Press Releases

KMR Media Review 2009

November 18, 2009 - KMR, Mazdatrix, Cooper tire, Mazda RX-7 takes 2nd place in Drift Class at Redline Time Attack season finale

October 25, 2009 - Mechanical Heartbreak Hits McColligan at USTCC Finale

October 2009 - Top 5 Finish For MC Racing

September 2009 - MC Racing Finishes Top 10 at NASA National Championships

August 2009 - MC Racing Equals Season Best Finish at Home Track

The hits just keep coming for Kyle Mohan Racing in Atlanta

May 10, 2011 (Signal Hill, Calif.) – Spirits were high in the Kyle Mohan Racing camp as the team descended upon Atlanta after Mohan finished fifth at the season-opening Streets of Long Beach event and then was part of the winning Team Mazda at the Team Drift competition during the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach.

However, at the end of the weekend the team couldn’t get Atlanta's Hartsfeld Airport quickly enough to fly back to Southern California, which was ironic since the Nexen / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8 almost didn’t get to Atlanta in time to qualify for the second round of the Formula Drift Pro Championship at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia.

The Formula Drift transporter which was to deliver Mohan’s Nexen / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8 to Road Atlanta ran into several delays on the way, and the car would not be at the track until the early hours of the morning on Friday. Mohan had only enough time to complete seven practice laps, with the KMR crew making the most of the practice time to dial in the car on its new Nexen N6000 tires.

Mohan’s qualifying position meant he would line up against Eric O’Sullivan in the potent Gardella Racing Pontiac Solstice in the top-32 round of competition. As the two began their first tandem run and initiated into the first corner, a coolant line on Mohan’s RX-8 burst, sending him into a spin and laying down coolant onto the track which then caused O’Sullivan to hit Mohan. Both cars went into the gravel trap and had to be extricated by Road Atlanta’s tow vehicles.

“I had no idea that about what happened until we got the car back to the staging area,” said Mohan. “It happened so quickly, I thought that Eric had just come in too hot and hit the side of us. But it was clearly not his fault at all – he was sideways and right on top of the water and there was nothing he could do.”

The KMR crew was quickly able to repair Mohan’s car and Formula Drift allowed O’Sullivan enough time to complete repairs to their car so that the duo could run the second run of their tandem. Without any drama, O’Sullivan and Mohan completed a clean second run before the judges advanced O’Sullivan to the second round as Mohan had a big disadvantage to overcome after the crash.

“One day, we’re going to have a great weekend in Road Atlanta,” said Mohan. “It’s too bad we always have trouble here because it’s one of the most fun events on the schedule. The crowd is great, the atmosphere is insane, and there is a lot of support for Mazdas and a lot of rotary fans in Atlanta. But now we’ll get the car back and fix everything and be ready to go to Florida in three weeks.”

During the trip to Atlanta, Mohan and his team visited Rick Case Mazda located in nearby Duluth, Georgia, on Thursday night. Located close to Road Atlanta, Rick Case Mazda was a big supporter of the KMR team throughout the weekend and the team will definitely return to the dealership in 2012.

Mohan now sits 14^th in the series points standings with 95 points after two rounds. The next Formula Drift Pro Championship event is scheduled for June 8-9 at Palm Beach International Raceway in Palm Beach, Florida – a new venue for the series.

Videos from Road Atlanta

Top-32 vs. Eric O’Sullivan [Part 1] -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P912ciZTVMA
Top-32 vs. Eric O’Sullivan [Part 2] -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEZC3af1UNI
Rick Case Mazda Interview [Part 1] -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HTXc4hJGhU
Rick Case Mazda Interview [Part 2] - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X9YLwdQT8ZY 

About Kyle Mohan Racing

Kyle Mohan competes in the Formula Drift Pro Championship in the No.99 Nexen Tire / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8, with support from Nexen Tire, Mazdatrix, and Mazda USA. More information can be found atwww.kylemohanracing.com.

Contact: Efrain Olivares | 818.254.7196 | efrain@shiftgroup.net

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Mohan begins Formula Drift season with a bang on the Streets of Long Beach

April 11, 2011 (Signal Hill, Calif.) – Eager to get his 2011 Formula Drift campaign off to a fast start, Kyle Mohan came out of the start swinging at the season opening event at the Streets of Long Beach – and he kept swinging until he finished the event in fifth place.

