Of all the things I have done in Japan so far going to the Japanese D1GP in Odaiba is by far the best.
After taking in the sights at the event paddock my two Japanese friends and I headed to our spectator area. We were greeted by the Japanese version of Jarod DeAna. Who I personally couldn't understand very well but did a good job of getting the show started.
We came to the event on the second and final day. So that meant we had skipped out on qualifying and the Japanese version of top 32 in Formula D.
With only 16 drivers to go in today's event there was much frivolousness before and between the competition runs. Naoki Tsuji came out welcoming everyone to the event and announcing the street bikes. Between him talking and the bikes screaming, the crow got pretty hyped.
Even still it seems that the crowd in Japan seemed a bit tamer than what I have seen in the states. They might help the announcer count down to the start time, but yelling "one more time" or the Japanese equivalent is out of the question.
Since the event was hosted by monster energy, before the competition started both Daigo Saito, and Vaughn Gittin Came out with the stunt bikes and put on a show.
It's really pretty cool to see an American driver in a foreign country come to the country that I happen to be in at the same time, and compete. Stepping back and realizing what an opportunity this was still has me feeling super blessed to have gotten this opportunity. Also notice how Vaughn is driving his backup car. I'm not sure if the original plan was to have this FD car shipped to japan from the states or if the backup that had to fill in after the main FD car took out a wall in Texas.
Even though Vaughn wasn't in the top 16, hearing his naturally aspirated v8 in a sea of inline fours, sixes and rotarys was a welcomed sound for as long as it lasted.
After the little show courtesy of Monster the top 16 lineup came out and the last leg of the competition was under way.
Yoshifumi Tadokoro in his pretty little 86 unfortunately was taken by Masao Suenaga in the rotary. I say unfortunatly because I was indeed rooting for Tadokoro san. One because this is probably the most iconic drift car ever, and two because I own the same
car back home.. wich I really miss btw. Even still I was gald to see the RX-7 advance. I have a bit of a soft spot in my heart for the rotarys, considering both cars were running them, it was quite the battle, the sound, astounding engineering, and everything that Mike Whiddett and his team has done with them really makes them stand out in my mind. So I was glad to see the RX-7 move on especially since that engine belongs in that car.
So, it was sad to see him go bit I'm happy the rotary got the win.
Next up was Yoshinori Koguchi in his NZ6 chassis
After watching the event over again. This battle was pretty tight but in the end the Fairlady (370z) Piloted by Shinji Minowa continued on.
And I'd just like to point out this may be one of the prettiest Z34 chassis I have seen slide, If Chris Forsbergs 370 was more orange and less black I'd go with that one but black is just hard to take good pictures of.
Next, Tsuyoshi Tezuka and Arkadiy Tsaregradtsev who is indeed Russian in the red s15 slid around the course. I'm not sure how the Japanese make the massive four door sedans drift but I like it a lot. despite my intrigue the Russian came out on top.
Next was Alpine Kenji and Yoichi Imamura. Imamura san took the lead in his LEXUS LFA, yes you read that right. I really like the idea of drifting super cars. Yeah it may not be the purest form of drifting but it goes to show how much this sport has progressed and the teams that develop these radical chassis along with it.
Next was a pretty well known Japanese driver Kuniakin takahashia against another very well known Japanese driver.
Masashi Yokoi, who also competes in formula drift. These two put on a great show and left the crowd in awe.
The proximity these guys kept through both runs was incredible and made for a tough decision in the judges box.
In the end Takahashi in the yellow saloon drifted is way into the final four.
Following them were Diago Siato and Masato Kawabata in their beasts.
Another super car in the paddock.
After Diego lost to Kawabata there was a bit of a break and some more fun shenanigans occurred.
Including different forms of drifting rarely seen In the public, like four wheel drifting with ZERO COUNTAAA (Japanese pronunciation of a zero counter steer turn in a 4WD car).
Additionally there was some interesting sliding around of a front wheel drive car that was red. I have mixed emotions on calling this drifting. But this guy was tearing it up and looked like he was having a blast. Props props props.
