Mad Mike has always had a passion for all things extreme and fast.
He raced motocross from the age of 6 and placed second at the New Zealand 1997 Pro junior 85cc motocross champs. Pre-adolescence he also competed in BMX then eventually transitioned into the extreme sport of freestyle motocross to compete as a professional for three years. He then made the switch to another form of motorsport which gave him that same rush of adrenaline but with the safety of a roll-cage and thus his drifting career was born in 2007. Now backed by some of the world’s biggest brands – Red Bull, Mazda, Mobil1, Nitto, Rotiform, Holinger, KW suspension, Turbo by Garrett, Snap-On Tools, PWR Performance, and Wilwood – Mike competes in four, pro drift-spec Mazda rotary-powered cars all over the globe. He received over 4.5 million views on You Tube after his ‘Conquer the Crown’ drift project up Queenstown’s Crown Range. Mike was also the first New Zealand drift driver to receive an award from Motorsport New Zealand for Outstanding Achievement.
Mad Mike Whiddett - 2013 Mazda RX8 13B Superlite
Mad Mike has always had a passion for all things extreme and fast.
He raced motocross from the age of 6 and placed second at the New Zealand 1997 Pro junior 85cc motocross champs. Pre-adolescence he also competed in BMX then eventually transitioned into the extreme sport of freestyle motocross to compete as a professional for three years. He then made the switch to another form of motorsport which gave him that same rush of adrenaline but with the safety of a roll-cage and thus his drifting career was born in 2007. Now backed by some of the world’s biggest brands – Red Bull, Mazda, Mobil1, Nitto, Rotiform, Holinger, KW suspension, Turbo by Garrett, Snap-On Tools, PWR Performance, and Wilwood – Mike competes in four, pro drift-spec Mazda rotary-powered cars all over the globe. He received over 4.5 million views on You Tube after his ‘Conquer the Crown’ drift project up Queenstown’s Crown Range. Mike was also the first New Zealand drift driver to receive an award from Motorsport New Zealand for Outstanding Achievement.
2013 Mazda RX8 13B Superlite:
This Superlite short course race truck is powered by the Mazda RX8 13B naturally aspirated engine. Suspension is a Fox Racing triple by-pass and the Gearbox is a Mendeola 4 speed transaxle.