Tag Archives: kyle mohan
Mohan Perseveres and Advances to Top16 in FormulaD Orlando
May 08, 2017 (Signal Hill, Calif.) – With high hopes based on last year’s performance, the Kyle Mohan Racing team unpacked the Built 2 Apex / Mazdatrix / KMR MX-5 from the trailer in Orlando, Florida ready to kick off the east coast leg of the Formula Drift Pro Championship series. This event, however, provided its fair share of challenges for the KMR Team who discovered unforeseen gremlins in the MX5 during Thursday’s practice, launching a trip to local Mazda race shop Kilo Racing and a very late night for the KMR team. Fortunately, the team was able to repair the issues and put the vehicle on track Friday to qualify for the big show on Saturday. Fans packed the Orlando Speedworld stadium for Saturday’s competition and cheered for Mohan who campaigns the only Mazda rotary powered platform in the series. Mohan was paired with Ken Gushi in the top 32 tandem battle. Gushi had a strong lead run, but Mohan was able to maintain good proximity and angle in the chase position. Mohan took the lead position in the second tandem battle and laid down a strong and consistent lead run with a big gap in front of Gushi. The judges unanimously gave the win to Mohan. In the top 16 tandem battle, Mohan fought hard against FD champion Vaughn Gittin Jr. in a close match, but didn’t advance. “Our team overcame many challenges this round with very little sleep, but we were able to persevere and advance through the competition. I’m very proud of our efforts and abilities, and I can’t wait to get back on track for next round in Atlanta!”
Mohan will compete at Road Atlanta for Formula Drift Round 3 on May 12th and 13th. The event will be streamed live on FormulaD.com.
Kyle Mohan Racing Mid Season Recap
So far through the 2016 we’ve competed in four Formula Drift Pro Championship events (and the Super Drift event at the Grand Prix of Long Beach), driven our truck and trailer about 3500 miles, and burned up about 200 GT-Radial Champiro SX2 tires. Now we are headed across the border for Formula Drift’s Pro Championship event at the Autodrome Saint-Eustache near Montreal, Canada.
Since we are at the halfway point in our season, we thought now would be a good time to take a look back on the first four events since we debuted our GT-Radial / Mazdatrix MazdaMX-5 in April at Long Beach.
Round One – Streets of Long Beach
I’ve always said that Long Beach is my favorite event of the year. It’s my hometown, it’s always exciting to start the year, and we were competing in the GT-Radial / Mazdatrix Mazda MX-5 for the very first time. We actually kicked off the week with a visit to theUniversal Technical Institute campus in Long Beach, and we really enjoy meeting the students and letting them have a look at our cars. The UTI students are eager to hear about the more technical aspects of the car and how it performs on the American Ethanol / Igniteracing fuel and how our turner accesses data remotely from our Haltech ECU system. Continue reading
Kyle Mohan Reveals New Formula Drift Fighter for 2016 Season
April 4, 2016 (Signal Hill, Calif.) – The new Formula Drift season will bring a new vehicle for Formula Drift veteran Kyle Mohan, who will park his familiar Mazda RX-8 for a new car built on the Mazda MX-5 platform.
The KMR-built Mazda MX-5 is new but in some respects will be familiar to Mohan, as it is powered by a turbocharged, nitrous-fed three-rotor engine developed by Mazdatrix. Improvements to virtually every aspect of the drivetrain has resulted in more horsepower than the engine has produced before,
“I think ever since we first built the RX-8, we always considered what kind of car we would eventually replace it with,” said Mohan. “However as a small team, we always felt that we would be better off by continuing to improve the RX-8 instead of trying to build an entirely new car. But we made the decision last season to switch to the MX-5, and not only that, to build it to make the best use of our GT-Radial Champiro SX2 tire package. Considering how quick and nimble it felt in our first tests, I think we’ve accomplished that.”
2015 Formula Drift Reel by Thirsty Film
Mohan Goes Big in Texas |Formula Drift Round 6: Texas Motor Speedway
September 2, 2015 (Fort Worth, TX) — The latest Formula Drift event at Texas Motor Speedway proved to be challenging for all drivers with a revised track layout which ran in the reverse direction of previous years. The change-up brought out the capabilities of teams to adapt their vehicle setup and driving styles in order to put on a good show for the sold-out crowd. Kyle Mohan was able to demonstrate his driving skills and style, qualifying for the event in the No. 99 GT-Radial / Mazdatrix Mazda RX8. A video showing one of his practice laps is available below.
Mohan dueled with Fredric Aasbo in the Top-32 elimination round and fought a tough battle. Mohan shredded tires, hit clipping points and made solid angle in his lead run, but suffered a parts issue causing the car to loose drift and end the round.
The team is working hard towards a strong final round of Formula Drift at Irwindale Speedway on October 9th and 10th. After that, Mohan will prepare to compete in multiple events of the World Drift Series in China. Stay tuned to the Kyle Mohan Racing social media and Youtube channel to follow the team’s travels.