Gidley “Starting To Feel Really Good” in GTA Return

Photo: Brian Cleary/SRO

Former GT America powered by AWS champion Memo Gidley said he is “starting to feel really good” in his return to the series, ahead of his first SRO America race weekend of the year with SKI Autosports.

The sports car and open-wheel racing veteran won the SRO3 class title with TKO Motorsports in 2023 in Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo machinery, but has not raced in the series since.

He joins SKI’s effort, piloting the No. 56 Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II in reigning series champion Johnny O’Connell’s stead from the championship’s third round of the season at the Circuit of The Americas onwards.

“Everybody’s been running,” Gidley told Sportscar365. “This is the third weekend, so I’m coming in a little bit cold turkey and just trying to adjust and adapt as quick as possible, but it’s starting to feel really good.

“Getting the call from [team owners] Ken and Melissa [Hussey] to fill in for Johnny, who’s dealing with some medical issues with his neck, was great just to be back out here.

“We’re friends, and I definitely respect what [Johnny’s] done. It’s amazing.
We’re race car drivers. We get opportunities based on things that happen and it’s just nice to get this opportunity with this team.

“Unfortunately, I’m addicted to racing. Coming back into it, I’m always training and preparing. This is what I do, so it’s nice to get back into it again.”

Gidley finished his first day of official practice sessions around the 3.41-mile road course third and sixth-fastest overall respectively, and said that participation in a club racing event with the team in March helped him get up to speed for his mid-season return.

The Mexican-American driver won all four of the International GT races aboard the team’s Audi GT3 challenger during a recent event at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

“So that was nice, but it’s definitely a different beast out here [at COTA],” he said.

“Even though I knew Ken and Melissa from a couple of years ago, I’ve never worked with the team so it was great to get out there.

“A lot of cars were out there, and we had four races through the weekend. So you get to experience the whole process of just getting to the checkered flag four times.

“That was a super good call on their part. They’ve done it the last few years, both with Johnny O’Connell and with Andy Pilgrim. They use it as a warm-up weekend before the season starts.”

Gidley also mentioned that he is hungry for a positive result at COTA, returning to the track for the first time since a difficult championship weekend in 2023.

“When I raced here two years ago, it was our worst weekend for the championship,” he said. “We got no points in both races.

“We had a couple of mechanical things that happened, and then we had a penalty issue also. I didn’t really enjoy it a whole lot, so I’m looking to turn that around.

“I think the same with SKI Autosports. I think they’ve had some good speed here, so it’d be nice to make that happen for both myself and them.

“When you get in the groove around this track, it’s really good to drive, so it’d be nice to walk away with a great result and then this can then be one of my favorite tracks.

“The first session, I was trying to figure out where to go with the Audi R8. But now it’s really starting to feel good. I don’t like just driving around. I like to be up at the front.”