Just days after catching out two of the world's premier speedway racers, Western Springs has claimed New Zealand's leading driver with Michael Pickens crashing out of the International Midget Series feature on Monday night.
The Kiwi looked set to cap another dominant night of racing when he held a commandinglead late in the midget feature but as drivers drifted closer to the wall searching for the most grip, Pickens made a mistake and touched the wall.
It catapulted his car into a vicious roll and following cars were forced to take evasive action to avoid him - as seen at the five minute mark of the video below.
It was all action yet again at Western Springs Speedway with some nail biting competition from our drivers here tonight at the World 30 Lap Derby! A big thanks to everyone who was a part of tonights meeting and we look forward to seeing you back again this FRIDAY!
"It [Western Springs] can bite — to win one of these races you have got to push hard and you can't just cruise and you can't make any mistakes and I made a little mistake and it was very costly," Pickens said.
Michael Pickens. Photo / Photosport
American Tyler Courtney inherited the lead after Pickens' crash and held off the chasing bunch through the final eight laps.
Earlier in the evening Pickens managed to find a way past Wellingtonian Jamie Larsen to snatch a win in the sprint car feature.
The fourth meeting in the series is tonight at Huntly Speedway.
