Tag Archives: mazda

October 16, 2012 (Signal Hill, Calif.) – Now that the season is over, Kyle Mohan can admit that things did not go as well in 2012 as he would have liked.

“We finished 22nd in points – seriously?” said Mohan. “We were 10th last year. WTF?!”

A mid-season string of bad luck and mechanical issues meant Mohan wasn’t able to repeat his 2011 season form. That being the case, he was looking to finish the season on a high note in the no. 99 Nexen / Energy-X Mazda RX-8 at Irwindale Speedway. By defeating the defending champion and advancing to the top-16, Mohan did just that.

With an updated Mazdatrix bridgeport 13B engine under the hood of the car, and with a lot of time spent at the dyno, Mohan’s Mazda was faster than ever on the bank at Irwindale when practice started on Thursday morning. However, an alternator failure shortly afterward would park the car and put more pressure on Mohan and his crew in order to make the most use of the limited Friday practice which led into qualifying. Five runs would be all that Mohan would get before qualifying.

After a disappointing first run, Mohan put an exclamation point on his day by scoring an 82 to qualify 16th. As luck would have it, he would be matched up with Daijiro Yoshihara, the defending Formula Drift champion, who he met in the top-32 in the previous round at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“Enough was enough,” said Mohan about matching up with Yoshihara. “Dai’s a super nice guy and I get along well with his team, but I was either going to beat him or crash trying.”

By out qualifying Yoshihara, Mohan led first and laid down an impressive run – scraping his rear bumper the whole way along the inner bank – with Yoshihara maintaining good proximity throughout the course. On Yoshihara’s lead run, he established a gap and tried to run away from Mohan’s Mazda before impacting the wall in the inner bank. The mistake, which was the only one of note in the two runs, meant Mohan advanced to the top-16 where he would meet Rhys Millen.

“It’s been so long since I was in the opening ceremonies, I almost forgot where to go,” said Mohan. “Lucky for me, the Nexen Tire umbrella girl – who always goes to opening ceremonies – got me pointed in the right direction.”

Mohan’s event would end when he made minor contact in the inner bank while chasing Millen, doing minimal damage to the car but causing him to have a correction. While Mohan’s lead run was flawless, Millen made no mistakes and advanced to the Great Eight.

“I’m really happy that after all the challenges we had this year, the whole team pulled together and we had an awesome final event,” said Mohan. “Irwindale Speedway at night, opening ceremonies, a huge crowd, what more could you ask for? I’m glad to be a part of it and we are really looking forward to next year and bringing our Nexen / Energy-X Mazda RX-8 back. Really, I want to thank everyone at Nexen Tire, Energy-X, Mazdatrix, and Mazdaspeed Motorsports for all of the help and support they provide us. We couldn’t do it without them.

“We also couldn’t compete without Exedy, Mishimoto, XXR Wheels, AIT Racing, EF1 Motorsports, Radium, Turbonetics, Haltech, and the best tuner in the business, Nelson Silviero. The guys on the crew all deserve a shout-out – my dad Joe, Kenny, Royce, Smokey, Codi, and Dave Lemon. This weekend was for them, thanks for sticking by us when we weren’t doing so well.”

Mohan’s driving season isn’t finished yet, as he will head to China to compete in the final rounds of this year’s World Drift Series.  The no. 99 Nexen / Energy-X Mazda RX-8 will be on display in the XXR Wheels booth at this year’s SEMA Show.

Fans of Kyle Mohan can follow him on twitter (@kylemohan) and Facebook (facebook.com/kylemohanracing.)