Red Bull Drifting World Championship
Encyclopedia
The Red Bull Drifting World Championship is a non-championship all-star
drifting
contest sponsored by Red Bull
energy drink
and hosted by IMG
and Slipstream Global Marketing, the organizers behind Formula D
. The event is scheduled to take place at the Port of Long Beach
in Long Beach
, California
at November 15–16, 2008.
Announced prior to the Las Vegas
Formula D round on July 14, at $50,000, it boasts of the largest prize money in a drifting contest and the largest TV production for a drift contest.
The inaugural event was won by Rhys Millen
, incidentally sponsored by Red Bull, taking home $25,000.
, in a course known as "Pier S".
The entire venue had to be built from scratch, however temporary. Altogether, the venue in all, accounting for three grandstands, borrowed from those of the Long Beach Grand Prix
and the 2,000 seating for VIP and sponsor are designed to accommodate up to 25,000 spectators.
The course length is 1200 ft (365.8 m), with another 100 ft (30.5 m) to allow for a rolling start with six corners outlined by a Red Bull sign. Drivers who had driven on the track are said to be capable of reaching 104 mi/h during test runs.
With the exception of Formula D, each series are allocated two entries, including D1GP, who following negotiation, were given six invites
When negotiation broke down, D1 drivers were discouraged from taking invites, therefore they were approached directly by the FD management to find out that they invited entrants, the former D1GP champions in particular, had to decline their entries for the reason of scheduling conflicts. Kumakubo declined his as he was due to take part in a drift demo in Dubai
, Kazama, despite no longer involved in the series, declined because of schedule clash.
Former D1GP judge, competitor and Super GT
driver, Orido was forced to declined his invitation as he was competing in the WTCC
Guia Race
at Macau
on the same weekend, as was fellow judge and returning competitor Taniguchi, was taking part in a Super Taikyu race in Japan.
Other than that, and 2003 champion, Imamura declined his as he was unable to attend, the 2007 champion Kawabata declined his entry, bit it was revealed that "conflict of interest
" led them to decline. Saito, who originally accepted his entry, was forced to decline his entry for the same reason, although it was rumored that he placed two cars in a container to make its way to the event. Millen backed this claim of the organisation's bullying tactic during an interview
Only one FD driver, Tuerck, declined for budgetary reason as he is lacking a title sponsor, funding could not stretch for the event, therefore Mohan took his place. Santos, Bolger and Ruiterman made up the rest of the available slot.
All-star
All-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...
drifting
Drifting (motorsport)
Drifting refers to a driving technique and to a motorsport where the driver intentionally over steers, causing loss of traction in the rear wheels through turns, while maintaining vehicle control and a high exit speed...
contest sponsored by Red Bull
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
energy drink
Energy drink
Energy drinks are beverages whose producers advertise that they "boost energy." These advertisements usually do not emphasize energy derived from the sugar and caffeine they contain but rather increased energy release due to a variety of stimulants and vitamins....
and hosted by IMG
IMG (business)
IMG, originally known as the International Management Group is a global sports and media business headquartered in New York City.-History:...
and Slipstream Global Marketing, the organizers behind Formula D
Formula D
Formula DRIFT or Formula D is the premier United States drifting series. Formula Drift, Inc. was co-founded by Jim Liaw and Ryan Sage in 2003 as a sister company to Slipstream Global Marketing, the same partnership that brought D1 Grand Prix to the United States. The new entity would solely own,...
. The event is scheduled to take place at the Port of Long Beach
Port of Long Beach
The Port of Long Beach, also known as Long Beach’s Harbor Department, is the 2nd busiest container port in the USA. It adjoins the separate Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for U.S.-Asian trade, the port occupies of land with of waterfront in the city of Long Beach, California...
in Long Beach
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
at November 15–16, 2008.
Announced prior to the Las Vegas
Las Vegas Motor Speedway
Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada near Las Vegas, is a complex of multiple tracks for automobile racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.-History:...
Formula D round on July 14, at $50,000, it boasts of the largest prize money in a drifting contest and the largest TV production for a drift contest.
