, Jacob Neal, by .013 of a second. The top four drivers all set a time less than a tenth of a second off the pole. “It felt great to grab the pole for myself and Trackmagic,” said Gidley. “The times were so close, I was excited looking forward to the battle I imagined we were all going to have in the heats and main event.”
And battle they did. During the heat races, the lead was swapped numerous times as the top four drivers went back and forth. When all the dust settled, Gidley would find himself lining up in third for the 20 lap main event.
“I made a mistake on the start for my first heat race and lost two positions,” said Gidley. “After that, we were all so close that I had a hard time recovering from that. The weather was getting cooler so for the final, we decided to go for the win by making a change on the kart to try to get me some more speed.”
At the drop of the 20 lap final, Gidley launched off the line and into second place. A fierce battle ensued at the start of the race. “I got a great start, gained a position, then lost a position a few laps later,” said Gidley. “I was content to stay in third, see what would unfold in front of me. I was thinking that my kart would come in better towards the end of the race but that never worked out. The kart tightened up too much and I was unfortunately not in a fighting position at the end.”
Gidley would end up bringing his Trackmagic Kart home in third, giving Trackmagic its second S3 podium of the year. “It was a good weekend,” said Gidley. “I would trade my two poles this year for two wins if I could… but that’s racing. I live for the challenge of close, hard racing and we had that here! I will be working as hard as possible to get that win at the next race.”
Memo Gidley also currently drives for the #77 McDonald’s Daytona Prototype in the Rolex Grand-Am Series for Doran Racing. The next event is the Emco Gears Classic at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, June 19 – 20. The race is scheduled to take the green flag at 5:00 pm Saturday, June 20th. The race will be broadcast live June 20th at 5pm ET on SPEED TV.
“A good go-kart race just gets me more fired up for my Rolex Series races!” said Gidley. “The #77 McDonald’s car has been fast this year and we are in a good position to get our first podium this weekend… I’m excited.”