KYLE MOHAN & NEXEN TIRE Partner for 2010 Formula Drift Season

[INFO]

Kyle Mohan and Nexen Tire Partner for 2010 Formula Drift Season

March 8, 2010 (Signal Hill, Calif.) -- Kyle Mohan is proud to announce that his team will have a new identity and a new look for the 2010 season. Mohan will partner with Formula Drift’s newest tire sponsor, Nexen Tire, and will compete in the No.99 Nexen Tire / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8 in the Formula Drift Pro Championship.
Mohan, also known for the rotary engines that he builds at Mazdatrix that power drift, race, and street cars around the country, has emerged as a leading Mazda driver in Formula Drift since he first competed in a Mazda RX-7 FC3S in 2006.
Coming off of a breakout 2008 season, where he finished a career-best fourth at the Streets of Long Beach and qualified 10th at the Red Bull Drifting World Championship, Mohan debuted a brand-new Mazda RX-8 at the beginning of the 2009 season. After a full season of development, that RX-8 has been developed extensively in the off season, and will be arriving at the Streets of Long Beach with more power, more noise – and a new tires, courtesy of Nexen Tire USA.
“This is really great news for my team, and for all of the sponsors and partners that have supported us over the past four seasons,” said Mohan. “Adding Nexen Tire as our title sponsor will help us elevate our program and give us what we need to continue to compete in Formula Drift. We have already tested their tires and were very impressed with the grip and wear that we got out of them, so I am really looking forward to getting back on track this season.”
Nexen Tire is new to Formula Drift, but has competed in Ireland’s ProDrift championship, and have become large supporters of grassroots drifting in the United States.
“We are very excited to become a part of Kyle’s Formula Drift program,” said Michael Meeiem, Motorsports Marketing Rep. for Nexen Tire USA. “We have had our eye on becoming involved in Formula Drift for a while, and as long as we’ve been talking about it we have had our eye on Kyle. His performances at the end of 2010, and the fact that he and his small team have competed in their RX-8 at such a high level led us to select KMR to be our flagship team.”
The new-look Nexen Tire / Mazdatrix Mazda RX-8 will debut at round 1 at the Streets of Long Beach on April 8-9.
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. KMR is supported by Nexen Tire, Mazdatrix, Genius Tools, Spider Energy Drink, Exedy, Turbonetics, XXR Wheels, Mishimoto, Drop Mounts, EF1 Motorsports, AIT Racing, Mazdaspeed, WPC, Kaaz, Racing Beat, F&L Racing Fuel, TCSportline, Idemitsu, Baker Precision, and Haltech. For more information, visit www.kylemohanracing.com.

[Bebop]

The n9000 must be one hell of a tire.

I bet by the end of the year nexen will have more then 3 drivers.

[Piner]

^ they already sponsor a good deal of AM drivers, they are supporting alot of people now. I might try a few out and see if I like them better than SS595's

[boxmod]

I've been a nexen driver since january 2009.

[INFO]

[INFO]

April 6, 2010 (Signal Hill, Calif.) –Kyle Mohan has unveiled the new look of his team’s 2009 Mazda RX-8, which now features a bright purple and a healthy dose of carbon fiber.



With new paint and new graphics that feature his team’s new partners – Nexen Tire, Genius Tools, Spider Energy, as well as long-time sponsor Mazdatrix – Mohan’s RX-8 is ready to tackle the first round of the 2010 Formula Drift Pro Championship, held on the Streets of Long Beach. Incidentally, this is the hometown event for Mohan, whose team is based in nearby Signal Hill.

While the rotary fans of Formula Drift might not recognize Mohan’s car right away, it is the same car which he drove throughout 2009. With 2009 being the first time Mohan used an RX-8 in Formula Drift, each event became a test session from which information was gathered and lessons learned – then incorporated into the car at KMR throughout the winter of 2009-2010. The car is now lighter, more powerful, and crucially, easier to adapt to the widely different circuits of the Formula Drift Pro Championship. Thanks to Nexen N3000 rubber, the grip level of the car is also markedly improved from last season.

“Under the skin, it’s the same car,” said Mohan. “We spent 2009 developing it, and the winter improving it, and in 2010 we plan to win with it. Each season the competition level in Formula Drift goes up and we have to stay ahead of the curve, so we’ve incorporated some new tricks to bump up the power and bring down the weight. We’ll be pushing the limits of what is possible with a 13B rotary but we can run with the V8’s and the 3-rotors, no problem.”

In 2008, Mohan’s run to fourth place on the Streets of Long Beach surprised the Formula Drift establishment, and he will aim to improve on that result.

“Being that it is my hometown, and being that all of my family, friends, sponsors will be there, along with all of the local support we get, this event is easily my favorite one of the year,” said Mohan. “Each year it gets bigger and bigger and I want to put on a good show for everyone that supports us. Last year we went out in the first round, partially because I was still learning the car. We won’t have that problem this year!”

The 2010 Formula Drift Pro Championship kicks off this Friday with practice and top-32 qualifying, and Saturday with Top-32 tandem competition beginning at 11:30AM PST. Fans can follow Mohan throughout the weekend via his twitter account, at twitter.com/kylemohan (@kylemohan). A live broadcast throughout the weekend is available at formulad.com/live.

[Lance Feliciano]

Car came out great kyle. GOOD LUCK THIS WEEKEND