New Zealand’s number one drift racer, Mike Whiddett affectionately known as ‘Mad Mike’, took on New Zealand’s highest highway, the picturesque Crown Range in Queenstown. His weapon of choice his 1996 Mazda FD3 RX7, better known amongst car enthusiasts as the Madbul RX7. The Madbul features a ‘Mad Mike’ ‘Special’ runs the iconic N/A 26b 4rotor Peripheral Port engine, which in effect is two Rotary engines joined together.
In the film, Mike has a crack at drifting the Crown Range, 47 corners stretched over a 10.4km strip of prime New Zealand tarmac nestled between Queenstown and Wanaka.’Mad Mike’ is one of the World’s top drifters competing in both the D1NZ and the Formula Drift Asia series. Earlier this month he raced around the Crown Range’s 47 corners in some places hitting over 150 miles per hour!
The road is similar to many Japanese mountain passes known as Tōge or Touge where drifting originated. Tōge or Touge (峠) is a Japanese word literally meaning “pass.” (Pronounced as “Toe-Geh”) It refers to a mountain pass or any of the narrow, winding roads that can be found in and around the mountains of Japan. These passes have become popular with racers and motorsport enthusiasts because they provide a challenging course.
Regarding the ‘Range’ ‘Mad Mike‘ said “The guys would race from Tokyo over the hills. It’s where it all originated from. So to be able to experience that is just awesome,”. You can see ‘Mad Mike’ in action at round 2 of the Formula Drift Asia championship in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia June 28-29.
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