New Zealand Speedster ‘Mad Mike’ Slides Into South Africa in September!

It’s been a long and dreary winter, but as springtime comes a-knocking on our South African doors, things are sure to get considerably more exciting: it has been confirmed that drift racing superstar, “Mad Mike” Whiddett, will soon be burning rubber to the delight of SA drift racing enthusiasts.

“I’m stoked to head over to get amongst the local drivers and drive scene,”he said. “For me, this trip is an exploration of both South Africa and its culture as much as it is a motorsport trip.”

Mike will be appearing at two local events: Wheels of Fury on the 17th of September at Grand West in Cape Town, and the SupaDrift Series at Carnival City on September 24th.

“I’ve heard so much about the South African Fans and I can’t wait to get there. I’m pumped to showcase what the Mazda RX is capable of and meet the fans first hand.”
Fresh from appearances at Formula Drift in Canada, Japan and the United States, his upcoming trip to the southernmost tip of Africa will be his first. Along for the ride, will be his custom made 2004 Mazda RX8, also known as BADBUL, which also accompanied him to the Goodwood Festival of Speed (in West Sussex) in the UK.

BADBUL, a 3-rotor ‘turbo machine’, as Whiddett calls it, was built after he decided to participate in the 2010 Formula D Championship series. He realized he’d need another professionally-specced drift car because his MADBUL RX-7 was mostly spending time in containers getting shipped from country to country.

"My team and I chose the RX-8 because it was different. We wanted to create a competitive, high-class drifter out of a car that we felt was a complete turd. I also have a huge fan base within the Mazda community so I just had to build another Mazda."

Mike and his radically styled RX8 were even featured in EA Games’ ‘Need For Speed: Shift Unleashed’ in 2011.

"We get a ton of respect from fans and supporters that tell us that we always build the best-looking drift cars. Drifting originated as a sport for style. Whoever looked the coolest sliding up the mountains at maximum angles with their bumpers dragging on the ground was always the favorite. Now drifting has turned into a super-competitive motorsport with million-dollar budgets, which is great, but cars are starting to lose that original drift style. I wanted to ensure that my cars retained the true wicked style of Japanese drift cars. That's one of the reasons why we run mega dish VIP Weds wheels with the crazy offsets and super low stance."

After BADBUL came RADBUL, the crazy 895 kW Mazda Miata / MX-5, and since then, a twin-turbo quad-rotor namely HUMBUL, has been built.

Mad Mike was obsessed with speed and adrenaline from a very early age. He started participating in Motocross at the age of six, and his natural talent for motorised sports became evident when he took second place at the New Zealand 1997 Pro Junior 85cc Motocross Championships.

“I started racing in my teens and did really well in the junior leagues but couldn’t keep up with it because it was too expensive. Eventually Motocross found its way across the Pacific, which I was able to pick up and took part in the first freestyle demonstration in New Zealand. Did that professionally for three years.”

This is also where he earned his ‘Mad Mike’ nickname.

“I’ve broken nearly every bone in my body. I have titanium rods in certain places. I’ve fractured four vertebrae and was told I’d be paralyzed from my T7 down. Pieces of bone sticking out of my arm, broken ribs, over 20 concussions…this was all from doing motocross. Then I found this thing called drifting…”

Oh Mike, we are so glad you did...

While Mike is in South Africa, he will also be filming an episode of his reality TV series called ‘My Mad Mike Life’.

Keen to see what’s sitting underneath BADBUL’s bonnet? Here are the specs:

SPECS: BADBUL Mazda SP3 RX8

ENGINE: Pulse Performance Race engineering (PPRE) 20B 3-rotor;  Monster Bridgeport; lightened/balanced rotors; cross-drilled eccentric shaft; Pulse Performance Race Engineering (PPRE) apex seals; modified stationary gears; Garrett GTX-45 Turbo; custom merge exhaust manifold; Turbosmart Mad Mike Signature Edition 60mm Power-Gate 60 external wastegate; Redline Performance 6" intercooler; Turbosmart blow-off valve; K&N air filter, custom 3.5″ stainless steel exhaust system; custom fuel cell; 2x Bosch Motorsport 044 fuel pumps; Bosch Motorsport lift pump; high-flow fuel lines; Turbosmart adjustable fuel pressure regulator; custom fuel rails; high-flow injectors; Gilmer belt drives, custom catch tank and overflow bottle; Redline Performance alloy radiator; 2x Setrab oil coolers; intercooler and radiator water sprayers

ENGINE MANAGEMENT / ELECTRONICS: Pulse Performance Race Engineering (PPRE) Tuned Haltech Platinum Sport 2000 ECU; custom loom

DRIVELINE: HKS 6-speed sequential gearbox; HKS Pro 2 twin-plate clutch; HKS flywheel; Autosport Dynamics / Winters quick-change rear end; Autosport Dynamics limited slip differential; custom Driveshaft Shop axles

SUSPENSION / CHASSIS: Custom built Tein Super Drift/Mono Flex suspension; Tein EDFC, FD3S RX-7 steering rack; Megan Racing steering arms; URAS tie-rods; Megan Racing tie-rod ends, MMM steering knuckles, Custom tube frame, Custom rear sway bars

WHEELS / TYRES: Front: 18×10″ Nessen Forged 8-spoke, Nitto NT05 225/40R18 tires; Rear: 18×11.5″ Nessen Forged 10-spoke, Nitto NT05 (dry) and Nitto INVO (wet) 265/35R18 tires

CABIN: Six-point weld-in roll cage; Takata Racing seats - custom MM; Takata Racing belts belts; RacePak digital dash; Autosport Dynamics hydraulic e-braker lever, Lifeline fire extinguisher system; D2 Racing air jacks; custom switchboard

BODY: Hybrid Lab wide body kit; BN Sport vented hood; Seibon carbon fiber doors; Seibon carbon fiber trunk lid; Sard GT wing; custom CRE8GRAFX livery
POWER: 812hp (506.5 kW)

BADBUL is Back: http://www.redbull.com/nz/en/motorsports/stories/1331805357397/badbul-at-festival-of-speed

 

Image credits: Red bull content pool www.redbull.com