December 6, 2023
We know you’re eager to see how we are doing out on the track. That’s why we will be updating our race results on our website and social media, So you can stay up to date On our progress.
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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Written By: Shelby TraitelDirector of Media Relations, TKO Motorsports, LLC.
Reno, NV: TKO Motorsports was back in full swing last weekend, June 17-18, at the VIRginia International Speedway for Races 9 & 10 of the 2023 GT America series sweeping the board for first place in both races as well as CrowdStrike’s fastest lap in both races. Race 1 was plagued with numerous yellow flags throughout the course of the 40-minute event, leaving only mere minutes of actual green flag race time. Shortly after the first yellow flag was lifted, pole sitter Adam Adelson encountered a mechanical issue pushing TKO Motorsports driver, Memo Gidley, into first place. With additional yellow flags and another incident with only minutes left in the race, it ended under yellows. Gidley held the lead and took home the win as well as CrowdStrike’s fastest lap. Unfortunately, Race 1 results were later amended due to Stewards Decision leaving the TKO Motorsports team to lose the points initially earned from the first-place finish but will receive points for an 8th place finish.
Race 2 was a much different event, with the 40-minute race going nearly completely uninterrupted! Gidley maintained the lead in the TKO Motorsports #101 GT3 holding quite a gap from those looking to pass him. Gidley’s gap shortened slightly when a safety car was entered into the race. As the track went back to green with 20 minutes left in the race, Gidley held an excellent start and kept his lead for the remainder of the race bringing home first place once again for himself and the TKO Motorsports team as well as Crowdstrike’s fastest lap.
“This was one of those races we drivers love!” said Gidley “The #101 TKO Motorsports GT3 was doing everything I asked, and I so enjoyed balancing the TKO GT3 on the edge all race long!! Thank you everyone!”
TKO Motorsports will be back on the track participating in SRO GT America’s next race at Music City Grand Prix August 4-6 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Reno, NV: Last weekend, May 20-21, marked the 4th race weekend of the 2023 SRO GT America series with races 7 & 8 taking place in the great state of Texas at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin. The 20-turn course, full of American color and beauty, had been a destination the TKO Motorsports team was excited and looking forward to experiencing this season! Circuit of the Americas is another track that TKO Motorsports team driver, Memo Gidley, was racing for the first time and excitement had been building.
“COTA is such a fantastic facility, and I was excited to see and drive it in person for the first time with the #101 TKO Mercedes AMG GT3!” said Gidley.
Qualifiers took place Saturday morning and with the on again – off again rain, it left the TKO team with a tough decision on whether to run slick or weather tires. In the end, it was ultimately most important to TKO Motorsports Owner, Dave Traitel, that Gidley was as safe as possible, and the decision was made to not race in qualifiers with slick tires. Gidley still managed a 4th place pole position with just over 8/10ths of a second gap separating TKO Motorsports and pole sitter Johnny O’Connell in the SKI Autosports Ferrari 458 Italia.
Following qualifiers, Race 1 and Race 2 both posed to be challenging for Gidley and the TKO team/crew dealing with unforeseen mechanical issues leading TKO to not be able to finish where they would have liked. But hey, what can we say except that it’s all just part of racing!
“It was too bad we had a couple races with mechanical issues that cost us stronger finishes. But we did manage to get some valuable points and learned as a team! I am excited to go to our next race at VIR Raceway in Virginia. This is a track that I have had great success and really enjoy being there racing!” said Gidley.
TKO Motorsports and Gidley are still proudly holding onto 1st place in the overall standings for the series with a total of 144 points and a strong 26-point lead from CRP Racing following with a total of 118 points and CrowdStrike in 3rd with 113 points.
TKO Motorsports will be back on the track in SRO GT America’s 5th race weekend of the series at VIRginia International Speedway June 16-18.
Reno, NV: Gidley and the TKO Motorsports team took over the track last weekend, April 29-30, at NOLA Motorsports Park with the teams’ #101 Mercedes AMG GT3 during the 3rd race weekend of the 2023 SRO GT America series bringing home two more 1st place finishes as well as earning Crowdstrike’s Fastest Lap in both races! The trophies are stacking up for Gidley and the TKO team as this winning weekend makes for four wins and six podiums in the six races of the season thus far.
Qualifiers took place Saturday morning and were a nail-biter with just 6/10ths of a second separating Gidley taking pole 1 and pole 2 sitter, Adam Adelson, in the Wright Motorsports Porsche 911.
Even with a pole 1 starting position for Race 1, Gidley did not hold back on the gas when the green flag was waved and was all out from start to finish, taking off from the starting line leaving the competition behind early on. With an incredible run, and the rain holding off until the end, Gidley and the TKO Motorsports team took 1st place by an incredible 13.339 second lead! Jason Daskalos followed in the CRP Racing Mercedes AMG GT3 with Wright Motorsports’, Adam Adelson, coming in third.
