Pitstop: Youngster on the pace in US midget

Eighteen-year-old Aucklander Brad Mosen has quickly made an impression racing against the top speedway drivers in the United States in the USAC midget championship.

On the slick half-mile track at Knoxville in Iowa the young Western Springs star finished ninth in the main feature race on the second night of his first meeting in the US, passing stars such as Jerry Coons jnr, Tracy Hines and Davey Ray on his way to the top-10 finish.

Mosen is driving in the championship for one of the top teams run by Keith Kunz in a Bullet car powered by a Fontana engine. Speeds on the big tracks are almost double those achieved on the tight Springs circuit.

The young Kiwi had set tongues wagging when he was fastest of 44 cars running hot laps on the first night, but he crashed out of the feature. He qualified for the main feature on the second night in 12th position, lost some ground at a restart but surged through the field to finish ninth.

This weekend Mosen is racing in Eldon, Missouri, on the Lake Ozark track.

Baird to drive Falcon in V8s next season

Craig Baird, a prolific winner in touring cars, single-seaters, Tranzams, Porsches and V8 Supercars, will take over from John McIntyre in the Tracer Ford Falcon for next season's New Zealand V8 championship.

Baird, who lives on the Gold Coast and is competing in the Australian Carrera Cup Porsche series, has raced a Porsche in New Zealand over the past two summers.

McIntyre, who led the NZV8 series until he lost points for technical infringements after the Taupo round, is expected to be part of a new team for next season. He is in Europe as part of a New Zealand team competing in the 24-hour race at the Nurburgring on June 17.

The Tracer team are building two new cars for next season, one for Baird and the other for Haydn Mackenzie.

Winner Dixon takes on night speedway

Scott Dixon, fresh from winning on the road course at Watkins Glen, this weekend takes on 200 laps of the big Texas Speedway in a night race with 24-degree banked turns.

Drivers say racing at night at Texas Motor Speedway is almost like driving in daylight, thanks to the revolutionary Musco Lighting on the superspeedway. The lighting system uses mirrors to simulate daylight, without glare and shadows.

Dixon has some good memories of the track. In 2003 he finished second in the racer to clinch the Indy Racing League title.

McAndrew back for Targa Rotorua

Wellington rally driver Joe McAndrew and his co-driver Sue O'Neill will compete in the Targa Rotorua two-day event this weekend, only two weeks after they were eliminated from a South American marathon rally after a head-on collision in Ecuador.

Their Honda Integra was badly damaged, but the pair have recovered well from their own injuries. The Kiwis were leading the South American rally at the time of their crash and the organisers cancelled all the remaining stages because of poor road closure security. Australians Rick Bates and Jenny Brittan were declared the winners from New Zealanders Shane Murland and John Benson.

Bamber off to China for three rounds

Wanganui teenager Earl Bamber's campaign in the Formula BMW Asia Championship takes him to China this weekend where he will contest Rounds 6, 7 and 8 of the series.

The venue is Goldenport Motor Park in the Chaoyang district of Beijing. Bamber will arrive there with an 18-point lead in the championship after last month's emphatic performance at the Sepang circuit in Malaysia.

Allport prepares winner in South Africa

Former National Rally champion Neil Allport may have inadvertently helped one of Rally New Zealand's rivals for a place in the World Rally Championship.

Allport prepared and supplied the Mitsubishi Lancer Evo8 in which Scot Alister McRae won the South African Zulu Rally.

The South Africans have aspirations to gain a slot on the championship schedule.