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Long Beach native Kyle Mohan debuts 2009 Mazda RX-8 at Formula Drift Streets of Long Beach
April 10, 2009 (Signal Hill, Calif.) – During the Tuesday Formula Drift media day, Kyle Mohan gingerly drove his brand new 2009 Mazda RX-8 onto the course in which he will compete in this weekend’s Formula Drift Pro Championship event. With the paint still fresh and the engine work having only been completed in the wee hours of that morning, Mohan completed a day’s worth of trouble-free runs in his new ride, leaving him full of confidence for this weekend’s Formula Drift season opener.
It was at this event last year that Mohan surprised the drifting world with a stellar run to finish fourth in his Mazda RX-7, on his way to three top-16 performances and an invitation to the Red Bull Drifting World Championships. But to keep up with the pace of development in Formula Drift, Mohan and his team set about construction of a Mazda RX-8 that would incorporate lessons learned in two years of competing with the RX-7. Beginning immediately after the RBDWC, work began on the car which was constructed at the Kyle Mohan Racing shop in Signal Hill. All of the major work and fabrication, including the build of the 500 horsepower rotary engine, was done by Mohan.
“Our RX-7 is a great car, but if we want to contend for wins in Formula Drift, we would need another platform and another level of build,” said Mohan. “Our new Mazda RX-8 represents the combined knowledge of Mazdatrix, Mazdaspeed and all of our partners and sponsors. We have improved all of the weak points of our RX-7 and kept up with the curve of new Formula Drift cars. The car drives great, feels strong, and we have had no problems out of the box.
“The credit goes to Mazdatrix, everyone at Mazda USA and Mazdaspeed, and my family and friends that helped us to get the car done in time. We all have day jobs and it took a lot of late nights and long weekends away from family and friends to get the car ready.”
In addition to being the debut event for Mohan’s Mazda RX-8, it is his home event, having grown up in Bixby Knolls and attended Lakewood High School. Mohan was also featured in last week’s Long Beach Gazette’s newspaper.
“This is a special event for me and my family because this is our home town,” said Mohan. “Having lots of friends and family here when we debut the car makes it a much better event for me.”
Kyle Mohan competes in the Formula Drift Pro Championship with the support of Mazdatrix, Cooper Tire, Mazda USA, JIC Magic, Exedy Racing Clutch, Turbonetics, XXR Wheels, Mishimoto, TCSportline, F&L Racing Fuel, EF1 Motorsports, WPC Treatments and Sparco USA. For more information, visit www.kylemohanracing.com.
April 10, 2009 (Signal Hill, Calif.) – During the Tuesday Formula Drift media day, Kyle Mohan gingerly drove his brand new 2009 Mazda RX-8 onto the course in which he will compete in this weekend’s Formula Drift Pro Championship event. With the paint still fresh and the engine work having only been completed in the wee hours of that morning, Mohan completed a day’s worth of trouble-free runs in his new ride, leaving him full of confidence for this weekend’s Formula Drift season opener.
It was at this event last year that Mohan surprised the drifting world with a stellar run to finish fourth in his Mazda RX-7, on his way to three top-16 performances and an invitation to the Red Bull Drifting World Championships. But to keep up with the pace of development in Formula Drift, Mohan and his team set about construction of a Mazda RX-8 that would incorporate lessons learned in two years of competing with the RX-7. Beginning immediately after the RBDWC, work began on the car which was constructed at the Kyle Mohan Racing shop in Signal Hill. All of the major work and fabrication, including the build of the 500 horsepower rotary engine, was done by Mohan.
“Our RX-7 is a great car, but if we want to contend for wins in Formula Drift, we would need another platform and another level of build,” said Mohan. “Our new Mazda RX-8 represents the combined knowledge of Mazdatrix, Mazdaspeed and all of our partners and sponsors. We have improved all of the weak points of our RX-7 and kept up with the curve of new Formula Drift cars. The car drives great, feels strong, and we have had no problems out of the box.
“The credit goes to Mazdatrix, everyone at Mazda USA and Mazdaspeed, and my family and friends that helped us to get the car done in time. We all have day jobs and it took a lot of late nights and long weekends away from family and friends to get the car ready.”
In addition to being the debut event for Mohan’s Mazda RX-8, it is his home event, having grown up in Bixby Knolls and attended Lakewood High School. Mohan was also featured in last week’s Long Beach Gazette’s newspaper.
“This is a special event for me and my family because this is our home town,” said Mohan. “Having lots of friends and family here when we debut the car makes it a much better event for me.”
Kyle Mohan competes in the Formula Drift Pro Championship with the support of Mazdatrix, Cooper Tire, Mazda USA, JIC Magic, Exedy Racing Clutch, Turbonetics, XXR Wheels, Mishimoto, TCSportline, F&L Racing Fuel, EF1 Motorsports, WPC Treatments and Sparco USA. For more information, visit www.kylemohanracing.com.