Memo Gidley will be the lead driver for Team Sahlen's 2011 Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series program, the team has announced. Memo will be paired with long term Team Sahlen driver Wayne Nonnamaker in the No. 43 Team Sahlen Mazda RX-8.
Gidley co-drove with Nonnamaker in the second Watkins Glen and Miller Motorsports Park events this year. In those events, the former Indy car racer ran in the top 5 in the GT class. At the finale, Gidley also led several of the closing laps of the race.
“I have been very impressed with the changes that Team Sahlen has made and continues to make for an assault on the Rolex Series GT championship 2011," said Gidley. "Joe Sahlen is a true racing sportsman who has shown his dedication to the Grand-Am series over the last number of years and, even more importantly, his passion for racing in general. This is the kind of team owner I want to work for.
"I feel the combination of this and working with the entire Nonnamaker family who I have come to respect, and being paired up with Wayne Nonnamaker as my teammate who is fast and experienced, this is going to be fantastic! I am committed 100 percent to do everything I can to make 2011 as successful as possible. I'm very excited!"
“We are very excited to have Memo with us for the entire 2011 season," added Sahlens. "He is very dedicated to working with everyone on the team to get the maximum from the Mazda RX-8. And his dedication behind the wheel has been evident in the past two races. Everyone at Team Sahlen is very committed to competing at the sharp edge of the Rolex GT field in 2011. All the pieces are in place for a great season next year, and Memo is the key catalyst to making this a reality.”