The inaugural event was won by Rhys Millen
Rhys Millen
Rhys Millen , nephew of IMSA GTS driver Steve Millen, son of Rod and elder brother of Ryan, is one of the world's top competitors in drifting. Prior to that he was a top rally driver in the US, and became the first works backed driver from a car manufacturer with GM in 2004 after narrowly losing to...
, incidentally sponsored by Red Bull, taking home $25,000.
Criteria for eligibility
As there are 32 places for the event, drivers from all over the world are given a place should they meet these following criteria:- Finish at the Top 16 in the Formula D points table
- Become the championship winner at these following oversea drifting events listed below, should that not happen, they are eligible to take up any available runner up spot should it be offered to them.
- D1NZD1NZD1NZ is a production car drifting series in New Zealand. It began early in 2003 as a small competition consisting of several drifting teams from all over the country. Since then it has continually become larger and more professional, now involving professional drivers with sponsored cars...
(New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
) - Drift Mania Canadian Championship (CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
) - Drift Australia (AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
) - European Drift ChampionshipEuropean Drift ChampionshipThe Pirelli European Drift Championship is a drifting series held each year throughout the United Kingdom. It was introduced in 2007 following the collapse of the D1 Great Britain series which in turn replaced the Autoglym Drift Championship...
(United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) - International Drift Series (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
) - Pro Drift European Series (IrelandIrelandIreland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
) - Nordic Drifting Championship (ScandinaviaScandinaviaScandinavia is a cultural, historical and ethno-linguistic region in northern Europe that includes the three kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden, characterized by their common ethno-cultural heritage and language. Modern Norway and Sweden proper are situated on the Scandinavian Peninsula,...
) - D1 Grand PrixD1 Grand PrixThe , abbreviated as D1GP and subtitled Professional Drift, is a production car drifting series from Japan. After several years of hosting amateur drifting contests, Option magazine & Tokyo Auto Salon founder Daijiro Inada, and drifting legend Keiichi Tsuchiya hosted a professional level drifting...
(JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
) - NZ Drift SeriesNZ Drift SeriesThe NZ Drift Series is a five-round motorsport series organised by Parkside Media, publisher of NZ Performance Car magazine. Competing against D1NZ it has achieved greater success because of NZ Performance Car and NZ Performance Car TV's marketing power....
(New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
)
- D1NZ
- Have been D1GP title holder in the past years
- Have won the exhibition Formula D Singapore event
Venue
Taking place on 90 acres (364,217.4 m²) lot of newly laided up asphalt on Port of Long BeachPort of Long Beach
The Port of Long Beach, also known as Long Beach’s Harbor Department, is the 2nd busiest container port in the USA. It adjoins the separate Port of Los Angeles. Acting as a major gateway for U.S.-Asian trade, the port occupies of land with of waterfront in the city of Long Beach, California...
, in a course known as "Pier S".
The entire venue had to be built from scratch, however temporary. Altogether, the venue in all, accounting for three grandstands, borrowed from those of the Long Beach Grand Prix
Long Beach Grand Prix
The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is an open-wheel race held on a street circuit in Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder and promoter which began as a vision while working at a travel agency in downtown Long Beach. It was the premier circuit in the Champ Car from 1996, and...
and the 2,000 seating for VIP and sponsor are designed to accommodate up to 25,000 spectators.
The course length is 1200 ft (365.8 m), with another 100 ft (30.5 m) to allow for a rolling start with six corners outlined by a Red Bull sign. Drivers who had driven on the track are said to be capable of reaching 104 mi/h during test runs.
