- Gidley Rules SRO3 Class and Sits Atop Driver Points Championship
- Daskalos, Second, Keeps Gidley Honest
- Kurtz Sits Third in SRO3 Class
The GT America powered by AWS series is one of the more complex schedules in SRO Motorsports America with two street course races in addition to seven road courses. The diversity allows for drivers to stand out in a variety of ways.
Memo Gidley is the driver atop the Drivers Points Champions with 168 points. He’s landed on the podium at nearly every race apart from a few mechanical missteps. Gidley has racked up five wins in his No. 101 TKO Motorsports Mercedes-AMG GT3. He maneuvers his Mercedes-AMG as a seasoned professional always taking the practice sessions to dial in the car near perfect for the track that weekend.
"It is like a dream to have the No. 101 TKO Motorsports AMG Mercedes GT3 car leading the points,” Gidley said. “My sponsor, TKO owner Dave Traitel, was the first person to put me back into a race car after healing from my 2014 Daytona accident. My belief and what I hope to inspire others is life is full of hurdles, but even if you fall get back up and never give up doing what you enjoy.
“To have Dave's support and belief in me to go racing in the SRO GT America Series for a full season this year, and now being in the points lead makes me so happy. I am a lucky guy and so grateful for the TKO team and the support from all my friends and fans behind our efforts this year in SRO!"
Jason Daskalos has silently stacked up his own fruitful season, staying close to Gidley in his own championship run. Daskalos has 158 points thus far in 2023. He has also consistently found the podium at many races with the No. 27 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3. He pairs the five podium finishes with two wins in 10 rounds of racing. A pair of fourth-place finishes complement his run.
George Kurtz in his No. 04 CrowdStrike by Riley Mercedes-AMG GT3 has stormed to third after a rough Round One. Kurtz kicked off the season without points after Race One at St. Petersburg saw him the victim of rough racing between other drivers. Since then, Kurtz collected 135 points via five podium finishes and one win.
The young Anthony Bartone has proved that talent in his family is cross-generational. He’s been pulling double duty as he paired his GT America run with his Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS. In GT America he sits fourth overall in the drivers standings with 97 points. In an all-or-nothing approach thus far, he took home the win in Round Four.
Adam Adelson is another young talent pulling double duty across GT3 series. Adelson has collected 82 points this season after sitting out the opening rounds on the streets of St. Petersburg. Since then, he’s collected three podium finishes and is still working toward his first win in the No. 120 Wright Motorsports Porsche 911 GT3 R. He is fifth in the standings.
Todd Treffert’s story reads closely to that of Adelson as he sits sixth in the Drivers Points Championship. Treffert also sat out of the opening two rounds before getting to work. He has 80 points to his name, two shy of Adelson but boasts a 17 lead on 17th place. Treffert won Round Nine at VIRginia International Raceway in the No. 41 CRP Racing Mercedes-AMG GT3.
Johnny O’Connell returned to racing at Round Five at NOLA Motorsports Park. In the six rounds he’s since competed in O’Connell has garnered 53 points and claimed his first podium finish in Race Two at VIR. He is seventh in the championship.
James Sofronas and Andy Wilzoch sit tied in eighth with 48 points. Sofronas has run a partial season but made the most of his appearances with three podium finishes in his four races. Wilzoch had his best finish of the season in Race Two at Circuit Of The Americas with a fourth-place finish.
Mirco Schultis and Alex Vogel round out the field drivers competing in the majority of the season. Schultis sits in 10th place with 34 points in total while Vogel follows closely behind with 25 points. Vogel has seen his racecraft develop well over the season with his season-best finish coming in Race One at VIR.
Drivers have four races remaining on the 2023 calendar. The next race for the GT America powered by AWS series is the Music City Grand Prix on the streets of Nashville Aug. 4-6.The season will cap off with two rounds of racing at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway the week of the Indianapolis 8 Hours endurance event.