The Rowdiest Kiwi Racers Even Drive Lawn Mowers Better Than You Do

Who is the best New Zealander on four wheels? It's a question that Red Bull wanted to answer, and managed to gather F1 racer Liam Lawson, NASCAR phenom Shane Van Gisbergen, and drifting legend Mad Mike Whiddett for a showdown to answer that question once and for all. In a three-round competition that combines tests of precision and speed, the trio gives it their all. The whole thing culminates in a three-way lawnmower race for ultimate speed supremacy. This one's for all the mahbles. 

It's stuff like this that really sets Red Bull apart from the rest of the industry. Is there another motorsport sponsor putting together one-off athlete battles like this for the fan enjoyment? There are thousands of companies involved in modern motorsport, but nobody hits the cross-platform and multi-discipline intersection like Red Bull does. The company reported about $14.3 billion in revenue across 2025, which is around a quarter of the business Coca-Cola does, but you don't see Coca Cola sponsoring drivers in basically every form of racing and extreme sports that exists. Come on, big fizzy drinks companies, do more exciting stuff like this. Are you really going to let a tiny energy drink company walk all over you?

Every motorsport enthusiast should stop what they're doing and go watch this race. These antipodean wheelmen are revered as among the best in the business. Liam Lawson races for the Red Bull junior team Racing Bulls in Formula 1, Shane Van Gisbergen is a three-time Aussie Supercars champ who recently moved to NASCAR as a road course ringer, winning five races last year for the Trackhouse team, and Mad Mike is maybe the most prolific rotary-powered tire shredder on the internet. 

Put all three of these wildly talented drivers together, and you've got a recipe for a strangely accented ripper of a good time. Any of these three drivers seem like they would be a lot of fun to hang out with, too. I bet this shoot day was a total riot, and the wrap party was probably even better. Spoilers: It's not really a surprise that Liam Lawson came home in last place, as running around in a muddy field on a lawnmower is about as far removed from Formula 1 as you can get. He's not used to kicking out the back end and managing grip on a slick surface. 

Van Gisbergen had the best overall showing, but a couple of small mistakes prevented him from winning the event title outright. He was clearly fastest in the trophy truck, despite the truck itself having been built by Whiddett and his team, who had a familiarity advantage. Spinning out before hitting any of the targets in the second round really hamstrung his championship battle. He also had the better of Whiddett on the lawnmowers, but an off-track excursion ended his hopes. 

Mad Mike, meanwhile, was the perfect picture of consistency across the three events. He really played the Red Bull points system in his favor, finishing with two silver medals and a gold in the lawnmower event. Just sitting back and putting up solid numbers on the board got him the win he wanted. Would I love to see these guys put together a rematch with each driver bringing their own race cars to the party? Absolutely. How would SVG do in an F1 car? How would Mad Mike handle a NASCAR Cup road course event? Can Liam even drift? Red Bull — let's get a rematch going, please.