List of invited drivers
| Driver | Team/Principal sponsor | Car/Engine | Series | Season Position | Number |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tanner Foust Tanner Foust Tanner Foust is a professional racing driver, stunt driver, and television host. He competes in rally, drift, ice racing, time attack and rallycross with multiple podium placements and national championships. He is a co-host on the American version of the motoring television series, Top...  |
Rockstar Rockstar (drink) Rockstar is an energy drink created in 2001. With 14% of the US market in 2008, Rockstar is a leading energy drink brand. Rockstar is based in Las Vegas... / AEM |
Nissan 350Z Nissan 350Z The Nissan 350Z is a two seat sports car that was manufactured by Nissan from 2002 to 2009 and marks the fifth generation of Nissan's Z-car line. The 350Z entered production in late 2002 and was sold and marketed as a 2003 model. The first year there was only a coupe, as the roadster did not debut... |
Formula D Formula D Formula DRIFT or Formula D is the premier United States drifting series. Formula Drift, Inc. was co-founded by Jim Liaw and Ryan Sage in 2003 as a sister company to Slipstream Global Marketing, the same partnership that brought D1 Grand Prix to the United States. The new entity would solely own,... |
2007 & 2008 Champion | 34 |
| Samuel Hübinette Samuel Hubinette Samuel Hübinette, aka The Crazy Swede , is a Swedish professional race car driver and Hollywood stunt driver. He started working as a test driver for Volvo Cars...  |
Nuformz Mopar Mopar Mopar is the automobile parts and service arm of Chrysler Group LLC. The term was first used by Chrysler in the 1920s and has been in continuous use ever since. Mopar parts are original equipment manufactured parts for Chrysler vehicles... /BFG |
Dodge Viper Dodge Viper The first prototype was tested in January 1989. It debuted in 1991 with two pre-production models as the pace car for the Indianapolis 500 when Dodge was forced to substitute it in place of the Japanese-built Stealth because of complaints from the United Auto Workers, and went on sale in January... SRT-10 |
2004 & 2006 Champion | 77 | |
| Rhys Millen Rhys Millen Rhys Millen , nephew of IMSA GTS driver Steve Millen, son of Rod and elder brother of Ryan, is one of the world's top competitors in drifting. Prior to that he was a top rally driver in the US, and became the first works backed driver from a car manufacturer with GM in 2004 after narrowly losing to...  |
RMR Red Bull Red Bull Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already... Pontiac Pontiac Pontiac was an automobile brand that was established in 1926 as a companion make for General Motors' Oakland. Quickly overtaking its parent in popularity, it supplanted the Oakland brand entirely by 1933 and, for most of its life, became a companion make for Chevrolet. Pontiac was sold in the... |
Pontiac Solstice Pontiac Solstice The Pontiac Solstice is a small sports car from the Pontiac division of General Motors. Introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show, the Solstice roadster began production in Wilmington, Delaware, starting in mid-2005 for the 2006 model year. The exterior styling of the... GXP |
2005 Champion | 6 | |
| Daijiro Yoshihara Daijiro Yoshihara Daijiro Yoshihara is one of the world's best drifters in the motor sports of Drifting. With 10 years of competition under his belt, Dai has always been a thrill seeker and it was only natural for him to get into drifting...  |
RMR | Pontiac GTO Pontiac GTO The Pontiac GTO is an automobile built by Pontiac Division of General Motors in the United States from 1964 to 1974, and by GM subsidiary Holden in Australia from 2004 to 2006. It is considered an innovative, and now classic muscle car of the 1960s and 1970s... |
4th | 9 | |
| Chris Forsberg Chris Forsberg Chris Forsberg , is an American self-taught drifting driver from Doylestown, Pennsylvania who currently competes in the Formula Drift series in his Nissan 370Z for NOS Energy Drink and Hankook Tires.- History :... |
