MC Racing Overcomes Adversity and Brings Home Top 5 Finish
MC Racing Overcomes Adversity and Brings Home Top 5 Finish

August 23, 2020 (Sonoma, CA) – Michael McColligan, driving the #36 MC Racing Mazda RX8 overcame some challenges to finish fifth in Round 3 of the Hankook Tires United States Touring Car Championship at Sonoma Raceway.
Unfortunately, the electric power steering on the usually very reliable RX8 began acting up from the first practice. This is especially problematic at a track as technical as Sonoma Raceway. “The power steering was cutting in and out making it very difficult to drive. Even when it was working, I had to give a bit of a margin in case it cut out mid corner”, mentioned team driver Michael McColligan. The team worked hard to solve the issue but could not completely eliminate the problem. McColligan was still able to qualify the RX8 in P5 for the feature race. McColligan had a strong standing start and was able to hold his line and move into P4 by the exit of the carousel. Some out of class cars were between McColligan and the top 3 and he soon made a strong move down the inside of the Audi at Turn 7 and around the outside of the BMW a few laps later. With clear air, McColligan ran some fast laps, soon catching on the tail of the lead pack. Unfortunately, the differential from one of the touring cars failed leaving oil all over the brake zone at turn 11. “I saw the yellow flag and slowed way down but did not see a debris flag or the oil until I was spinning around”, described McColligan. By the time he got back underway, he had dropped back to 6th. He was able to recover a position before the checkered flag bringing the Mazda RX8 home in 5th position. “We ended up running the second fastest lap in the race, so we had the pace to finish a bit higher, but considering the reliability issues and on-track excitement, fifth is not too bad”, smiled McColligan. The team will regroup and get ready for the double header at Buttonwillow, September 12-13.
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.