Liverpool streets closed for Red Bull Drift Shifters!

On Sunday 19th August, 12 of the worlds best drifters descended on the streets below Liverpool’s iconic Liver Building for one of the biggest, loudest and most exciting motorsport events ever to take place in the UK… Red Bull Drift Shifters!

Unlike traditional drifting, in which competitors are judged by three human judges, Red Bull Drift Shifters uses proximity sensors which detect, to the millimetre, how close the cars get to the walls – awarding the drivers points depending on how close to the walls they manage to get their bumpers. Event mastermind and competitor ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddett describes it as “if you’re scraping, you’re winning.”

‘Mad’ Mike came up with the idea of the Drift Shifters to remove the ‘politics’ surrounding traditional drifting with the event first taking place on the streets of Whiddett’s native Aukland, New Zealand in 2012. After the success of the inaugural event, Drift Shifters came back in 2014 also in Aukland. Four years later, the event hit the Northern Hemisphere for the first time as it took the streets of Liverpool.

The mastermind behind the event, ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddett.

After a thrilling day of sideways action, New Zealander Gaz Whiter took the win in his Nissan Silvia V8. An incredible run in the final put him above Hawaiian born Forrest Wang who took second. Norwegian Fredric Aasbø rounded off the podium. Whiter later said: “It’s been amazing! The electricity from the fans here in Liverpool was incredible and it’s been a blast to put on a show in the UK. The talent on the track was beyond measure and I’m stoked that Red Bull and Mad Mike put on such and epic show.”

Gaz Whiter took the eventual win.

Event mastermind ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddett placed 9th but was delighted with the success of the event – “It was absolutely unreal, I’m ecstatic! It was so overwhelming to see how many people came out and to see the event unfold perfectly. People are like ‘ah, you got knocked out early’ but for me the success of the event if far, far better than me standing on the top of the podium.”