Michael Mosiman, for the most part, has been great in 2022. It’s the other part, the small mistakes, that’s gotten him in trouble and ruined his chances at wins and podiums, prompting talk of how if he could just eliminate those issues, he could be winning. Well, he finally did just that on Saturday night in San Diego and rode a clean race to log his first professional 250SX win. Here’s what he had to say about his career night in the post-race press conference.
Michael, when you crossed the finish line, you celebrated. Is that something you thought of weeks in advance, right in that moment? When did you kind of plan that celebration over the finish line jump?
Michael Mosiman: Honestly, I was just caught up in the race and I went off the face and I was like, there’s fire going on. I got to celebrate! It was really last-minute, like, go for the fist pump. Then I’m landing on the thing and I’m like, "Do I land with the hand back on or one-handed?" It was a moment. Definitely could have planned it out a little bit better, but when there’s fire going off behind you, you really can’t mess it up.
Talk us through your composure at the front. Obviously, Hunter was right there and you were able to hold on and stay in the lead and get there for that first win. Just talk about the pressure, everything like that.
I’ve been riding a lot this year with Justin Barcia. Honestly, it felt a lot like another day at the test track with him right on me. Honestly, right at the beginning I got the holeshot and I put in some pretty good burner laps. I wasn’t sure. I honestly didn’t hear him, nothing. I didn’t know he was right there. I thought I had a bigger gap. Then maybe five laps in or something I started seeing his board show up. I was like, "Oh, man. All right. Sweet, we got a race going on." It wasn’t the perfect race. I had a couple mistakes, but one of the things that I’ve been working on and it’s been really good for me this year is even in practices, kind of just move on. Focus on the present. I let those things go and I think that paid off. The chaos that ensued, the lappers were pretty nuts. I think I did the dragon’s back tight inside, and then somehow got to fourth to just manage my way through the whoops. Carnage ensued. I was like, all right, I think I got this one now. Jalek [Swoll] was there. I was like, "He’s not letting me by easy." I was like, "I’m just fine here. I don’t need to do anything too crazy." Then he was back on me. Stoked to get the W. It felt great out front. Stoked.
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So you were aware that Hunter went down when he did?
Initially I wasn’t sure. There were so many lapped riders, I wasn’t sure who hit me, but I felt the bump from the back. Then I think I didn’t see his board and I just didn’t hear him. He was pretty close on me. Then I was like, "All right," I thougt he had gone down. Then two laps later it was like, "Hey, Hunter. How are you?"
I want to ask you what your mindset was in that situation where you came up to lap [Cole] Thompson, and then you went inside before the whoops. What led to that decision of deciding to make a desperation block pass on a lapper?
I think in the turn before, it was tricky. The main line was going left and I wasn’t sure how aware he was of me being there or not being there. The main line being on the left, I had passed a number of lappers there, just kind of down the middle. Practically my normal line. He probably saw my sign board. He started coming right. So, I really had no option. I was already on the inside of him. I had to jump inside. Then it was like, "Here we are, make the most of it." You can’t control everything. You’ve got to just execute what you can. I pretty much just worked with the cards that were dealt.
San Diego - 250SX West Main Event
January 23, 2022| Rider | Time | Interval | Best Lap | Hometown | Bike | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Michael Mosiman | 20 Laps | 0:48.608 | Sebastopol, CA  | GasGas MC 250F | |
| 2 |  Hunter Lawrence | +01.361 | 0:48.804 | Landsborough, Australia  | Honda CRF250R | |
| 3 |  Christian Craig | +25.109 | 0:49.572 | Temecula, CA | Yamaha YZ250F | |
| 4 |  Vince Friese | +27.058 | 0:50.243 | Cape Girardeau, MO | Honda CRF250R | |
| 5 |  Jo Shimoda | +44.178 | 0:50.436 | Suzuka, Japan  | Kawasaki KX250 | |
| 6 |  Carson Mumford | +52.302 | 0:50.222 | Simi Valley, CA | Suzuki RM-Z250 | |
| 7 |  Jalek Swoll | 19 Laps | 0:51.300 | Belleview, FL | Husqvarna FC 250 | |
| 8 |  Nate Thrasher | +02.854 | 0:49.670 | Livingston, TN | Yamaha YZ250F | |
| 9 |  Cole Thompson | +05.416 | 0:51.787 | Brigden, ON  | Yamaha YZ250F | |
| 10 |  Carson Brown | +08.076 | 0:51.872 | Ravensdale, WA | KTM 250 SX-F |
[The next question was from Josh Mosiman, former pro racer, and Michael's older brother]
I heard growing up you had an older brother who taught you a lot. It sounds like it really, really helped and got you a long ways. You turned pro and it took you a while to get your first win. I could say there were a few times you had the opportunity to win and threw it away. A couple mistakes here and there. But now you’re with a new team. Obviously not training with your older brother anymore. I think you changed. Can you talk about Wil Hahn, Tyler Keefe, and what it’s like working with that team and what has brought you to this level to where you can be out here doing this thing?
My brother has taught me everything I know. It really paid off in the win tonight. I remember one time he told me, "Hey, those whoops, you should hit them good." I was like, "That’s good advice." Adding Wil [Hahn] has been huge. I think we have a really awesome team. Team chemistry is epic. We are so relaxed. We have so much fun. Wil I think has added a piece on the mental side in just being a past racer and being in these situations and having the right words to say. Also just piecing things together, adding a lot of simplicity and being encouraging and being there and kind of creating the whole atmosphere that we have to where we’re not worried about anything. We’re just worried about performance. It’s just been a blast. Stoked to be on the team I am. Really thankful that my brother gave me that advice and taught me everything.
Watch the full post-race 250SX press conference below:
