New Zealand drift star and his BADBUL Mazda RX-8 land in South Africa
Every time a Red Bull–fueled video of Kiwi drifter ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett drops online, the typical go-to is to ask the question of why he holds such an impressive profile within the sport.
It's a question asked of so many of these cyber motoring stars, including Ken Block, for similar reasons. There are arguably dozens of rally drivers who would be able to out-perform Block on a rally stage, and while our Radical Michael continues to improve in his overseas American exploits with his ferocious little Mazda MX-5, results continue to be a tough ask.
But Whiddett's latest video helps answer at least part of the question; he's seen by the populous as ‘one of us’. A member of the sport who, if he wasn't out there destroying tyres and heaping smoke into the air, would instead be in the crowd cheering on those on-track. Check the video out below to see what we mean:
The trip to South Africa took Whiddett and his steed to the Wheels of Fury event in Cape Town, as well as SupaDrift in Johannesburg — both of which function as tasters for a video that promises to excite rotary fans and enrage their haters that Whiddett will release on the 10th of October.
Is he an international champ? Not really. But is he helping drifting reach a whole new raft of fans? Absolutely.