Mad Mike Talks WTAC 2012

The International Drift Challenge at Easter Creek Raceway World Time Attack 2012

We're here at Easter Creek Raceway, and I'm Michael from New Zealand, here to give you an update on what's happening in the international drift challenge. This year, we've got six Kiwis strong competing, and we're looking to keep the title in New Zealand hands. Last year, Kur wher took out the podium number one spot, so we're feeling confident about our chances this time around.

Our car is a fresh rebuild of an RX8, which looks cosmetically identical to what we ran in 2010 for Formula Drift. However, the whole car is brand new from the engine to every last bar and everything for the suspension geometry. We've also got a Winters Quick Change rear end, which helps to keep the power down due to the rotary producing less torque but more power at high RPMs. This allowed us to get the gear ratio just right, so we can keep the speed and agility of the car.

We've had a few hours of testing with all the guys out there, and the car feels real good. I was actually quite nervous about making this change, as we're not running any sway bars anymore due to the extra steering lock. However, people said that running sway bars would be too awkward and unresponsive, so we decided to take a different approach. But it's worked out well for us - the car is responsive and everything seems to be in order.

One of the things I like about drifting is getting to different tracks and learning the sections. It's not just about driving fast, but also about mastering the art of drifting and having fun with it. We've got an awesome selection of drivers from Australia competing this year, as well as some team orange guys from Japan who are always a pleasure to compete against.

Competition is always fierce at World Time Attack, but we're looking forward to giving it our all and seeing how the weekend goes. There's no big walls to hit on this track, so you can commit to your lines and push yourself to the limit. The most challenging part of the track for us will be the first gear change when getting back up the hill - we need to do a couple of gear changes through the Section, but it's still a cool track that we're excited to tackle.

Overall, we're feeling good about our chances this year, and we can't wait to get started. It's going to be an adrenaline-packed weekend with some of the best drivers in the world competing against each other. We'll be keeping our fingers crossed and hoping for the best - but either way, it's going to be a lot of fun!