Gidley Impresses in Team USA Formula 3 Test

Sep 29, 1995
Attleborough, England – Valvoline Team USA Scholarship winner Memo Gidley began training for his Formula 3 prize race at Donington Park, England, on October 22 with a successful test yesterday at Snetterton.

The 22-year-old Californian ran five half-hour sessions, totaling over 90 laps in cold but dry conditions. Gidley wheeled West Surrey Racing’s Class B Dallara F394-Mugen Honda to a best lap of 1m 08.1s, equaling the class fastest lap set during a British Formula 3 Championship race at Snetterton three weeks ago.

“I was impressed,” said Dick Bennetts, whose West Surrey Racing team has won five British Formula 3 Championships in the past 15 years. “He did a pretty good job. He didn’t go out there and go crazy; he worked away methodically, learned about the car and how it worked and gradually brought his times down. Considering he’d never seen the circuit before, or been in a Formula 3 car, he did very well.”

Gidley, who arrived in England in time to attend the previous weekend’s Formula 3 Championship race at Pembrey, thoroughly enjoyed his experience in the car.

“This was the right place for my first time in the car,” said Gidley. “Snetterton has a real mix of slow, medium and fast corners, so I got to explore most of the envelope. The car was very different to the Formula Ford 2000 Van Diemen I’ve been driving this year at home. The F3 car has more power, more grip, more brakes. It feels on a knife-edge all the time. It’s true you have to drive it smoothly but you also have to be very decisive with the steering and the throttle to get the most out of it.

“The only real problem I had was with my neck. By the end of the day I could hardly hold my head up around the corners. The car’s just got so much grip! I do exercises for that now, but I guess I need to do some more.”

Gidley will return to North America this weekend to begin preparations for the final round of the United States Formula Ford 2000 National Championship at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course on October 8. Gidley currently holds a nine-point lead in the standings with three wins to his name. He will then travel back to England for another test at Donington Park prior to the prize-drive race weekend.