NOS Energy Drink NOS (drink) NOS Energy Drink is an energy drink sometimes distributed in a bottle designed to look like a NOS cartridge. It is produced by the High Performance Beverage Company, and licensed by Holley Performance, which owns the trademark... Drift Team |
Nissan 350Z Nissan 350Z The Nissan 350Z is a two seat sports car that was manufactured by Nissan from 2002 to 2009 and marks the fifth generation of Nissan's Z-car line. The 350Z entered production in late 2002 and was sold and marketed as a 2003 model. The first year there was only a coupe, as the roadster did not debut... -VK56DE Nissan VK engine The VK engine is a V8 piston engine from Nissan. It is an aluminum DOHC 4-valve design.The VK56 engine was originally based on Nissan's VQ V6 rather than the VH V8 used in previous Q45/Cima models. Changes include: a variable polymer intake manifold, newly designed heads, and a larger drive by... V8 |
5th | 64 | |
| Michihiro Takatori |
Super Autobacs | Nissan Skyline GT-R Nissan Skyline GT-R The Nissan Skyline GT-R is a Japanese sports car based on the Nissan Skyline range.The first GT-Rs were produced from 1969–1973. After a 16 year hiatus since the KPGC110 in 1972, the GT-R name was revived in 1989 with the Skyline R32. This car was nicknamed "Godzilla" by the Australian motoring... R34 |
7th | 23 | |
| Conrad Grunewald |
Tanaka Racing/Nitto Tires | Chevrolet Corvette C5 Chevrolet Corvette C5 The Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car produced by the Chevrolet division of General Motors for the 1997 through 2004 model years.- Overview :... |
8th | 79 | |
| Robbie Nishida |
Hankook | Nissan 350Z Nissan 350Z The Nissan 350Z is a two seat sports car that was manufactured by Nissan from 2002 to 2009 and marks the fifth generation of Nissan's Z-car line. The 350Z entered production in late 2002 and was sold and marketed as a 2003 model. The first year there was only a coupe, as the roadster did not debut... |
9th | 31 | |
| Vaughn Gittin, Jr. |
Team Falken Tires Falken Tires Falken Tire Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of automobile tires. Originally created in 1983 as a brand for Ohtsu Tire and Rubber to sell their lineup of performance tires under, Falken became part of Sumitomo Rubber Industries when they acquired Ohtsu in 2003... -Drift Alliance |
Ford Mustang GT "5th Gen" Fifth-generation Ford Mustang -Mustang:The 2005–2009 base Mustang is powered by Ford's cast iron block 4.0 L Cologne SOHC V6, replacing the 3.8 L Essex OHV V6 used in 2004 and older models... |
10th | ||
| Ryuji Miki Ryuji Miki is a racing and drifting driver from Tottori Prefecture, Japan. Miki was the D1 Grand Prix champion driving the Top Secret Silvia S15. Miki also competed in the Net'z Cup, a one make series for the Toyota Altezza between 2005 and its final season in 2006 and is nicknamed Doki-Doki kun due to his... |
A'PEXi A'PEXi A'PEXi is a Japanese after-market automotive parts company. The company's focus is on parts designed to enhance engine performance. These include turbos, intercoolers, exhaust, ECUs and AFCs, as well as many other smaller components. A'PEXi is a JDM brand which has been relatively successful in... -Bergenholtz Racing |
Mazda RX-7 Mazda RX-7 Series 1 is commonly referred to as the "SA22C" from the first alphanumerics of the vehicle identification number. This series of RX-7 had exposed steel bumpers and a high-mounted indentation-located license plate, called by Werner Buhrer of Road & Track magazine a "Baroque depression."In 1980... FD3S |
11th 2004 D1GP Champion 2005 D1 Grand Prix Season -Changes for the 2005 Season:* Keiichi Tsuchiya being the sole judge, with Manabu Orido leaving his spot to become a D1GP competitor.* The introduction of the DriftBox being used as a judging aid.... |
||
| Darren McNamara Darren McNamara Darren 'D-Mac' McNamara is a professional drift driver from Cork, Ireland.Darren first competed in the Irish Prodrift series and the British D1 Great Britain series , winning the Prodrift title in 2006. He drove a Toyota AE86 with a Nissan SR20 engine.In 2007 he was invited to compete in the...  |
