Auckland midget car racer Brad Mosen looked a likely winner in the World Midget 50 Lapper at Western Springs Speedway last night, only to pull up with an unknown mechanical issue while in second position, leaving American Kyle Larson free to waltz home for the win.
Starting fourth on the grid, Mosen quickly despatched Indianapolis 500 driver Bryan Clauson to take third and began hunting down New Zealand champion Michael Pickens. Meanwhile, 20-year-old Larson controlled the race from the front.
CRC Synergy Racing driver Mosen spent a dozen laps running around the top of the track and made it stick in turn two when he flew around the outside of Pickens for second. The Kiwi pair then traded slide job passing moves before Mosen drove away in pursuit of the man they call “Young Money”, Larson.
“We qualified really well and the car felt great early on in the race so we were moving up pretty quick, and we had plenty left in our in-car adjustments to dial it in as the race went on” said 25-year-old Mosen.
“The setup we chose to run was weighted towards the top part of the track where you have further to go but can carry your momentum around the turns; running the top has always suited my style.”
A caution flag brought the field back together 14 laps in, but on the ensuing restart Mosen’s car went up in smoke forcing his retirement from the race. This left Californian superstar Larson untroubled out front as he comfortably won the biggest speedway race in the Southern Hemisphere; his fourth from as many attempts in New Zealand this summer.
“It’s awesome having these American guys coming down to New Zealand each year. They race over 100 times a season so really set the benchmark for our sport,” said Mosen.
“It also gives the younger Kiwi drivers great experience racing against the best in the world and shows that we’ve got the goods here in New Zealand to race with and often beat the pros.”
“We’re not 100% sure of what went wrong with the car last night but we have a great team who will take it back to the workshop and conduct an analysis ”
We look forward to keeping everyone up to date, but the likley hood of racing on Saturday is looking slim.