By advancing to the Great Eight, Mohan was the highest finishing non-V8 car and recorded the best result to date for Nexen Tires in their two year history in the Formula Drift Pro Championship. 

Mohan was strong from his first run in practice and showed the prowess of the Nexen / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8 in qualifying when he scored an 89.9 in his first run, good for first after one round, before he improved his score to a 92.2 which ultimately made him the third best qualifier. He would face off in the round of top-32 against Patrick Mordaunt, defeating him and sending Mohan to face Dennis Mertzanis in the top-16. After defeating Mertzanis, Mohan’s progress would be stopped by Justin Pawlak, who would ultimately win the event. Mohan’s result means he sits fifth in the Formula Drift Pro Championship. 

“We wanted to come out strong, and that’s what we did,” said Mohan. “I live near here, Mazdatrix is right in Long Beach, and so many of our sponsors and friends come out to support us we wanted to put on a good show for them. I felt really confident in our car and Nexen tires and I’m really happy with our result.”

Mohan was quick to credit the development work done to the Nexen / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8 by engine builder Mazdatrix and suspension partner Eibach for the improved form of the car at Long Beach.

“It was so easy to drive on the ragged edge,” said Mohan. “We worked extremely hard at Mazdatrix to improve the torque, response, and drivability of our two-rotor engine. While many guys are swapping V8s into their cars, we are committed to rotary performance and will be keeping our Mazda engine in our Mazda. And now that we have Eibach on board, we are making full use of the power available and the car has never handled better. I’m really excited to get to Atlanta!”

Mohan and his RX-8 will be back on the Streets of Long Beach this weekend to take part in the Team Drift competition during the Grand Prix of Long Beach. Mohan will be a part of Team Mazda with fellow Mazda drivers Joon Maeng and Charles Ng.

Videos of Kyle Mohan in competition at the Streets of Long Beach are below:

Great Eight – Justin Pawlak vs. Kyle Mohan http://www.justin.tv/driftstream/b/283355316
Top 16 – Dustin Mertzanis vs. Kyle Mohan http://www.justin.tv/driftstream/b/283352646
Top 32 – Patrick Mordaunt vs. Kyle Mohan  http://www.justin.tv/driftstream/b/283338717

About Kyle Mohan Racing

Kyle Mohan competes in the Formula Drift Pro Championship in the No.99 Nexen Tire / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8, with support from Nexen Tire, Mazdatrix, and Mazda USA. More information can be found atwww.kylemohanracing.com.

Contact:  Efrain Olivares | 818.254.7196 | efrain@shiftgroup.net

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KMR clinches first championship in Redline Time Attack’s Drift Class

November 19, 2010 (Signal Hill, Calif.) – Slipping and sliding through the rain at the Redline Time Attack event at Infineon Raceway three weeks ago, Kyle Mohan put his drifting skills to good use as he had no trouble keeping his Mazdatrix / Nexen Mazda RX-7 on track despite the deluge. Taking the Drift Class win that day in Sonoma meant Mohan clinched the class championship, the first Redline championship for Mazdatrix, Nexen Tire, and Mohan. 

With the championship wrapped up, the Mazdatrix / Nexen Mazda RX-7 proudly wore a No. 1 number plate at the season finale this past weekend at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. With the competition in the Drift class increasing over the past couple of rounds, Mohan and the KMR team found more speed in the car before the event. Mohan’s best time of 1:52.7 was nearly a full four seconds faster than his best time at the May event at Auto Club Speedway.

Mohan finished the weekend third in the Drift class, and contested the Super Session where he finished seventh.  True to form, he celebrated his season by drifting the infield portion of the road course during the Super Session cool down lap, to the applause of the trackside crowd. 

“I’m really happy that we were able to win this championship for Mazdatrix and Nexen Tire,” said Mohan afterwards. “This is our first championship together and it was really an honor to wear the No. 1 on the side of the car. It wouldn’t be possible without all of our team partners, who all jumped in when we told them we were going to compete in Redline Time Attack this season, and without the great KMR crew that always had the car in perfect shape.”