Sears/Falken Tires Falken Tires Falken Tire Corporation is a Japanese manufacturer of automobile tires. Originally created in 1983 as a brand for Ohtsu Tire and Rubber to sell their lineup of performance tires under, Falken became part of Sumitomo Rubber Industries when they acquired Ohtsu in 2003... |
Saturn Sky Saturn Sky The Saturn Sky was the only roadster from the Saturn marque of American automaker General Motors, and was initially released in the first quarter of 2006 as a 2007 model. It uses the Kappa automobile platform shared with the Pontiac Solstice and Opel GT... V8 |
12th 2008 Prodrift Runner-up |
||
Stephan Verdier  |
Crawford Motorsports | Subaru Impreza WRX STI Subaru Impreza WRX STI The Subaru Impreza WRX STI, has the highest trim in the Subaru Impreza compact car line, produced by Japanese automaker Subaru.In the late 1980s, Subaru created the Subaru Tecnica International division to coordinate development for the FIA World Rally Championship and other motorsports activities... GD |
13th | ||
| Ken Gushi Ken Gushi is one of Japan's top competitors in the sport of drifting. Born in Okinawa, Japan, but raised in Los Angeles, he was taught by his father Tsukasa Gushi at the age of 13 with a Toyota AE86. Ken has become the youngest competitor in both the D1 Grand Prix of Japan and the Formula Drift Championships... |
RS*R Scion | Scion tC Scion tC The Scion tC is an automobile manufactured and sold by Scion, a division of Toyota. Introduced in the United States in June 2004 and Canada in 2010. The name tC does not fit in with its stablemates the xA, xB, and xD, because the name XC designation has already been used by Volvo for its lineup of... |
14th | ||
| Bill Sherman |
Retaks/Bridgestone Bridgestone The is a multinational rubber conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi, meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese.... |
Nissan 240SX Nissan 240SX The 240SX is a two-door compact car that was introduced to the North American market by Nissan in 1988 for the following model year. It replaced the outgoing 200SX model. Most of the 240SX were equipped with the 2.4-liter inline 4 engine . The KA24E being single over-head cam and KA24DE being dual... S13 |
15th | ||
| Justin Pawlak |
Drift Alliance | Mazda RX-7 Mazda RX-7 Series 1 is commonly referred to as the "SA22C" from the first alphanumerics of the vehicle identification number. This series of RX-7 had exposed steel bumpers and a high-mounted indentation-located license plate, called by Werner Buhrer of Road & Track magazine a "Baroque depression."In 1980... FC3S |
16th | ||
| Kyle Mohan |
Mazda RX-7 Mazda RX-7 Series 1 is commonly referred to as the "SA22C" from the first alphanumerics of the vehicle identification number. This series of RX-7 had exposed steel bumpers and a high-mounted indentation-located license plate, called by Werner Buhrer of Road & Track magazine a "Baroque depression."In 1980... FC3S |
17th | |||
| Garry Whiter |
Toyo Tires | Nissan Silvia Nissan Silvia The S12 was produced from 1984 to 1988, with revisions to the exterior trim in 1987 . It was sold in three configurations—a coupe , a hatchback, and a widebody chassis called grandprix .A number of different engines were equipped in the S12 chassis, depending on production year and more... S14.5 |
D1NZ D1NZ D1NZ is a production car drifting series in New Zealand. It began early in 2003 as a small competition consisting of several drifting teams from all over the country. Since then it has continually become larger and more professional, now involving professional drivers with sponsored cars... |
Champion | |
| Carl Ruiterman |
E&H Motors | Nissan Silvia Nissan Silvia The S12 was produced from 1984 to 1988, with revisions to the exterior trim in 1987 . It was sold in three configurations—a coupe , a hatchback, and a widebody chassis called grandprix .A number of different engines were equipped in the S12 chassis, depending on production year and more... S14 |
NZ Drift | Champion | 16 |
Freddy Girrard  |