“It’s a surprise,” Gidley stated during his post-race interview with SRO America’s Amanda Busick. “We worked really hard on the TKO Motorsports #101 Mercedes. We did a couple of days of testing here and I never really felt that we were quite right. It wasn’t until qualifying that I felt that we had nailed it.”
In addition to a 1st place win on Saturday, Gidley also earned Crowdstrike’s Fastest Lap in the TKO Mercedes AMG GT3 with a Best Lap time of 1.36.885 placing him, once again, as pole 1 sitter for Race 2 Sunday morning. Gidley didn’t hold back, getting out to a fast start again and held first place from start to finish and never looked back holding a 16 second lead at one point. Gidley flew through the checkered flag in 1st place with a 9.377 lead ahead of George Kurtz in the Crowdstrike Mercedes AMG GT3 by Riley Motorsports.
“I am so incredibly proud of our entire TKO Motorsports team/crew!” said TKO Motorsports Owner & CEO, Dave Traitel. “With the hard work and long, sometimes frustrating hours put in by both TKO Motorsports and Flying Lizard Motorsports, Memo was able to bring home not just one, but TWO more 1st Place Wins in our #101 Mercedes AMG GT3 with, what paid off to be, a perfect set-up! Congrats Memo! Thank you to everyone for all the hard work, dedication, and commitment to the team. We couldn’t ask for a better group of people that make up our TKO Family. I can’t wait to be back at the track with everyone for our next race in Texas at Circuit of The Americas!”
TKO Motorsports will be back on the track participating in SRO GT America’s 4th race weekend of the series at Circuit of The Americas May 19 – 21.
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 of our family and friends and for us to be able to grab two podiums with one being a race win in the #101 TKO Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3…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, Emie, 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.
Reno, NV: TKO Motorsports and team driver, Memo Gidley, made a huge splash during their SRO GT3 debut race last weekend, March 3-5, at Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg in the teams’ new Mercedes AMG GT3 taking first place in Race 2 and second place in Race 1! With a yellow flag raised early in Race 1 and multiple restarts after yellow flags in Race 2, the sheer complexity of this partial street course was recognized early on by not only the drivers, but the spectators as well. Qualifiers ended up playing a very crucial role in this race and the potential each racer had in working their way up to the front once the green flags were raised due to the technicality of the course.
“It is hard to have a better weekend than we did in #101 TKO Motorsports AMG GT3 in the opening round of the SRO Series at St. Pete!” said Gidley.
In the qualifying round Friday afternoon, Memo Gidley drove the TKO Motorsports team to an impressive finish, taking 5th place of the 20 entries in this round. With only 2/10ths of a second separating 2nd-5th place, this left TKO Motorsports and Gidley in a top tier position for the first race of the SRO Motorsports America 2023 weekend/season.
Race 1 had a rough start with Jeff Burton, starting fourth, in the No.91 Mercedes AMG GT3 making contact with the wall early raising an early yellow flag in the race which led to SRO3 2022 class champion, George Kurtz, to receive damage from the incident and lose his second-place position. Additionally, Scott Smithson spun out giving up his first-place position.
Gidley quickly took over the lead, but a high-pressure battle would ensue for the remainder of the race between the three front runners: Gidley, Daskalos, and Sofronas. “From outside the car it looked calm and collected, but I will tell you inside the car it was intense and with so much pressure from the track and my competition!” said Gidley. Eventually, Gidley was passed up with some bold maneuvering by Jason Daskalos who held onto that first-place position through the checkered flag with Gidley right behind separating the two teams by only 4/10ths of a second.
Race 2 began with Gidley making an early, strategic, and planned attack to take the lead at the first turn of lap 1. Holding onto first place for the rest of the race through the checkered flag, Gidley and the TKO Motorsports team in collaboration with Flying Lizard Motorsports brought home a first and second place win from St. Petersburg unveiling the power and performance behind the TKO Motorsports Mercedes AMG GT3 during its debut weekend alongside the pure skill and dedication Gidley has to the sport.
“TKO Motorsports and the Flying Lizard team have been preparing for this season and this opening round for so many months,” said Gidley. “I am just so satisfied that we were able to have such a great weekend for the team and put on a great show for our fans!”
TKO Motorsports will be back on the track participating in SRO GT America’s next race at Sonoma Raceway March 30 – April 2. The team is especially thrilled to have TKO Motorsports Owner & CEO, Dave Traitel, suiting up and racing in TKO’s beloved Bentley GT3. 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!
For all things TKO, visit www.tkomotorsports.com and subscribe to our Mailing List
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