Gidley's Double Duty for the Air Force Reserve and Ford
source:
memogidley.com
After a 5th place Molson Indy Vancouver qualifying effort in just his second
Champcar start aboard the No. 17 Rocketsports Air Force Reserve Champ Car for
Round Seven of The Champ Car World Series Powered By Ford, Memo Gidley flew off
to Portland International Raceway to race the No. 48 Air Force Reserve Ford
Focus in the SPEED World Challenge Touring Car Championship. With one hour &
forty minutes before the start, Gidley jumped out of the car, thanked his crew
and literally ran to a police escort, which transported him to a private jet
waiting at the Vancouver International Airport for the three hundred mile flight
to Portland.
With 30 seconds to spare, Gidley stepped out of the helicopter that had
transported him to the track from the Portland Airport and was strapped into the
No. 48 touring car for the 4:15 PM race start. Since Gidley was in Vancouver for
Champ Car qualifying on Friday, he did not qualify the touring car in Portland
and had to start from pit lane. From 34th on the grid, Gidley made an impressive
11th place finish, in the Ford Focus prepared by Techsport Racing, engineered by
Andy Brown. Gidley scooped the "Hole Shot" award for passing the most cars in
the first lap (6) and the "Hard Charger" award for making the most passes in the
race (23).
"I love to race, to be out there and compete is what I live for," said Gidley.
"To drive two cars, two completely different formulas, in two series, in two
different cities, in two countries, on the same day was awesome. I'm grateful to
the many people who worked hard to make this happen. Paul Gentilozzi
(Rocketsports team owner) and Major Greg Pachman (Air Force Reserves motorsport
program) had the open-minded, out-of-the-box kind of thinking that was crucial
to pulling this off. It was very important for me to drive the Champ Car and
fulfill my touring car commitment. This was a great challenge, and one of the
best days of my life, I wish I could get back into my Champcar right
now...sundown is still an hour away"