Mad Mike Whiddett wins Red Bull’s Rural Rumble as Liam Lawson nails drift challenge

Liam Lawson has taken a step outside of his Formula 1 comfort zone to take on NASCAR convert Shane van Gisbergen and Formula Drift star "Mad Mike” Whiddett in Red Bull’s new rural three-discipline challenge.

The New Zealand trio were dropped onto a remote farm for what Red Bull billed as a points-based Rural Rumble, mixing a ProLite stadium truck time trial, a drift target test and a four-lap lawnmower race decider.

But while Lawson’s cv is built on the precision of open-wheel racing, this format rewarded fast adaptation.

The opening ProLite time trial immediately highlighted the difference in experience between the drivers. Whiddett, running first in his own 400-horsepower truck, set the initial pace, before Lawson produced the quicker lap but missed the jump target and took a five-second penalty.

Van Gisbergen then stitched together a cleaner run and stopped the clock at 59.06 while also hitting the target, taking the maximum 75 points and leaving Lawson third after round one.

The drift segment swung the competition back into Lawson's favour. Whiddett hit five of the six hanging targets to put pressure on, but van Gisbergen’s run became the weekend’s worst run when he stopped a spin before hitting even a single target. Lawson, last to go, then hit all six targets for the session win and hauled himself into a tight fight before the finale.

That left the lawnmower race as a straight shootout. Van Gisbergen initially controlled track position, but Whiddett and Lawson used the joker lane early to jump him, and the order shuffled once again when van Gisbergen responded with his own joker.

A late lunge briefly put van Gisbergen ahead, but a mistake from the driver opened the door and Whiddett reclaimed the lead to the flag — as a result, the drifter topped the overall standings.

Lawson, who could barely stop himself from falling off the racing lawnmower, finished last. 

Lawson now turns back to his 2026 F1 campaign with Racing Bulls, while van Gisbergen resumes his NASCAR Cup Series programme with Trackhouse Racing.