And then there was this Toyota echo... Drifting. Thank you Japan. Clearly an engine and drive train swap had occurred. It sounded like a strait 6 for sure but I couldn't put my finger on what that may have been. 2jz is my best guess because it is a Toyota chassis and people usually like to keep their Toyotas Toyota.
After the break, and my break to go eat some expensive concession food and discover a Krispy Kream donut shop at which I ate three donuts. I headed back to my post and finished off the event.
The battle between Masao Suenaga and Naoto Suenaga of team orange was another
crowd-pleaser with close proximity and copious amounts of smoke, especially as the first corner ended and transitioned to the infield.
In the end team orange came out on top and was destined to compete with Tetsuya Hibino and his black Supra.
Who munched Shingi Minowa in his pretty little Fairlady that had taken down the ZN6 chassis before.
Throughout the event the Supra seemed to not necessarily stand out but was consistent and let other drivers make the mistakes. You can see in the photo above Shinji made a bit of a mistake on the final infield transition and lost drift. This is likely what lost him the battle.
Next was the LFA and the Russian. Interestingly enough at times there was what I think were test runs allowed to be run by the competition cars. I believe this was either to test the track surfaces and how much grip the Pumps had or to keep the crowd entertained in between competition runs. After both had their practice run the "ready, go" was said, and they came out together.
In the end the LFA continued on and as sad as it is to see
the classic drift chassis be taken down by a chassis that was very much designed to stick to a track surface at all times. I'm glad the super car made it's way on. It goes to show how far this sport has progressed and the variety of the chassis that compete on a fairly level playing field. I mean who would think that an AE86 and an LFA would compete in the same event in any sport. Drifting is great at pushing boundaries and that is one more reason why it's such an incredible sport.
Next Takahashi san came out again in his massive GRX130.
Against the GTR.
During this battle it really started to get dark and the previous experience I had with shooting night drifting at Stateline Speedway in the states really helped me be confident to get some decent low light shots.
After two great battles the GTR came out on top, and with it even more challenging situations for photography.
It was to a point with the camera where I would take eight to ten shots per run and one might turn out like this. If there is one skill needed to shoot good night drifting its either the skill of having swimming pools made of gold and the extra cash to spend on massive lenses.. or the skill of panning.
The next battle was with the supra and the S chassis. I was really
having to focus on steady movement, and just like navy seals using the
"aim small miss small" technique to get the cars as sharp as possible. With this in mind I was really pushing the limits of my camera too. Doing my best to allow as much light in as I could but keep the photos from being to grainy.
Albeit, about two thirds to a half of the photos turned out like this.. But it looks kinda artsy.. Might make a good poster.
So in the most classic drift battle on the planet. Silvia vs Supra. The Supra came out on top and continued on to the final.
Of which the next battle would decide his opponent.
Now things were really starting to get fun with shutter speeds and panning for gold.
Some of these shots are potentially the best drift photos I've had the pleasure of taking. I was smirking like
muttly when I was editing these, but there's still some things I wish I could have done different.
As another short break occurred before the final I paused to take in what I was currently partaking of. And looked on to the bay and the bygone sun projecting glorious colors across the darkening sky. This is an event I will forever remember.
The final was on. GTR vs Supra, and the tension in the air was so thick you could slice it with a steak knife.
With every "READY, GO" you could feel breaths being held and Asian eyes opened as wide as Heavenly gates welcoming home the saints home in the end times. This was a true drift battle. After countless time spent by the judges taking into account every factor presented by the drivers.
The black beauty came out on top and in glorious triumph as well. I asked myself what more could someone want out of an event. Great competition, stellar opportunities for photos, and a classic drift chassis prepared to its limits and performing to overcome a chassis more than 15 years newer than it. This event gave me a renewed hope for the JZA80 chassis and had me falling in love with drifting all over again. After the event. My two Japanese compadres and I headed to the Toyota historical museum to check that out (which I will do a bit of a run through on this site here pretty soon) then to dinner at a really good ramen place, and home to finish one of the best automotively inclined days of my life.
Until the next post, happy Pumping friend.
Joshua Sewell
Instagram: josh_sewell_photo.
