New Zealand's Mad Mike Takes Charge of the Formula Drift World Championship

Saisho no basho! Saisho no basho! This is likely what New Zealand's 'Mad' Mike Whiddett would have heard while getting out of his Mazda RX7 HUMBUL at the Japanese stop of the Formula Drift World Championship in Ebisu over the weekend. After three gruelling rounds, Mad Mike is now leading the world's premier drifting competition.

The track in Ebisu is the home of drift racing in Japan, with nine different sections including a mountain pass and skid pan type circuits. "You need to attack it (the track) with maximum commitment," Mike said. "It brings out some good challenges with the changes in elevation and the positioning of the clipping points". The track was built by Nobushige Kumakubo who is one of the pioneers of drifting.

Whiddett has previously raced at other FDWC in Long Beach, CA and Atlanta with his famous Mazda MX5, named RADBUL. This time here in Japan, he was working with the team from TCP Magic. "The RX7 chassis feels like an extension of my own body" he said. Which it should as he's been racing these types of cars since the beginning of his career in 2007.

The Japanese stage was the first time Mike had raced the RX7 HUMBUL, and in the qualifying round Whiddett and his team nailed a score of 94. Even with rain setting in they scored 74 on the second pass.

Battling it out with rival Fukada in the top 16 proved tricky as the Japanese hotshot's big four door sedan could run at lower speeds and Mike's HUMBUL found it challenging to drift while in chase mode. Advancing into the top eight Mike then won the battle fairly easily by charging it at 100% in the lead run.

After taking out Tanaka and his D-Max S15 in a difficult semi-final, the Mad Mike crew were up against the Japanese Champion, Yokoi in the finals. The two rivals have tested a lot together and are very familiar with their respective driving styles, but didn't stop Mike from taking out the title with 188 points.

Next stop in the worldwide tour is Orlando, Florida on June 3-4.

The Japanese Formula Drift World Championship are as follows.

1st – "Mad" Mike Whiddett – Total Car Produce Mazda RX7

2nd – Masashi Yokoi – MCR Factory Nissan S15

3rd – Kazuki Hayashi – DMax Nissan S15

4th – Seimi Tanaka – Parts Shop Taka / DMax S15