Liam Lawson beats Isack Hadjar in wild Red Bull drift kart battle

Red Bull drivers often have fun off-track perks with experiences in other motorsports such as drifting and rally. It was no different for Isack Hadjar and Liam Lawson during their downtime in Australia, where the Red Bull and Racing Bulls drivers took on a drift kart challenge with New Zealand drifting legend ‘Mad’ Mike Whiddett.

The drivers were tasked with clipping a proximity wall, pulling off a tight clockwise doughnut and executing a full figure-eight drift through a slippery water balloon target zone on a track designed by Whiddett. To finish, they had to slide neatly into a designated, coned parking space. 

Joining Lawson and Hadjar were supercars champion Will Brown and a wildcard entry from Australian DJ Fisher.

It was Hadjar who was tasked with going first. After a shaky start at the proximity wall, the Red Bull driver nailed the figure of eight, but spun out heading into the balloon target zone and again when he was in it. He ended on a high note, nailing the parking box challenge. 

“It was pretty good, all of the slide was just really hard,” Hadjar admitted afterwards. “It’s also like very little steering lock, locking all four is crazy.”

“Now, I’m nervous,” Lawson responded.

Fisher and Brown took to the track before it was Lawson’s turn. The New Zealander bagged maximum points at the proximity wall and glided seamlessly through the rest of the course. “That was so much fun,” Lawson said as he got out of the car.

Heading into the finale, Lawson led the scoreboard with 1400 points, Brown followed in second with 750 points and Hadjar and Fisher were tied on 350 points.

The grand finale came in the form of a tandem head-to-head battle between Lawson and Brown. It was Lawson who ultimately came out on top after he mirrored Brown’s lines perfectly and closely. “This is a good trophy,” Lawson laughed. “I was more nervous for that than anything recently, that’s for sure. It’s so much fun… It’s unreal how much fun that is.”

We want your opinion!

– The Motorsport.com Team

Share Or Save This Story