Hankook Tires | Nissan Skyline Nissan Skyline The first Skyline was introduced in April 1957, by the Prince Motor Company, and was marketed as a luxury car. It featured a 1.5 L GA-30 engine producing 44 kW @ 4400 rpm. It used a de Dion tube rear suspension and was capable of 140 km/h . The car weighed around 1300 kg... R32 |
DMCC | Champion | |
| Marcos Santos |
Runners-up | ||||
Leighton Fine  |
Toyo Tires | Nissan 240SX Nissan 240SX The 240SX is a two-door compact car that was introduced to the North American market by Nissan in 1988 for the following model year. It replaced the outgoing 200SX model. Most of the 240SX were equipped with the 2.4-liter inline 4 engine . The KA24E being single over-head cam and KA24DE being dual... S14 |
Drift Australia | 2008 Champion | |
| Luke Fink |
Holford Motors | Nissan 180SX Nissan 180SX The Nissan 180SX was a hatchback coupe based on the S13 chassis from the Nissan S platform, and sold in Japan; and in some other countries under the 200SX name.... |
2008 Runners-up | ||
| Robbie Bolger |
Nissan 180SX Nissan 180SX The Nissan 180SX was a hatchback coupe based on the S13 chassis from the Nissan S platform, and sold in Japan; and in some other countries under the 200SX name.... |
2007 Champion | |||
Ben Broke-Smith  |
Driftworks | Toyota Chaser Toyota Chaser The Toyota Chaser is a mid-size car produced by the Toyota Motor Company, Japan. Most were 4-door sedans, with the 2-door coupe discontinued after the first generation... |
EDC European Drift Championship The Pirelli European Drift Championship is a drifting series held each year throughout the United Kingdom. It was introduced in 2007 following the collapse of the D1 Great Britain series which in turn replaced the Autoglym Drift Championship... |
Champion | 24 |
| Tim Marshall |
Apex Performance | Nissan Skyline Nissan Skyline The first Skyline was introduced in April 1957, by the Prince Motor Company, and was marketed as a luxury car. It featured a 1.5 L GA-30 engine producing 44 kW @ 4400 rpm. It used a de Dion tube rear suspension and was capable of 140 km/h . The car weighed around 1300 kg... R33/SB Chevy V8 Chevrolet Small-Block engine The Chevrolet small-block engine is a series of automobile V8 engines built by the Chevrolet Division of General Motors using the same basic small engine block... |
2nd | 118 | |
| Tengku Djan Ley Tengku Djan Ley Tengku Djan Ley bin Tengku Mahaleel is the head of Proton Motorsports and is also a Malaysian professional drifting driver who has taken part in the D1 Grand Prix racing series and others. He has won the 12 hour Merdeka Millennium Endurance race twice in 2005 and 2006...  |
Bridgestone Bridgestone The is a multinational rubber conglomerate founded in 1931 by in the city of Kurume, Fukuoka, Japan. The name Bridgestone comes from a calque translation and transposition of ishibashi, meaning "stone bridge" in Japanese.... |
Nissan 180SX Nissan 180SX The Nissan 180SX was a hatchback coupe based on the S13 chassis from the Nissan S platform, and sold in Japan; and in some other countries under the 200SX name.... S13.5 |
FD Singapore Formula D Formula DRIFT or Formula D is the premier United States drifting series. Formula Drift, Inc. was co-founded by Jim Liaw and Ryan Sage in 2003 as a sister company to Slipstream Global Marketing, the same partnership that brought D1 Grand Prix to the United States. The new entity would solely own,... |
Champion | |
| Mike Whiddet |
Red Bull Red Bull Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already... |
Mazda RX-7 Mazda RX-7 Series 1 is commonly referred to as the "SA22C" from the first alphanumerics of the vehicle identification number. This series of RX-7 had exposed steel bumpers and a high-mounted indentation-located license plate, called by Werner Buhrer of Road & Track magazine a "Baroque depression."In 1980... FD3S 4Rotor |
2nd | 15 | |
| James Deane |
Nexen | Nissan 200SX Nissan 200SX From 1995 to 1998 Nissan applied the name "200SX" to two different lines of automobiles in different markets these years.In 1995, Nissan reintroduced the 200SX nameplate in United States and Canada to designate a two-door version of the Nissan Sentra , known in Japan and Mexico as Lucino, replacing... S14.5 RB26 Nissan RB engine The RB engine is a 2.0–3.0 L straight-6 four-stroke petrol/gasoline engine from Nissan produced from 1980-2004. A special limited edition the LMRB26 was also built during this time by General Motors in Australia.... |
