If you guys have been missing some pro D1 Grand Prix action, June is when you will get what you have been waiting for! With both the Fuji Round 3 and Okayama Round 4 happening this month, not to mention the Formula D action from New Jersey, it's all going to be a drift packed couple of weeks here at Speedhuntes!
I headed out to Fuji Speedway nice an early today for the Round 3 qualifying session. I was expecting to see some exciting new cars like Kumakubo's 1000 HP Laurel as well as Suenaga's RE-Amemiya 13B powered RX-8 but it turns out there was just not enough time to get these new cars ready for competition. Yoshioka, which was out with us in Australia for the World Time Attack Challenge two weeks ago, has had to skip this round all together as Magic frantically try to complete the new 4-rotor engine that will go into his FD3S. I really hope he can make it out to Round 4 in Okayama during the last weekend of this month. But it wasn't all bad, at least I got to check out Minowa's new yellow JZX90, a bad ass machine with one mean stance!
Dry conditions throughout the day meant the drivers were pushing very hard, with crazy entry speeds close to 120 mph for the more powerful cars! Here is 2009 champion Imamura plowing in sideways into the judged hairpin, waiting to get back onto the gas to power out of the corner.
After his big crash at Autopolis Orido was back in one piece, as was his JZA80!
A "D1 Museum" was set up in one of the pits highlighting the 10-year history of the championship with a series of detailed posters. I found myself drooling over Taniguchi's old HKS D1 Altezza on display there. I really do wish HKS and Nob get back into drifting, it just isn't the same without them. Taniguchi was the winner of the first ever D1 championship back in 2001.
The RE-Amemiya RX-7 went through a color change, sporting the new M7 livery that brings it into line with Imamura's S15, sponsored by the same company. It still remains unclear when we will actually see the new RX-8.
A new addition to the Team Orange and Koyama Racing Labo pits was Sagisaka's new SXE10 Altezza running a pretty powerful 2JZ conversion. I will have to dedicate a Spotlight to this car as it was, like all of Koyama's creations, quite the beast!
He looked pretty damn good out on the fast corners of Fuji! It might seem like he is about to spin here but he managed to nail the entry on this run!
Here is a shot of some of the spares in the Team Orange pits. Drive shafts and diffs are always the things that brake more often!
Every time I see Matsukawa's DrooP UZZ40 I can't help thinking it looks like one of the Super GT SC430s!
He was having real problems nailing the entry to the main corner, running wide in most of his runs, heading straight onto the little strip of grass separating the track from the tarmac run-off.
Nakamura is my kind of guy. I just dig his driving style, aggressive entries coupled with full throttle exits is bound to impress the judges and that is exactly what he did today qualifying second with a 99.66 point run.
To cut aerodynamic drag Bee-R closed off the air intakes on Tezuka's BNR32, helping him gain a few mph on the top speed. He ended up qualifying 7th for this preliminary round of qualifications.
Here is a front view of Minowa's JXZ90. This has to be one of the coolest looking cars in D1!
The T&E pits were pretty much filled up today. With a total of 5 cars competing, they are the biggest team in D1, with Team Orange coming in in second with 4 cars.
Ueno was joined by Australian drifter Robbie Bolger…
…driving the number 43 JZZ30 Soarer. Chatting to him in the pits I discovered he is used to slightly more grunt back home where he competes with a 1000 HP Holden Monaro!
Despite the lack of power from the lightly modified stock 1JZ he seemed to be doing a pretty good job out on the tricky corners of Fuji.
Mike Pollard was back at the wheel of Ueno's old D1 machine…
…while Dutch pro drifter Paul "The Driftking" Vlasblom was invited to compete at Fuji with yet another of T&E's JZZ30s, Ueno's old back up car.
Like most of the foreigners he could have done with more power in his number 44 Soarer, but from where I was standing he put on a great show for his first time at Fuji. Can't wait to see what these guys will do tomorrow. BTW the fifth T&E Team member was Hasegawa with his Vertex S14 Silvia.
This always makes me laugh. Before the qualifying session started the judges sent out two D1 girls onto the track to mark the entry and exit clip points they are want drivers to hit. Obviously the girls have no idea where to stand to they have one of the D1 officials to guide them onto the right spot!
This shot of Suenaga exemplifies how complex the set up to the judged area is. Cars come around the top corner sideways at full speed in either fourth of fifth gear, before flicking the car left to set up for the first wide clipping point, pretty much where Suenaga is at with his RE-Amemiya FD. From here on it's back on the throttle to clip the apex and power out with as much smoke as possible.
Yes Paul is a very tall fellow!
Suenaga in the Team Orange Evo 9 at full speed!
The pit walk is always a great opportunity for fans to get a closer look at their favorite cars, and to grab a few pictures and autographs from the drivers.
For me it's a good chance to get some shots of the race queens as they pose for the cameras!
These are the Orido girls!
A view of the pits from the press room.
Tokita at warp speed 9!
Orido is without a doubt the biggest star in D1. Not only does he participate (and always win!) in the GT300 class of Super GT, but he has never disappointed his fans who want to see him drift! Oh an let's not forget the monthly Hot Version and Best Motoring DVDs he stars in; talk about a full schedule!
Matsukawa nailing the exit.
Manabu Fujinaka's 4-rotor FD is by far the best sounding car currently participating in D1, only ever beaten by Mad Mike's 4-rotor NA RX7!
This first qualifying round was quite a surprise with most of the top seeded drivers taking second place to guys like Takahiro Imamura (previously known as the Drift Samurai) who came in first position and Naoki Nakamura right behind him in second spot. It will be interesting to see if top drivers can get back on form tomorrow! Check back soon to find out how it all went.
Saturday Top 16 Qualifying Results:
1. Imamura Takahiro
2. Nakamura Naoki
3. Tadokoro Yoshifumi
4. Orido Manbu
5. Mizuhata Chikara
6. Ushimi Akinori
7. Tezuka Tsuyoshi
8. Jinushi Ryouji
9. Ota Isao
10. Matsui Yukio
11. Sakuma Tatsuya
12. Hirota Tomokazu
13. Yamashita Kouichi
14. Kumakubo Nobushige
15. Suenaga Naoto
16. Ueno Takahiro
-Dino Dalle Carbonare