A climb up the iconic 12.42-mile, 156-turn Pikes Peak has seen Mad Mike Whiddett add a further accolade to his well-distinguished career, becoming the fastest Mazda and fastest rotary in the 101-event history of the race to the summit.
In a specially-built 1400hp, rear-wheel-drive, four-rotor TwinTurbo Mazda3, Whiddett completed the 14,115 ft hill climb in a time of 10 minutes and 34.980 seconds.
The time saw him place 21st overall and fifth of the Exhibition class competitors. Tanner Foust was the fastest of those, driving a 2023 Radford Type 62-2 up the hill in a time of 9:37.326.
This year’s fastest competitor was Robin Shute, who took his fourth crown in five years, driving a 2018 Wolf TSC-FS up the mountain in a blistering 8:40.080.
Whiddett’s time beats a long-standing record set by another New Zealander, Rod Millen, who Whiddett says he looks up to for his sports achievements.
“It’s absolutely incredible,” Whiddett said in his interview following his record-breaking run. “Behind the scenes, I’ve done so much study since this project came about. A huge inspiration of mine is the Millens, Rod Millen, the fastest Mazda up this hill, the fastest time in a Mazda and a rotary of 11 minutes 51.
“Like I said, I was studying a lot over the past two years when Mazda pitched this project, and never once did they say it’s a whole week of practice and testing and qualifying where you’re waking up at 2 o’clock in the morning for 3 o’clock at the bottom of the hill. This is all the teams, so massive credibility and respect for all of them here at Pikes Peak. We’re on the line at 5 o’clock in the morning, and you’re sitting on the line, and the nerves are through the roof.
“I haven’t had nerves like this since I flipped a dirt bike onto dirt with no foam pad or anything like that. But this is way, way higher. You’re sitting on the line at 5 o’clock in the morning and are surrounded by snow and ice and off to shoot 140mph with the best of the best.
“I’m a car builder myself, and just to see the creations that people build and come together. One hundred and one years at Pikes Peak is a massive achievement for Pikes Peak, so congratulations and thank you for having this mad Kiwi come up here with my Japanese team.
“We’ve probably got the most multicultural team. We’ve got Australia, Japan, myself from New Zealand, we’ve got Brazilian in there, Vietnamese, US, we’ve got it all, and we get to enjoy motorsport together.”
The car itself comes off the back of a multi-year project to tackle the unforgiving event, with the likes of Mazda and Whiddett’s Formula Drift car builders getting in on the action. The RWD conversion meant a high aero package was a necessity to keep the car pointing the right direction, something he is not usually accustomed to.
“Mazda initially pitched this project to do a Production Class, front-wheel drive, four-cylinder Mazda 3, Whiddett adds. “For me, I’m a rotary guy from New Zealand, and I’ve been doing rotary since I was 13, not because they were cool but because they were cheap, they were loud and just fun. People either love them or hate them.
“We pitched a Mazda and were like, ‘Let’s do a rotary’. So we did a front-wheel drive conversion to a rear-wheel drive. We built this thing to Formula Drift rules as well; that’s what we know, we’ve won that championship, and we’ve used all the parts that we use in our pro drift cars.
“We also showcase how fast drift cars are and how crazy they are now because a lot of people still look at drifters as just a bunch of boy racers, but we represent some of the world’s biggest brands, and we’ve got some amazing drivers. If you look at Rhys Millen, Tanner Foust and Daijiro Yoshihara, they’re all kings of the mountains out here and showcasing that drift talent.
“For me, its been a big challenge to just learn the tyre. I’m a rookie, not just on the mountain, but I’m a rookie when it comes to running slicks. I’ve done a bit of GT3 racing, thanks to Tony Quinn and Hampton Downs, they’re a huge partner of ours, and that’s the only experience I’ve had on running a slick, and that’s in a GT3 as well, which is like cheating, I feel, after driving this thing.”
New Zealander Rhys Millen was also in attendance at the event, competing in a 2023 BMW M8 for a time of 10:12.024 to go third fastest in the Exhibition class.
Whiddett and the team had originally planned to run the car at the 100th running of the event last year, but a tight time frame ultimately saw them have to postpone for a year.
“It’s really incredible, the support,” Whiddett states of the massive crowd in attendance. “We wanted to race last year for the 100th year, but unfortunately, with the car being built in Japan and me being stuck in New Zealand, we just weren’t able to get it.
“Ken Block was a huge friend of mine, a massive tribute to him, but he said, ‘Mate, just come and hang out with me and my team and absorb as much as you can’, and that was where I was able to witness the fans. They were there the night before, and it was snowing last year, but they were literally sitting in their little foldout chairs on the fenceline in the morning to make sure that when the first car comes, they had the front row seats.
“I think I just about lost it over the finish. I was exhausted and had run out of energy, and the car temps were about 127 degrees.”
Check out Mad Mike’s run and hear what he had to say in the video below.
Header Image: Larry Chen Foto
