Michael Whiddett, also known as “Mad Mike,” is a New Zealand drifting racer who has taken the sport of drifting to a new level. He was recently given the green light to transform an iconic Lamborghini Huracán into a drifting demon for a duel with the Dakar-winning Team Kamaz Master truck.
The race against Dakar winner Eduard Nikolaev was caught on camera with Whiddett driving underneath the truck as it got airborne.
In the clip, the pair are racing for the last available parking slot for a fancy ball at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Whiddett is shaken to the core as he drives the revamped Lamborghini over a cattle grid, while Nikolaev smashes his way through a fence before both are chased away by Goodwood security.
It was an apt location as it was at last year’s Saturday night ball where Whiddett was introduced to fellow partygoer Lamborghini CEO Stefano Domenicali and asked if he could top his MADBUL Mazda RX7 Gen 7.3 creation.
A couple of months later, Whiddett was on a 26-hour flight to Lamborghini’s factory in Bologna, Italy where he was given the keys to the iconic Lamborghini Huracán.
In transforming the supercar, Whiddett used a Liberty Walk (custom body) kit while the front and rear fenders of the sleek, factory-fresh model had to be cut up as well to get it ready for a riveting duel with a Team Kamaz Master truck.
He said: “Bringing the #NIMBUL to life is a dream come true for me. Ever since I can remember, I’ve always wanted to create a drift-ready supercar. It took four weeks to turn the Huracan into the #NIMBUL and I can’t wait to let it loose in front of the crowds at the Festival of Speed. It’s so different to anything else, and the vehicles involved are mind blowing.”
Nikolaev added: “This is the second project Mike and I have worked on together. He’s a living legend, a master of his craft. I can’t wait to see what people think of it.”
Whiddett was raised by his single mother, Whiddett, and with Mike hooked on riding motorbikes from a young age, spare income almost always went to upgrades and repairs.
The motocross rider got busted up so badly in his youth to earn his ‘Mad’ nickname that he turned to the drifting scene with a specially modified 515bhp ‘MADBUL’ Mazda RX-7 made in his MADLAB.
Drifting is achieved by using the handbrake to momentarily lock the rear wheels before setting them to spin with the accelerator, by violently shifting the weight balance at speed or by applying brute horsepower to overcome the tyres with ear-piercing high-RPM noise created as a result.
Even outside a competition course, successfully drifting a car requires real skill. Throw in speeds exceeding 100mph and a competitor running in parallel mere millimetres away, and it’s easy to see why full driver commitment is crucial for Whiddett.
