Drifting
Mad Mike caps off a couple of big achievements in style
Find out what makes Mad Mike Whiddett’s two new Red Bull helmets special.
Their primary purpose might be protecting a wearer’s head from injury, but helmets and decorative design have always gone hand in hand. While the exotic materials and technology found in modern-day motorsport helmets are a far cry from the heavy steel helms that deflected blows from swords during the Middle Ages, individual style still plays an important role in their finished form. It’s something Mad Mike Whiddett knows well – over the course of the last 10 years he’s amassed a collection of close to 20 custom Red Bull race helmets. But within that group, there’s nothing quite like the two Stilo ST5 carbon fibre helmets he’s just been gifted with.
THE NEW ZEALAND / JAPAN RED BULL HELMET
Mad Mike stoked with his New Zealand / Japan helmet.
© Graeme Murray
New Zealand / Japan helmet with Mad Mike's Formula Drift Japan trophies.
© Graeme Murray
Close-up of Mad Mike's New Zealand / Japan helmet.
© Graeme Murray
Close-up of Mad Mike's New Zealand / Japan helmet.
© Graeme Murray
When the Kiwi drifter speaks of the achievement, there’s one person at the forefront of his mind – team boss Taisuke Kawato of TCP Magic. As the driving force behind Whiddett’s FD Japan championship challenges since the very beginning, it’s no surprise that the helmet, with its personally selected design aspects, means so much to him.
“Of all the Red Bull helmets I’ve been given over the years, this one is my absolute favourite,” says Whiddett. “Winning the 2018 Formula Drift Championship didn’t come easy; throughout the season we saw the highest of highs and the lowest of lowest, but with the dedication, perseverance and plain hard work of everyone involved, it all paid off for us. Through its half-Kiwi and half-Japanese theme, this helmet represents our passion.” - Mad Mike
On one side are the New Zealand elements: Captain James Cook’s HMS Endeavour, a halfpenny, kiwifruit, Bruce McLaren, the New Zealand Made logo and even The Bushwhackers – the late-1980s and early-1990s WWF wrestling duo, that in his childhood Whiddett looked up to as a pair of average Kiwis making it big on the international stage. Then at the rear a face, half Māori warrior, half ninja symbolising the joining of two determined forces. The Japanese side of the helmet tells its own story: Sakura (cherry blossoms), Mt. Fuji, a Nakajima war plane, a Rising Sun, a tribute to the famous artwork ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’, and of course plenty of Mazda rotary love – a rotor, an RX-3, the iconic 26B-powered #55 Mazda 787B 1991 Le Mans 24 Hour winner.
“This helmet perfectly represents the love I have for Japan and what we as a team were finally able to achieve in 2018. I just can’t wait to show Kawato-san.” - Mad Mike
THE 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY RED BULL HELMET
While the New Zealand/Japan helmet was something Whiddett had a large hand in helping design, the 10 Year Anniversary helmet came as a complete surprise.
Designed by Red Bull, the helmet features highlights of the past decade of association, the nicknames of all Whiddett’s rotary-powered vehicles and imagery from some memorable moments including Conquer the Crown and the 2018 Formula Drift Japan title win, the New Zealand silver fern, a Mad Mike ‘MM’ logo and 10 year stamp, special gold and red iodised Red Bull logo treatment, and the names of his partner Toni and children Linc and Jett.
Mad Mike checking out his 10 year anniversary helmet.
© Graeme Murray
Mad Mike's 10 year anniversary helmet.
© Graeme Murray
Close-up of Mad Mike's 10 year anniversary helmet.
© Graeme Murray
Close-up of Mad Mike's 10 year anniversary helmet.
© Graeme Murray
“It was amazing to receive this helmet as a gift; I had no idea it was coming from Red Bull, but it’s a great way to commemorate our last decade together,” says Whiddett.
The fact that both this helmet and the New Zealand/Japan helmet were painted by AirTrix in California just topped it off for the Kiwi – the pin-striping, blends and graphic work of its artisans speaks for itself.
“AirTrix is one of just a few companies in the world commissioned to paint official Red Bull helmets, and it’s a real honour to have them to produce both of these for me. They’re just epic.”
Every Red Bull helmet that Whiddett has been presented has been used for its intended purpose, but these two are a little bit special. “I definitely want to wear the 10 Year Anniversary helmet on occasion,” says Whiddett, “but the New Zealand/Japan one may never go on my head; this one will probably go straight on the wall.”
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