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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

Team Orange team mates Kumakubo (Lancer Evo 10) and Suenaga (Evo 9) show us their twin drift skills at Ebisu D1 Round 1 2009 during the lunch break.



Then in the Best 16 elimination round later that afternoon, Kumakubo in his lancer Evo 10 leads the drift against an S15 Silvia...Kumakubo went through this run but lost the next run against Tezuka in the yellow R32 skyline.

Stu - www.DriftinJapan.com

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Stay updated and participate in the group over there!

Labels: D1, d1-2009, drift, evo-10, evo-9, kumakubo, lancer-evo-10-drift-car, lancer-evo-drift, team-orange

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

With the help of some insiders, I was able to get my hands on this footage of the last D1 GP round 6 at Ebisu. If you look closely, you might be able to make out the source of this video...



Kumakubo in the Orange Lancer Evo took the win on the day. Unfortunately, his overall series points ranking is still out of the top 10.

Thanks and stay tuned for more drifting action from Japan.

Stu

Labels: d1-gp-2008, d1-japan, drift, drifting, kumakubo

The final round of this years 2008 D1 GP Japanese drift competition was held in Ebisu circuit Nihonmatsu city Japan. The same place they help round 1 this year. But the results were different this time around....

With Ebisu being right in my back yard, (5 mins drive) there was no way I was going to miss it. I actually took my video camera because I wanted to take some video footage of the drifting and put it up here and Youtube to show you but, I had some bad luck and the battery went flat before I could even use it.

I only had my mobile phone camera with 2 bars of battery so my photo taking was limited by that too. Anyway, I was able to take a couple of "ok" photos.


To cut straight to the point, the winner of 2008 Round 6 D1 GP in Ebisu was none other than the owner of the track, Kumakubo Nobushige in his TEAM Orange Lancer Evolution 9.

This 2008 D1 GP drift season was tough for Kumakubo and his team. He hadn't had much luck with rankings, but the weather held off at Ebisu and he was able to score a win and boost his rank in the D1 points table in the final round in Japan! He was very pleased and it showed with tears of joy at the podium!

The final and closing round of D1 GP 2008 drift competition season will be in Irwindale USA in November. But as for me (and the monkeys) and drifting in Japan, I'll still be going to Ebisu from time to time and I'll be able to bring you more D1GP coverage next season!

SAYONARA - from Stu!
www.DriftinJapan.com


:)

Labels: d1-2008-ebisu-round-6, D1GP, drifting, japanese-drifting, kumakubo, lancer drift car, silvia s15, team orange

March 29 -30 2008 and the D1 GP drift competition kicked off Rd. 1 in Japan with a bang with at Ebisu south course.



The rain held off but there was still cold winds and cloud cover making a very cool day to see the pro Japanese drift drivers bring out there drift machines and rival each other around the tight but fast Ebisu south course.

The top 16 was made up of the usual bunch of drivers.

Kumakubo (Lancer Evo) and team orange team mate Tanaka (WRX Impreza) made it to the top 16. They actually had to battle each other in the first heat and Tanaka beat Kumakubo to go through to the next round. However, Tanaka was knocked out in the following round.

Drift Samurai in the yellow FC RX7 side swiped his opponent in the first round so he was eliminated.

A new drift machine made it's debut D1 appearance in the season opener. More like a family car rather than performance Drift car, was a fully decked out JDM Toyota Crown.

Usually, only Japanese highway police and wealthy semi-retired Japanese business men drive these cars but done up in Drift spec, these cars are pretty bad ass!

Yes, there were a few crashes too! The beautifully made pink S15 Silvia ended up hitting the tire barrier at the end of the first straight, going really fast. The tires didn't cushion the blow much at all. His car was finished for the day.

Then there were the front wheel drive cars that were supposed to be an attraction but one was running like crap and broke down, then his mate lost it at the entrance to the front straight and ended up in the wall. That was the end of the mini car FF drift attraction. The crowd loved to see it bend its fenders though. Truly a great addition to the D1 GP experience!

The winner of the D1 GP series Round 1 opener was Kawabata in the blue Toyo Silvia. He was the overall champ of the 2007 D1 series so he still has the drift skill after the off season.

He battled out the final heat with Nomuken (R34 Skyline) but beat him in a snap. After the final lap and the winner was annunced, we all rushed to go home out of the snow top mountain driven wind.

D1 GP Round 6 is at Ebisu too, so it should be fine without a beanie and hopefully my favorite driver Kumakubo can make it a bit further next time!

Cheers,
Stuart
www.DriftinJapan.com

Labels: 2008, D1, d1-gp-japan, D1GP, drift, drifting, ebisu, kumakubo, nomuken, round-1, tanaka, team-orange

The D1 GP drift boys were at it again! This time at 2008 Tokyo Auto Salon in a small drift circuit transformed car park just outside the Tokyo Makuhari Messe complex.




Japanese D1 drivers letting loose! Nomuken in the Blitz Skyline making the smoke as usual, Kumakubo in the buzzing Team Orange Lancer Evo 9!

Small area to drift in but still enough to put on an impressive drifting demo!

Labels: 2008, drift-demo, kumakubo, lancer drift car, nomuken, team orange, tokyo-auto-salon

The Japanese D1 Grand Prix Drift Competition ended for 2007 in October with the 7th and final round in the high-speed Fuji Speedway course with Suenaga Masao in the sky-blue RE-Amemiya FD taking out the win for the final round.

The overall D1 Champion for the 2007 D1 GP drift competition was Kawabata Masato in the blue TOYO S15 Silvia.

Second place went to Kumakubo Nobushige in his new Lancer EVO drift machine missing out on first place by just 1 point! Third place went to Suenaga Masao who won the final round 7 in Fuji.

