Gidley Takes Commanding Race 2 Win at Sebring

Memo Gidley returned to the top step of the podium with a win in Race 2 of the GT America powered by AWS weekend at Sebring International Raceway.

The SRO3 championship leader finished the 40-minute contest 3.519 seconds ahead of title rival Kyle Washington in the No. 32 GMG Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R Evo.

Gidley stepped back into the winner’s circle for the fifth time this season.

He took successive victories in his No. 56 SKI Autosports Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II in the opening four rounds of the season and enjoyed a comfortable points lead heading into the Sebring weekend.

Tony Davis brought an end to Gidley’s dominance in Race 1 on Saturday afternoon with a win for his No. 04 HP-TECH Motorsport Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo.

Davisrounded out the podium in Race 2 after a lengthy battle with Mirco Schultis in the Mishimotors Callaway Corvette C7 GT3-R.

Schultis took the checkered flag in seventh place after an off-track moment dropped him down the field.

Marc Muzzo delivered a strong fourth place finish for the No. 013 R.Ferri Motorsport Ferrari after an aggressive opening lap where he ran in the podium places for a short time.

Ross Chouest rounded out the top five overall in his No. 50 Chouest Povoledo Racing Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R.

Gidley now holds a 61-point advantage on Davis in the SRO3 standings.

The race started under the safety car because of a crash for Wright Motorsports driver Jon Manship on the formation lap.

Manship was unable to rejoin the race due to heavy front-end contact for his car.

When the green flag eventually waved, Gidley immediately jumped Schultis and fitted into second place in the running order.

Pole-sitter Washington maintained his lead for the first few laps but a hard-charging Gidley eventually slipped past him.

Washington, who took Pro-Am class victory in Saturday evening’s three-hour GT World Challenge powered by AWS race, gradually dropped away from Gidley in the lead.

David Lecko took his sixth win in the Cup class with his RacingSupport Ginetta GTP8. The Cup class points leader is the only driver to take a victory in every GT America round so far this season.

Former GT America class champion Jason Bell took back-to-back GT4 class victories at Sebring after winning Race 1 on Saturday.

Ginetta chairman Lawrence Tomlinson enjoyed a much more successful day in his No. 62 Ginetta GT2 entry, overtaking several of the SRO3 competitors to finish eighth overall.

As the only GT2 class competitor in the field, Tomlinson debuted the Ginetta G56 GT2 in SRO America competition in Race 1 on Saturday. He made several trips into the pits to fix a faulty cool vest in Sebring’s intense heat and finished last in the Race 1 standings.

RESULTS: Race 2