December 15, 2010 (Signal Hill, Calif.) – One of the more unique events for the Mazdatrix team in the 2010 season was the Gymkhana Grid Invitational, held December 3-4 at Toyota Speedway at Irwindale in Irwindale, California.
Spurred by the worldwide success of Ken Block’s Gymkhana videos, the Gymkhana Grid Invitational featured two classes of cars – all-wheel-drive and rear-wheel-drive, enabling Kyle Mohan to bring out his Mazdatrix / Nexen Mazda RX-7 FC3S for one last 2010 competition. The former Formula Drift Pro Championship car contested the west coast Redline Time Attack season, as well as an IDRC drag race.
Gymkhana would bring together two of those elements, as the two mirrored courses began with a drag race from a Christmas tree before drivers had to navigate the tight course consisting of figure eights, a box, slalom, and a 720 degree corner before crossing the finish line. Calling upon all of his skills as a Formula Drift and Redline Time Attack driver, Mohan wheeled his RX-7 to sixth in qualifying.
In the first round of eliminations, he would go up against Japanese driver Toshiki Yoshioka. The two drivers ran time staggeringly close to each other, putting on the best head-to-head battle of the day, but Yoshioki emerged victorious after two runs with a combined advantage of a little more than one second.
“Gymkhana is really fun, and even though we lost by a small amount we still had a great time,” said Mohan. “It will be interesting to see what happens next season with Gymkhana Grid. Having completed this event, we now have a long list of changes we would make to our Mazdatrix / Nexen Mazda RX-7 to pick up some more time in a Gymkhana event.”
Mazdatrix promoted rotary performance throughout the day with the team’s RX-8 that competes in Redline Time Attack, as well as the team’s 1983 Mazda RX-7 FB that is a former SCCA and NASA race car.
With the racing season now officially wrapped up, the team at Mazdatrix will now retire to their metal building in Signal Hill to make their Mazdas even faster for the 2011 racing season. Keep an eye on mazdatrixracing.com for announcements on their 2011 racing plans.
About Mazdatrix
Mazdatrix is one of the country’s leading online parts retailer, service, race preparation shops, and engine builders for Mazda rotary cars with a motorsports history that spans IMSA, SCCA, Trans-Am, and Formula Drift. Located in Signal Hill since 1977, it is the ultimate destination for maintenance and modification of the Mazda RX-7 and Mazda RX-8. For more information, visit www.mazdatrix.com or call (562) 426-7960.
