MC Racing’s Strong Drive Matches Career Best Finish

August 2, 2020 (Willows, CA) – Michael McColligan, driving the #36 MC Racing Mazda RX8 continued his
strong form with a second place finish in Round 2 of the Hankook Tires United States Touring Car
Championship at Thunderhill Raceway.
Thunderhill Raceway has always been a challenging track for MC Racing and Team Driver Michael
McColligan but they headed to Round 2 with optimism. Saturday’s first practice was all about beddingin a brand new set of Raybestos brakes. The team took a strategic gamble and decided to skip the first
qualifying to conserve precious tires. In qualifying two, McColligan was able to deliver a time good
enough for P6 on the competitive grid. Standing Starts are always a bit tense and exciting and this race
would be no different with one of the BMW’s from farther back jumping the start and stopping in the
gap directly in front of McColligan. “When the green flag dropped, I got a great start but had nowhere
to go, so it was either back out of it or hit the wall”, stated McColligan. McColligan lost an additional
position to the Dodge and then settled into his race pace. As the race progressed, McColligan kept a
steady pace and began to reel the Dodge back in. “I could see that he was starting to struggle with tires
and the RX8 continued to feel good as I could really push. I was much faster in the handling sections but
his power advantage made it difficult to stay in touch on the open sections”, described McColligan. The
battle raged for a few laps and McColligan was able to pull off a stellar passing move into turn 6. A few
laps later, he caught and passed the yellow Civic that was having engine problems and then caught the
silver Civic right at the white flag. “I showed my nose to let him know I was there into turn 2 and was
able to pull off another strong pass in turn 6”, said a smiling McColligan. This put McColligan third at the
checkered flag, moving up to second via the BMW’s penalty for jumping the start. “This was one of my
best races ever as I drove hard, consistent, and mistake free. I pulled off some great overtakes and had
a blast out there! Thanks to the team for giving me a car that was strong and reliable despite the
extreme 100 degree plus temperatures. The champagne tasted good”, summed up McColligan.
McColligan and the MC Racing team will celebrate the result and right get back to work as Round 3 is
only three weeks away.
About MC Racing
MC Racing competes in the Hankook Tires United States Touring Car Championship aboard a Mazda RX8
with support from Idemitsu, Raybestos, Mazda USA, Mazdatrix, Racing Beat, Konig Wheels, Orafol,
Eibach Springs, and Napier Outdoors. For more information, visit www.mcspeedracer.com.