With the changes in the weekend format of Redline Time Attack, the Drift Class will not continue in 2011. Mohan and his team are evaluating their options for continuing the Time Attack program in the New Year.

“We essentially ran the car unchanged from when it was a Formula Drift car in 2008,” said Mohan. “So we feel that there is a lot of development left in the car if we are able to continue with it in Time Attack. We made a lot of small changes, and I feel I improved a lot over the course of the year, so hopefully we can put something together for 2011. But for now, we’ll just celebrate our championship!”

Mohan will drive the Mazdatrix / Nexen Mazda RX-7 one more time in 2010, at the Gymkhana Grid Invitational, December 3-4, at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale.

About Kyle Mohan Racing

Based in Signal Hill, Calif., Kyle Mohan competes in the Formula Drift Pro Championship in the No.99 Nexen Tire / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8, and in the Redline Time Attack in the No.99 Mazdatrix / Nexen Tire Mazda RX-7. KMR is supported by Nexen Tire, Mazdatrix, Genius Tools, Spider Energy Drink, Exedy, Mazdaspeed, Turbonetics, XXR, Mishimoto, Drop Mounts, Gatorz Precision Eyewear, EF1 Motorsports, AIT Racing, WPC, Kaaz, Racing Beat, F&L Racing Fuel, TCSportline, Idemitsu, Baker Precision, Mothers Polish and Haltech. For more information, visitwww.kylemohanracing.com. 

Contact:  Efrain Olivares | 818.254.7196 |efrain@shiftgroup.net

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Picture by SpencerImaging.net

Picture by driftfotos.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OCT.21

Mohan puts his Mazda RX-8 in the Great Eight at Irwindale Finale

Contact:
Efrain Olivares
(818) 254-7196 efrain@shiftgroup.net

October 21, 2009 (Signal Hill, Calif.) – Kyle Mohan saved the best for last in his 2009 Formula Drift Pro Championship season, as Mohan wheeled his Mazda RX-8 – supported by Mazdatrix, Cooper Tire and Mazda USA – to the best qualifying performance and best finishing result of his season.

Mohan served notice early in Friday qualifying with an 84.6 point run that, for a while, was the best qualifying run of the day before he ultimately finished fifth. The round of 32 saw Mohan defeat Jodin LeJeune after Mohan almost literally parked his RX-8 on the rear bumper and quarter panel of LeJeune’s Infiniti G35, which meant he would match up against Alex Pfeiffer in the thundering Tanaka Racing Chevy Corvette. Mohan advanced after Pfeiffer spun twice and was matched up against Matt Powers in the round of eight. After a strong lead run, Mohan made contact with the wall on the outer bank while chasing, which caused his Mazda to straighten and led to him being eliminated.

“This was such a great result for our team, and I am so happy for our sponsors, and for all of the family and friends that have helped KMR this season,” said Mohan. “I really wanted a great result for them this weekend, more than anything, and getting into the Great Eight for the first time this year was great.”

The result left Mohan 21st in the championship standings, despite not qualifying at one round due to a mechanical failure. In a year in which Mohan’s focus was on building and developing the new Mazda RX-8, Mohan was more than pleased with the end result.

“We have spent the year getting this new Mazda RX-8 dialed in and this weekend it really felt like we turned the corner with it,” said Mohan. “From the first lap of practice it was really good, the team made a few minor changes, and it was just phenomenal after that. It leaves me really excited for next season – I can hardly wait for Long Beach next year. We have a great car."

While Mohan’s Formula Drift championship season is over, his team will remain busy as Mohan will fill his off-season with a Redline Time Attack event before fielding a car for Pro-Am driver Johnny Kanavas at the Formula Drift Pro-Am Nationals.

About Kyle Mohan Racing

Kyle Mohan Racing competes in the Formula Drift Pro Championship aboard a 2009 Mazda RX-8, with support from Mazda USA, Mazdatrix, Cooper Tires, Exedy, WPC, Idemitsu, Turbonetics, Mishimoto, JIC Magic, TCSportline, KAAZ, F&L Racing Fuel, AIT Racing, Music Saves Lives, XXR wheels and Epic Action Sports Camera. For more information, visitwww.kylemohanracing.com.

