Mosing Excited For Busy Weekend At Home In Austin

Subtitle:Gold Cup Title Contender Racing In Two Series, Entertaining Friends, Family, Clients

A racing jewel sits 20 minutes away from Jeff Mosing’s business, Mosing Motorcars.

Mosing, who competes in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge, lives in Austin, Texas. That’s the home of the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), which has hosted international series Formula One, MotoGP and the FIA World Endurance Championship, and the American Le Mans Series and GRAND-AM domestic sports car series since it opened in 2012.

Excited for the world-class racing of Formula One to come to Austin, Mosing never thought he would have his own stories of glory from tight battles on the 20-turn, 3.427-mile circuit at COTA. But that’s exactly what happened after he competed in the GRAND-AM event last year at his new home track.

“When the news came out that they were building a track for F1 to race in the U.S. and it was going to be Austin, it was just exciting,” Mosing said. “At the time, I didn’t know what other levels of racing they would have out there so it didn’t cross my mind to have the opportunity. But I was out there in 2013 with a GX Porsche Cayman for the Rolex Series, and we ended up winning the GX class.”

His next experience at the world-class circuit takes place Sept. 18-20 to race in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama and Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge series during the Lone Star Le Mans event, which also includes the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and the WEC.

Mosing has raced at COTA and also participates in track days at the circuit, spending time in his Porsche GT3RS to get a better feel for the layout. But he insists he hasn’t taken full advantage of the track in his backyard.

“Honestly, there are probably still tracks elsewhere that I’ve spent more time on,” Mosing said. “Visually, we’re well prepared. We’ll test there before the race for insurance and make sure we have the right setup. It helps that I like the track. I enjoy the high-speed, sweeping turns. It’s technical and not a park-and-turn track. The nature of the track suits me.”

The close location of COTA also helps his Austin-based business, Mosing Motorcars, which specializes in buying and selling high-quality collectible vehicles and sports cars. Plus the close proximity of the circuit to home provides Mosing with the chance to kick back at the track with a large group of family and friends.

Mosing and his brother and fellow racer, Brent Mosing, plan to host a large group of visitors coming from different cities in Texas and their hometown of Lafayette, Louisiana.

“We’ll have a group of 15 to 20 people come out,” Mosing said. “Because my brother Brent is also racing, a lot of people from Lafayette will come out. I’m excited to see a lot of people I don’t usually get to see. I’m closing the shop on Friday, so a couple guys from work will come.”

Hosting guests and racing in two series isn’t an easy task for one weekend. But Mosing isn’t feeling pressure at home this weekend, as he can separate his focus on track from his time spent with guests who come to COTA to support him.

“Hosting and my race focus are two different things, so it doesn’t add stress having people out,” Mosing said. “I’m my own biggest competitor. I’m very critical and focused on what I’m doing. I give it 110 percent every lap no matter where I am. I could be leading, but I’ll be comparing my lap times.”

While Texas teens are gearing up for Friday Night Lights football, Mosing will be preparing to drive his No. 01 Topp Racing Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car at night – with only headlights to guide him. The second Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama race of the event starts at 7:25 p.m. (CT) Friday, Sept. 19 and will finish 45 minutes later, in darkness. It’s the first time the series will race at night in its 10-year history.

“It will be interesting to run at night with GT3 Cup,” Mosing said. “That’s when I’ll have the advantage of having been to the track more. But in the end, it’s not about championships and points – it’s about fun. I’m going to keep doing this until it’s not fun.

“After missing Laguna (Seca) I think the reason I’m in the hunt (for the championship) is because it’s fun and I’m not focused on points. It would be great to end up on top, but I’ve found that the less I stress, the better I do.”

Mosing is second in the Gold Cup (2010-13 car models) championship standings with 168 points, just 14 behind class leader Patrick-Otto Madsen with four rounds remaining this season. Mosing, 46, also is second in the Gold Masters class for drivers 45 and older, six points behind leader Fred Poordad.

Concentration on a few keys to success has helped Mosing during his racing career. He attributes this approach to his driving coach and Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge co-driver, Eric Foss, who gave Mosing his adopted mantra of “Do it because it’s fun.” They race together in the No. 56 Porsche Cayman fielded by Murillo Racing in the CTSCC.

“I met Eric back in 2008,” Mosing said. “Eric is a part of my career. We’ll be doing cool stuff in cars together as long as I can. He’s the one that when I get to a track, he says, ‘Here’s what you can do in this car,’ and I go out and do it. I was really excited this year when the deal came together and I knew we’d get to work together again. I knew we’d be just fine when we won the first race of the season in Daytona.”

Foss’ coaching in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama series has paid major dividends for Mosing. He has earned eight podium appearances, including two wins, this year in Gold Cup.

Mosing’ success seems almost ironic consider he chose the Porsche single-make series because he never wanted to find himself getting comfortable in any platform of racing. But Mosing is right at home in his Porsche 911 GT3 Cup car.

“I chose the GT3 Cup series because of many reasons,” Mosing said. “The Porsche 911 platform I’ve been in love with for a while. I really enjoy spec racing. It’s a good way to gauge yourself against other drivers. With no co-drivers, there is no mental load of bringing the car back to the other guy.

But at the same time, the performance and the setup are all my responsibility. I like that we go head to head each weekend. For me that means one weekend, one venue, three races (two GT3 USA, one CTSCC).”

Mosing enjoys Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama so much that he wants to move to the Platinum Cup in the near future. The technical aspects and competition of the 2014-model cars have caught Mosing’s eye this year.

Fans can follow the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama action this week from COTA in many ways. Both races will be streamed live at the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama section of IMSA.com. Live timing from all on-track sessions also is available at IMSA.com, with live text commentary from all sessions tweeted @IMSALive.

A one-hour show featuring coverage from both races also will be televised Saturday, Oct. 18 in various U.S. markets as part of a new syndicated network television package partnership between the International Motor Sports Association (IMSA) and Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: SBGI). That broadcast also will be available on YouTube after it airs on television.

The new TV package debuted Sept. 13 with a show featuring the season opener in March at Sebring International Raceway. That broadcast also is available now at the IMSAvids channel on YouTube and on IMSA.com. The next show on Sinclair’s American Sports Network (ASN) is this Saturday, Sept. 20, featuring Rounds 3 and 4 of the season from Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

For updates from Mosing on Twitter, follow @JeffMosing. For live on-track updates on Mosing and the rest of the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge USA by Yokohama field at COTA, follow @IMSALive. For series updates follow IMSA on Facebook and Twitter at @IMSA.