“Mad Mike” Whiddett is one of the most iconic drifters today, but he’ll once again get to see if his skills translate to off-road trucks when he makes his Red Bull World Cup debut at Crandon International Raceway. He will race a Pro 2 owned by fellow Red Bull athlete Andrew Carlson.

Whiddett is a drift star who won Formula DRIFT’s Asian and Japanese championships in 2018 and was the American series’ Most Improved Driver in 2010. He no longer competes on a full-time basis, but is still heavily involved as a media personality who does drift builds and tests in various vehicles. This past summer, he launched MADLAB TV and got to show off at the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

While drifting is his forte, the New Zealander is no stranger to off-road or truck racing. He grew up competing in freestyle motocross before switching to drifting in 2006. In 2015, he joined the Stadium Super Trucks at the Sand Sports Super Show as a substitute for E.J. Viso; he nearly podiumed with a fourth in Race 1, retired with an engine problem in the second, and rolled in the third but placed seventh.

In 2023, Whiddett set the record for fastest time up the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in a vehicle with a rotary engine. He scaled the mountain in a 2022 Mazda 3 in 10:34.980, which was also the fastest time by a Mazda and ranked him 21st overall.

Whiddett also has an off-road truck based on the Mazda REPU B2000 nicknamed “RUMBUL”, which he built in 2017.

Last week, Whiddett went to Crandon to test drive Carlson’s Pro 2. Carlson races a Pro 4 and loans the two-wheel-drive truck to his friends for the World Cup, as he did with Seth Quintero in 2024. At that year’s World Cup, Quintero finished 11th while Carlson retired.

The Red Bull World Cup and Crandon World Championship Races will be held on August 28–31.

Featured image credit: Philip Platzer / Red Bull Ring