MotorNews.co.nz 5:31 pm May 23, 2016
“Winning today at Ebisu was like nothing else, to be able to go door to door with some of my inspirational drift racers out of Japan and take the win was just amazing. It was such a team effort, everything came together today, we were focused and on point. We are so stoked to now be leading the Formula Drift World Championship” – Mad Mike Whiddett
The Track
Ebisu is the home of drift for Japan and it’s an honour to be competing here against the world’s best and some truly inspirational drivers on their home soil. With 9 different tracks in Ebisu to choose from, Formula Drift did a great job in selecting this section of track.© Graeme Murray
HUMBUL Preparation
Kawato and his team from TCP Magic did a great job preparing the car, it felt super strong and responsive on the track. The RX7 chassis really feels like an extension of my body when I drive it, it’s a chassis I’m really familiar with and I have been driving one since the beginning of my career.© Graeme Murray
Qualifying
We threw down a solid run that scored us 94 in the first past, a score we were very proud of considering it was HUMBUL’s first competition. The rain came & the track was wet & tricky in the 2nd pass, we got a clean run & a 74, qualifying 3rd & gained us a bye run in the top 32.© Graeme Murray
The Ebisu Fans
I’m humbled by the amazing support we have internationally, the Japanese fans really show their passion for the sport and I always get a kick out of being around them, they always have such positive vibes.© Graeme Murray
The RC Car Replica
This is one of my more hard core fans who created the most amazing RC Car replica of our 2016 Mazda MX5 Gen2 – RADBUL. The attention to detail on this thing is off the rails, cosmetically it’s perfect, and he has even customized the wheelbase by shortening it.© Graeme Murray
Top 16 Battle
In this battle with Fukada it was tricky as his big 4 door sedan was running at lower speeds and it was a challenge for HUMBUL to be able to drift at these speeds when I was chasing him. We advanced with the win into the Great 8© Graeme Murray
Top 8 Battle
We won this pretty easily by pushing at 100% in the lead run. Oshihiro was unable to match our pace in the chase run and fell back quickly, something also broke on his car, so we got another pretty easy win here.© Graeme Murray
Semi Final Battle
This is where I really start to push hard when we came up against Tanaka in his D-Max S15, this guy is quick so we had to push really hard. It was an insane battle in both runs, but we managed to take it out and move which gave us a spot in the Grand Final.© Graeme Murray
Final Battle
In the final battle we meet a Japanese Champion in Yokoi, a great friend here in Japan. I knew he wouldn’t play any strategy games, this is one of the reason’s I really respect the Japanese drivers, they always push 100%. Today our team pushed 101% and we got the win.© Graeme Murray
The Win
Winning at Ebisu against some of the world’s best is more than just a dream; it’s a 100% determination, hard work, time & commitment. It’s something we have been charging for, & it meant everything to be on top with the Red Bull Magic Mazda RX7. We now lead the 2016 Formula Drift World Championship!© Graeme Murray
The Crew
I’m so proud to represent TCP Magic and put them onto the top step of the podium. These guys did an awesome job preparing the car, a huge thanks to Kawato and his team and also Toni and JT for being a massive part of us being able to accomplish this win.
Via Red Bull NZ