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Mohan’s RX-8 is fastest at Wall, in top-32 again

June 12, 2009 (Signal Hill, Calif.) – With the rain that cancelled Friday practice at Wall Speedway for the third round of the Formula Drift Pro Championship, most teams were happy that they had the chance to practice  the day before, especially considering that Formula Drift had not been to Wall Speedway since 2007.

Transporter issues delayed the delivery of several cars to Wall Speedway, including the 2009 Mazda RX-8 of Kyle Mohan. Mohan was one of the few drivers who had not been to Wall Speedway before, and with the cancellation of Friday’s practice, would only have the short Saturday session to get things figured out before qualifying.

“Well, the situation definitely wasn’t ideal,” said Mohan. “But there isn’t much we can do about it. We’ll just learn the track as best as we can, do some safe runs in qualifying, and see what happens in tandem.”

Mohan’s two qualifying runs, held on a damp-but-drying track, were good enough to put him solidly in the field as he eventually wound up in 19^th position. However, Mohan’s RX-8 registered the fastest speed in the speed trap during qualifying.

Top-32 would see him go against Robbie Nishida. Nishida led on the first run, but as the two cars transitioned off the banking, Mohan’s RX-8 spun. On the next run, with Mohan leading and Nishida giving chase, Mohan put in a strong run but Nishida made no major mistakes and moved on to the top-16.

“Robbie is a great driver and I knew that going against him wouldn’t be easy,” said Mohan afterwards. “And, to be honest, we were just caught out a bit on the track conditions. That was our first time on the track in the dry, and we were getting way more grip out of our Cooper Tires than I expected. And, as we saw in qualifying, the car is making plenty of power and was really flying.”

Mohan will now set his sights on the next Formula Drift round, July 12 and 13 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

About Kyle Mohan Racing

Kyle Mohan Racing competes in the Formula Drift Pro Championship aboard a 2009 Mazda RX-8, with support from Mazda USA, Mazdatrix, Cooper Tires, Exedy, WPC, Idemitsu, Turbonetics, Mishimoto, JIC Magic, TCSportline, KAAZ, F&L Racing Fuel and XXR wheels. For more information, visitwww.kylemohanracing.com.

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Mazda/Allstars team finishes fourth on Streets of Long Beach

April 24, 2008 (Long Beach, California) -- The Mazda/International Allstars team, with Kyle Mohan, Patrick Mordaunt, and Johnny Kanavas at the helm of a pair of Mazda MX-5s and one Mazda RX-7, took to the track this past weekend the Long Beach Grand Prix to compete in the Formula Team Drift Championship.

Setting aside the fact that the Long Beach Grand Prix is the biggest race of its kind in North America, and the biggest venue for Formula Drift in terms of event stature and crowd size, this was a big event for the team’s drivers. But for Mohan, Mordaunt, and Kanavas, it was also their home event, as all live but mere miles down the freeway from the scenic Grand Prix Circuit. The International Allstars are also based in Southern California, and Mazda USA’s headquarters are based in nearby Irvine – not that many of them were in the office, as with a significant number of Mazda vehicles racing in Long Beach, many of Mazda’s staff were on site.

And for Kanavas, this was his first Formula Drift event – and, he’d never been on course at all at Long Beach. Mordaunt had only seen a portion of it, having competed in the Formula Drift Pro Championship event the weekend before, while Mohan had seen the full course in last year’s Team Drift event.

But, in front a packed crowd and under perfect weather, the Mazda/Allstars team delivered the goods (at least once the computer in Mordaunt’s car began cooperating) and came home fourth place in Sunday’s judged competition, a single point behind the third-placed team. With all three cars bouncing off the rev limiter, hanging the tail out and burning down their Cooper Tires, the drivers were grinning ear-to-ear after coming off track. It’s hard not to enjoy yourself when flogging a car for all its worth around the Long Beach Grand Prix course.

With the recent unification of the Champ Car World Series and the IRL IndyCar series, the rest of the Team Drift schedule is one large “TBA.” But look for Mohan, Mordaunt and Kanavas to be back behind the wheel for the Mazda/Allstars team before the season is over.

For more information, visit:

-         kylemohanracing.com

-         patrickmordaunt.com

-         kanavaskompetition.com

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Contact:
Efrain Olivares
Shift Communications Group
(818) 254-7196
efrain@shiftgroup.net

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