How high-speed is Fuji Speedway? Well most D1 drivers enter the drift at around 170-180 km/h (110 MPH)!

Here are the final point standings for the 2007 D1 GP Japan drift competition.

1 Kawabata Masato 100 pts
2 Kumakubo Nobushige 99 pts
3 Suenaga Masao 92 pts
4 Testuya Tsuyoshi 61 pts
5 Nomura Ken 57 pts
6 Imamura Yoichi 51 pts

That's the end of D1 in Japan until next year. The 2008 D1 GP season looks to be a showcase of even greater talent and excitement.

I bet Kumakubo is feeling a little ripped off about the 1 point margin loss so he'll be coming out all guns blazing and will be attacking the 2008 D1 drift season in his Orange Lancer Evo with a vengeance.

Stay tuned for more D1 drift news coverage in the future.
Stu - www.DriftnJapan.com

Labels: 2007, d1-gp-japan, drift news, final standings, kawabata, kumakubo

Round 5 of the D1 Grand Prix Professional Drift Series was held last weekend in Ebisu on the 25th - 26th of August 2007. I made the whole 15 minute trip up the mountains of Nihonmatsu to one of the most challenging drift circuits in the world - Ebisu. I arrived just as the lunch break started so I had time to walk around the pits taking pictures of the baddest drift cars and hottest promotion girls in Japan.

The most highly antcipated car was of course Kumakubo's NEW Lancer Evolution drift machine. A little awkward for a lancer but not unsurprisingly, it was decked out in TEAM ORANGE colors jsut like his Impreza WRX. Actually, for someone who doesn't have a keen eye, they would have trouble telling themapart. Same color scheme, both 4 doors, about the same size and even the sound of the exhaust was similar.
(see the post below for pics of Kumakubo's Lancer)

None the less, the JUN built Lancer Evo is built for drift...and performs great. Despite it being the first ever competition run for Kumakubo in his new lancer, he managed to finish in the top 8. In one of his last runs, his clutch didn't return so he missed a gear shift. But there was definitely nothing wrong with Kumakubo's drifting.

The champion of Round 5 was the monkey man himself, Nomuken in his BLITZ Skyline R34 4 door! Nomuken always seems to make it high in the rankings (if he doesn't crash early) but rarely gets to hold the trophy. Last year at D1 Ebisu, he was in the final with Kumakubo and after about 2 "sudden death"s, Kumakubo took the win just marginaly.

It must have been an emotional win for him this time, as he broke down in tears of joy(?) right after his deciding win. Throughout the day he was having "sudden death" runs in just about every round. I think he deserved to win just for that. But, he never made a mistake which proves he was the best drifter of the day.

D1 Drift Grand Prix 2007 Ebisu Round 5 Highlight Video

Labels: 2007, D1, drift, ebisu, gp, grand prix, japan, kumakubo, nomuken, video

Kumakubo's brand new D1 drift machine - Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 9 (IX) was finally unveiled and made its debut run at Round 5 of the 2007 D1 grand prix series at Ebisu yesterday, 26th of August 2007.

Kumakubo qualifed in the Best 16 and made it through the first round but was knocked out after he missed a gear shift on one of his runs. He said the cause was a stuck clutch. Thwe clutch pedal didn't come up...OUCH! - The painful woes of a new drift car.



Here it is! - Lancer Evolution 9 D1 drift machine driven by Team Orange's front man Kumakubo Nobushige. As you can see in this picture the 500+hp 4G63 turbo engine is installed north-south like conventional rear wheel drive cars and not east-west how Lancers originally come from the factory.



Kumakubo said he wanted to change to a Lancer after he was a stunt driver in this years Hollywood movie Fast and Furious 3: Tokyo Drift and liked the way the Lancer Evo handled and moved.



The Lancer heading down to the main straight before the fast and aggressive first corner at Ebisu south course.



Kumakubo smokin the tires ang getting nice angle in the infield at at the end of his run. Notice the rear suspension is sinking pretty low. He must have the settings pretty soft.



Some of the TEAM ORANGE members. Kumakubo is in the middle, the manager second from the right and Igusa san (Team Orange and K-style cheif mechanic). Other Team Orange drivers that are not in this picture are Tanaka and Naoto Suenaga - both drive WRX Imprezas.

So now Kumakubo has 3 competition drift cars - S15 Silvia, WRX Impreza, and now the Lancer Evolution...and all orange.

Labels: d1 2007, D1GP, ebisu d1 2007, kumakubo, lancer drift car, lancer evolution, new lancer drift car, team orange, ドリフト, ランエボ, 新車, 熊久保, 選手

Here's a little extra surprise Dorifuto vid for you! This is TEAM ORANGE's Kumakubo heading it off with team mate Tanaka. I mean literally heading it out! In Japanese, taimen means face off, head to head, head on etc....so taimen drift is head on drifting.

These 2 are famous for their "head on drifting" antics. They do this stunt drifting at most big D1 events..if you've ever seen a JDM Option or Drift Tengoku (Drift Heaven) dvd, chances are you've seen them do it before.

They did it once again at the last D1 Street legal meeting at Ebisu last weekend. It was unreal to see it in real life. Kumakubo in his orange Jun made FR WRX Impreza boasting 550hp with Tanaka in his former range s15 Silvia....horsepower???? enough to kick ass on the drift track! With out further adue..here is the "taimen" drift vid!



Look out for one more motion drift vid I'm in the process of puitting together! Cheers, Stuart!!

Labels: D1, d1 street legal, dorifuto, drift, drifting, ebisu, kumakubo, s15 silvia, tanaka, team orange, wrx