Cody’s D1NZ National Drifting Championship points leader ‘Mad Mike’ Whiddett plans to be behind the wheel of his familiar ‘Madbul’ Mazda RX7 at the penultimate round of the 2013/14 series at Christchurch’s Mike Pero Motorsport Park over the Easter weekend – but he is also taking his other car, the ‘Badbul’ Mazda RX8, just in case.
“It (the RX7) is the car we’ve been using all season and it’s the one we want to try and win the championship in but we’re taking the RX8 as a backup because we don’t want to be in a position where we have to try and borrow someone else’s car if something goes wrong with our’s,” the Red Bull and Speedhunters-backed Auckland driver said on Friday.
Whiddett, who won the Christchurch round last season, heads south with a 54.5 point lead over three-time former champion Gary ‘Gaz’ Whiter (Tectaloy Nissan S14 V8) in the 2013/14 series points standings with just this and the Grand Final round back in Auckland at Mt Smart in May to go.
Whiter got his season off to a winning start at Hampton Downs in November last year, but gifted a second win on the trot to Whiddett when he glanced off the wall in the pair’s final battle at Whangarei a month later, then qualified but didn’t get past the Top 32 in a borrowed car after major driveline issues with his own car at the next round at Bay Park in January.
The former series champ bounced back to beat 2011/12 series title holder Curt Whittaker (Autosure Warranties 2JZ Nissan Skyline R34) and Whiddett at the most recent series round at Taupo’s Ricoh Motorsport Park in February – but only after a marathon effort to rebuild his car’s aftermarket V8 engine when it lost oil pressure at a test day at the track on the eve of the event.
In comparison Whiddett and his familiar Red Bull/Speedhunters Mazda RX7 have been the picture of consistency, winning at Whangarei, finishing second to Whiter at Hampton Downs and Andrew Redward at Bay Park, then third behind Whiter and Whittaker at Taupo.
Adding a wildcard element, meanwhile, to the annual South Island round of the Cody’s D1NZ series is a gaggle of top local drivers including Chris Jackson (Surfab Nissan S14), Troy ‘The Family Guy’ Forsythe (Drift Direct Nissan S13), Guy Graham-Bagrie (KVS Mazda RX7) and Phill Sutherland (Drains and Developments 2JZ Nissan Cefiro).
Also expected to feature is V8 Supercar ace Shane Van Gisbergen who has been sharing the distinctive BOC Gases/Racestuff-backed Ford Falcon V8 nick-named ‘The Rattla’ with namesake Shane Allen from Waiuku.
Driveline issues saw the pair bow out at Bay Park, then have to borrow cars at Taupo. But the high-horsepower Falcon will be better suited to the long, fast, sweeping corners of the Mike Pero Motorsport Park drift section than it has been to the tight, concrete-lined stadium tracks at Whangarei and Bay Park.
Looking forward to seeing another part of their adopted country, meanwhile, are the Marshall brothers, Tom and Joe, from the Far North who have set the agenda in the Pro-Am support class this season.
The Marshall family immigrated from the UK seven years ago to establish a heavy earthmoving importing business at Waipapa near Kerikeri. And though new to the sport this season the brothers proved immediately competitive with Tom, 23, (ATJ International Nissan S13) currently leading the Pro-Am class points standings from Aucklanders Joel Hedges (C’s Garage Nissan S13) and Troy Jenkins (Juice Polishes Nissan S15), and younger brother Joe Marshall (ATJ International Nissan 180SX).
“When we started this we weren’t originally planning to go to Christchurch because it is such a long way, but when some of the guys came up with a deal to put the cars in containers and ship them down it took a lot of a cost out of it and meant we could fly there and back so that’s what we are doing,” explained Joe.
Easter’s Club Auto-backed round – which also carries final points for the BP Ultimate Triple Crown series-within-a-series – has attracted a 60+ field across the two – D1 Pro and Pro-Am – classes. There will be action on track both days with Pro-Am qualifying and first battles on Saturday then the final Pro-Am battles and D1NZ qualifying and Top 32-through-final battles on Sunday.
Though the long-term weather forecast is predicting rain series organiser Brendon White stresses that ‘ D1NZ runs rain, hail or shine and we’re looking forward to a fantastic Christchurch round whether it is wet or fine.’
The Mike Pero Motorsport Park (nee Ruapuna) has a large, raised spectator area with a clear view of the drift section and White says fans are welcome to bring their own portable shelters so that they can enjoy all the action in comfort.
After the Easter round in Christchurch the focus of the Cody’s D1NZ returns north, with the Grand Final of the 2013/14 series to be held under lights at Auckland’s Mt Smart Stadium on Friday May 23 and Saturday May 24.
