Acapulco a far cry from Bucks
Posted on August 24, 2023 Tags: Acapulco
Mad Mike versus Mad Max
Racing precision to controlled chaos
Images courtesy Oracle Red Bull
WHEN YOU’RE ON THE SORT OF INCOME that brings tears to the eyes, it’s no surprise your boss is not going to take kindly to madcap stunts – like doing freefall jumps from a great height, or diving off the cliffs of Acapulco.
Mind you, any sane person would immediately delete the one-time tourist mecca from to do list because of its extraordinary crime rate. Currently Acapulco is ranked the second most dangerous city in the world, behind only neighbouring Tijuana!
That said, the popular sport of Drifting – in Buckinghamshire – is a far cry from the current horrors of Acapulco. And Oracle Red Bull’s Christian Horner had no such trepidation when two-time world F1 champ Max Verstappen decided to try his hand at the art of “controlled anarchy”.
Or the wizardry to master a powerful beast along its sideways dance across a circuit! An asphalt pirouette, even.
I well remember my days at Barbagallo Raceway when we were bold enough in the early 2000s to allow drifting at the Wanneroo circuit, which many members considered a sacrilege. Dave Walker, that master motorsport official, had no fears. He knew what he was doing.
What drifting is today in Western Australia is largely down to Dave.
(I must admit I was more concerned about the damage caused to the grassed track edges!)
A worldwide phenomenon
The sport has since blossomed across the globe, and the ability to slide a brutal machine gracefully, in tandem, is a driving skill matched by no other.
So, it seemed it seemed inevitable that Max Verstappen took time out of his summer break to take on a lifelong ambition: learning to drift, joining forces with Master craftsman’ Mad’ Mike Whiddett for an unforgettable track challenge.
The venue was familiar territory around the Milton Keynes track in Buckinghamshire, under the tutelage of the famed Kiwi professional, recognised among the world’s best.
The 25-year-old Dutchman – sitting at the top of the F1 drivers’ standings – battled rare nerves as he grappled with the 600HP FD3S Mazda RX7 MADBUL drift car, a stark contrast to his usual machinery.
He faced challenges previously unknown to him on a racetrack. With ‘Mad Mike’ guiding, Max was thrust into high-speed doughnuts, figure-of-eight manoeuvres, and the rapid direction-change known as the Scandi-flick.
The 42-year-old Auckland born Mike Whiddett is renowned for repurposing high-performance speed machines into drift marvels, notably transforming a Lamborghini Huracan into a drifting spectacle for the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
And that’s an awful long way from Acapulco!
That same adrenaline rush!
“Learning to drift was very crazy; I didn’t know what to expect. “I think it was the most nervous I’ve been in the past two years because it’s not natural to how I normally drive. “It felt like I was 16 again and jumping into an F1 car for the first time! “As soon as the engine started and I began drifting with the wheels spinning, I got into my natural zone where I was finding the limits of the car, as I do in F1 – I felt that same adrenaline rush, and my instinct took over.” Max Verstappen
Drifting is as raw as it gets!
“We really pushed the limits with Max, and I hope he learnt some awesome tricks he can take to the F1 track – drifting is as raw as it gets! I’d love to try out these challenges in an F1 car and see what’s possible in Max’s seat next time.” Mike Whiddett
The second half of the F1 season fires up this weekend with the Dutch Grand Prix, at Zandvoort – among the most traditionally demanding tracks on the calendar.
Zandvoort only returned to the Formula 1 schedule three years ago on the wave of all the local support for Max Verstappen, who then amply repaid the raging Orange masses by winning the last two Dutch Grands Prix.
On the edge of the North Sea, located between two sand dunes, Zandvoort it’s an exceptionally twisty track with two banked corners – Turn 3 and Turn 14 – that are steeper than the legendary Indianapolis.
No surprise that sand frequently is blown onto the track – as it is at Sakhir, Bahrain – reducing the grip from the tyres.
Zandvoort, North Holland
“On corners like Zandvoort the stress on the tyres is greater than it would be through normal corners, as the vertical forces increase with the much higher speeds due to the banking,” according to Mario Isola, Pirelli’s F1 guru.
“Overtaking is tricky because of the narrow track and constant sequence of corners, making qualifying even more important than is normal.
“Last year, no fewer than 14 drivers – including the top three – used all three compounds, underlining the wide variety of options available to the strategists on the pit wall.”
• The three compounds for the Dutch Grand Prix are the C1 P Zero White hard, C2 Yellow medium and C3 Red soft – the same choice as the last two years – the difference is that the current C1 compound is softer than its predecessors.
Most drivers made three pit stops in 2022 . On paper, the fastest strategy is a two-stopper, but it’s possible to stop just once with careful tyre management. Last year, the opportunity for a final stop onto the softs was made possible by a late safety car (following a virtual safety car).
Since Zandvoort hosted its first F1 grand prix in 1952, Ferrari is the circuit’s most successful team with eight wins, while Jim Clark has the most victories with four.
EDITED by AC
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