Words Carlos Cano Estrella | Photos Debbie Meda
E-Drift staff caught up with the driver of the Radbul Miata, New Zealand’s own “Mad” Mike Whiddett. The Red Bull team driver for Formula DRIFT had this to say:
EverythingDrift: Stock vehicle, weekend warrior, what would be your first 5 mods?
Mad Mike: Straight away a rotary conversion, it has to have a rotary, that is a compulsory. From there I’d say suspension and wheels because looks are everything. And then of course once you have the rotary you’re going to need a stronger drivetrain so gearbox and a locked diff so I can actually go out and do some drifting.
ED: And your first car, was it an RX-3?
MM: So for my first car I had a 1978 Mazda 323 , it was rear-wheel drive, and we did a rotary conversion on it when I was like 13. Me and my buddies…it all started from there and here we are now with this crazy rotary Miata.
ED: Your car is already really fast, but how do you intend to make it a little more competitive for FD 2016?
MM: This year was a real development year for Project Radbul III and we built it to be as fast as possible, with as much grip, and as much power. So we tested a lot with the suspension, and tire pressures, and alignments, and getting some good data out on the tracks for next season. Not much will change. I think we have a real solid platform. We’re still on the same motor and it’s been reliable since we’re on fairly low boost. Only 19 pounds and we’re making 1,200 horse power at the tires. So power wise I don’t think much is going to change and drivetrain wise we’ve had basically no issues. Cosmetically, I get sick of it very quickly, so cosmetically it’s going to look totally different and I’m looking forward to the new season.