SKI Autosports will return for a complete championship campaign in 2026, committing to a full-season SRO GT America powered by AWS program with veteran driver Memo Gidley.
After capturing Driver’s Championships in 2023 (Masters) and 2024 (Overall), SKI Autosports mounted a strong title challenge in 2025 despite contesting a limited schedule with Gidley aboard the team’s Audi R8 LMS Evo II.
An American racing driver with experience across IndyCar, CART, IMSA, and SRO competition, Gidley raced for leading open-wheel teams during the late 1990s and early 2000s, including Walker Racing, Players Forsythe Racing, and Chip Ganassi Racing – twice finishing runner-up at Cleveland and Laguna Seca in 2001.
He later shifted his focus to sports cars, earning podium finishes and class results in major endurance events, including the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Following a serious crash at Daytona in 2014, Gidley returned to professional racing and went on to win the GT America championship in 2023.
“We’re really looking forward to a great 2026 season, and everyone is extremely excited to go forward with a full-season campaign,” said SKI Autosports team owner Kent Hussey.
“2025 was an interesting year for us. We planned on a very limited schedule, and after a strong showing at our first event at COTA, we added additional race weekends.
“Memo was very consistent throughout the season, earning three overall wins and missing the podium only twice. Despite missing the first four rounds of the season, his consistency allowed us to finish third overall in the Championship.
“Memo is an excellent fit with our team. We've been lucky to have the same core group of people led by Rossella Manfrinato and Philip Creighton Motorsport for the last five years, and Memo’s professionalism, positive attitude, and commitment made 2025 exciting.
One of the winningest drivers in GT America history, Gidley now has 13 race wins in the championship, including victories for SKI Autosports last year at Sebring, Road America, and Indianapolis.
“For me, the enjoyment of racing is working hard to go after wins with a group of hard-working people that you really like to be around,” Gidley said.
“My first race with Kent and Melissa and the SKI Autosports Team, I experienced a team of dedicated people with a joy to be at the race track doing what they loved, and I knew then that this was a team for me.
“Everyone who knows me knows the work I put in to be the best I can be. It is just so great to experience this level of commitment and passion with my SKI Autosports team.
“I always tell my four-year-old daughter Emmie, the teamwork makes the dream work – I am so lucky and thankful to be with an awesome team and now my great friends at SKI Autosports. I cannot wait to see what we can do in 2026 in our awesome #56 Audi R8.”
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2026 schedule
Test: Miami International Autodrome, Miami, Florida, February 12–15
Round 1: Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, California, March 27–29
Round 2: Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas, April 24–26
Round 3: Sebring International Raceway, Sebring, Florida, May 8–10
Round 4: Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, Braselton, Georgia, June 12–14
Round 5: Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, August 28–30
Round 6: Barber Motorsports Park, Birmingham, Alabama, September 25–27
Round 7: Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Indianapolis, Indiana, October 8–11
SKI Autosports GT America history
2025:
- 3 wins, 10 podiums, 12 starts – Memo Gidley
- Third overall with limited schedule
2024:
- 2 wins, 14 podiums, 16 starts – Johnny O’Connell
- Overall GT America Champion
2023:
- 1 win, 5 podiums, 18 starts – Johnny O’Connell
- GT America Drivers Masters Champion
2022:
- 1 win, 4 podiums, 5 starts – Andy Pilgrim