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Check out this short slideshow with a few shots and clips from D1 Round 6 2009 today at Ebisu circuit Japan.



Full article coverage coming soon!

But if you can't wait, check out my Drift In Japan Facebook group album with some more pics and vids.

Stu - www.DriftinJapan.com

Labels: 2009, D1, drift, ebisu, japan, round-6, video

D1 round 5 and 6 was held over the 2 consecutive days this weekend at Ebisu circuit.

Yesterday (Saturday) was Round 5 which I missed out on, was apparently sunny and fine. Today (Sunday), the day I chose was showering all day but that's not to say it was bad.



Rain + 600hp D1 cars + a tight Ebisu south course = plenty of hair raising slips and bent fenders!

Luckily it wasn't pouring down so I didn't get soaked but the showers got the track wet enough for some interesting drifting.

Some mentionable fender benders were Orido in his red Aristo and "drift samurai" in his blue Fc Rx7. But a slide into the concrete wall from them wasn't a big shock...they are crazy baka drifters..haha!

The Best 16 was filled with the usual crowd....Kumakubo, Nomuken, Daigo Saito, Kawabata, Hibino etc.




But a few rare entries such as Sakuma in the Toyo S15 was good to see too.

I've met Sakuma a couple of times before and been in the car with him while drifting (awesome drifter obviously) ...and now he's matching up against Kumakubo so good for him.

Other favorites like Tanaka & Suenaga from Team Orange didn't pass qaulifying which was a shame. It would be awesome to see Team Orange take out the final three places one day.

The final battle was between yesterday's Rd 5 champ Suenaga Masao in his white and green FD RX7 and Tezuka Tsuyoshi in the yellow R34 faced R32 skyline who barely scraped in the final entry over Kumakubo in a double "sudden death battle against Kumakubo.

It was Suenaga Masao's lucky weekend as he took the win again today!

Tezuka must have been worn out from the three runs before against Kuma...you could tell he was struggling when he went straight into the door of Masao's FD and lost his front bumper and headlight in the first run of the finals.

This weekend goes down to another great weekend of D1 drift in Japan. I had a great time but would have loved to see Kumakubo take the win...especially since Ebisu is his home track.

Stu - www.DriftinJapan.com

Labels: 2009, chaser, D1, d1-gp, daigo saito, drift, evo-10, japan, JZX100, kumakubo, lancer drift car, round-6, suenaga masao

The 2009 D1 GP Japan drift series kicked off with the first round in Ebisu over the March 28th 29th weekend.

A sell out crowd filled the Ebisu south course stands and braved the ZERO degree chills and snow to see the best drifters Japan has to offer!

To cut to the chase, here are the Top 8 results from Round 1 of D1 GP Japan 2009:

1. Nomura Ken (white R34 skyline)
2. Imamura Yoichi (red S15 slivia)
3. Saito Daigo (red JZX100 chaser)
4. Tezuka Tsuyoshi (yellow R32 skyline)
5. Suenaga Masao (white FD RX-7)
6. Kuroi (blue Toyo S13 one-via)
7. Kumakubo Nobushige (Evo 10 Lancer)
8. Koguchi (dark red 180sx)

All eyes were on Kumakubo in his new Evo 10 Lancer drift machine (7th place) so it was a shame to see him get knocked out against Tezuka in the R32. Tezuka was in fact drifting like a champ all day, so it was good to see him advance.

Another upset was Saito Daigo (last years overall champ - JZX100) getting knocked out in the semi-finals vs. Imamura (red S15)....Saito's car is an abolute monster and he was driving it aggressively all day.


The final round brought Nomuken and Imamura head to head.

Imamura lead the first run but his engine broke, stopped and he couldn't start it for the second run so Nomuken won by default.


It started snowing just before the final round so everyone was in a hurry to get home anyway...so thanks Yoichi, you saved us a few extra minutes of pain!

A great day of drifting even though it was freezing cold!

The next rounds in Ebisu will be round 5 and 6 in August (summer) so it will be nice and hot and I can watch it without shivering and catching a cold.

Ueno's Series 3 BMW drift car was in the pits but never made it out to the track. The car is beautifully made and will be great to see it out drifting amongst the Japanese cars.

Also, Saito Daigo's Mustang was on display but not driven...that car is supposed to be prepped and ready for the track during this season some time. Keep your eyes peeled for that!

Round 2 of the 2009 D1 GP Drift season will be held in Autopolis on April 26th.

Unfortunately, it's at the other end of Japan and as much as I'd like to go, I'll have to skip it. But I'll keep you updated on the results from that and the rest of the 2009 D1 drift season!

Live hard - Drift safe!

Stu
Owner of www.DriftinJapan.com

Labels: 2009, BMW-drift-car, D1, d1-2009, d1-japan, d1-japan-2009, D1GP, D1GP-japan, ebisu, evo-10, evo-X, kumakubo, kumakubo-evo-X-10, lancer drift car, lancer-evo-10-driftcar, mustang-drift-car, nomuken