ProDrift | Champion | |
| Eric O’Sullivan |
Rockstar | Toyota Corolla Coupe Toyota AE86 The AE86 generation of the Toyota Corolla Levin and Toyota Sprinter Trueno is a small, lightweight coupe introduced by Toyota in 1983 as part of the fifth generation Toyota Corolla lineup. For the purpose of brevity, the insider-chassis code of "AE86" is used to describe the whole range... AE86 F20 |
2nd | ||
Fredric Aasbø  |
Japan Auto | Toyota Supra Toyota Supra The Toyota Supra is a sports car/grand tourer that was produced by Toyota Motor Company from 1979 to 2002. The styling of the Toyota Supra was derived from the Toyota Celica, but it was both longer and wider. Starting in mid-1986, the Supra became its own model and was no longer based on the Celica... |
NDC | Champion | |
Remmo Niezen  |
BMW M3 BMW M3 The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house motorsport division, BMW M. M3 models have been derived from the E30, E36, E46 and E90/E92/E93 3-series, and sold with coupé, sedan and convertible body styles... E30 BMW E30 The BMW E30 was a compact executive car produced by BMW. It was replaced by the BMW E36 in 1990. BMW continued to produce the cabriolet E30 well into 1993. The Touring remained in production until 1994 when the E36 touring replaced it... V8 |
IDS | Champion | ||
| Paul Vlasblom |
Driftking.NL | BMW M3 BMW M3 The BMW M3 is a high-performance version of the BMW 3 Series, developed by BMW's in-house motorsport division, BMW M. M3 models have been derived from the E30, E36, E46 and E90/E92/E93 3-series, and sold with coupé, sedan and convertible body styles... E36 BMW E36 The BMW E36 is the third generation of the 3 Series compact executive cars produced by BMW. It was introduced in late 1990 for Europe and in late 1991 for US and Canada. It was the successor to the E30 3 Series and was eventually replaced by the E90 3 Series in 2005, though E36 coupes were still... Touring |
|||
| Katsuhiro Ueo Katsuhiro Ueo is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix series for and .He was into cars from a young age, and started out competing in gymkhana events. At one of these events one of his younger colleagues took him to the touge runs and challenged him saying that he... |
Drift Speed | Nissan Silvia Nissan Silvia The S12 was produced from 1984 to 1988, with revisions to the exterior trim in 1987 . It was sold in three configurations—a coupe , a hatchback, and a widebody chassis called grandprix .A number of different engines were equipped in the S12 chassis, depending on production year and more... S15 |
D1GP D1 Grand Prix The , abbreviated as D1GP and subtitled Professional Drift, is a production car drifting series from Japan. After several years of hosting amateur drifting contests, Option magazine & Tokyo Auto Salon founder Daijiro Inada, and drifting legend Keiichi Tsuchiya hosted a professional level drifting... |
2002 Champion 2002 D1 Grand Prix Season -2002 D1 Grand Prix Point Series:n.b. Winning Driver are mentioned on the rightRound 1 - February 22/23 - Bihoku Highland Circuit, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan - Katsuhiro Ueo... |
86 |
| drivers who been invited but eclined entries | |||||
| Ryan Tuerck |
Gardella Racing | Pontiac Solstice Pontiac Solstice The Pontiac Solstice is a small sports car from the Pontiac division of General Motors. Introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show, the Solstice roadster began production in Wilmington, Delaware, starting in mid-2005 for the 2006 model year. The exterior styling of the... GXP |
Formula D Formula D Formula DRIFT or Formula D is the premier United States drifting series. Formula Drift, Inc. was co-founded by Jim Liaw and Ryan Sage in 2003 as a sister company to Slipstream Global Marketing, the same partnership that brought D1 Grand Prix to the United States. The new entity would solely own,... |
6th | |
| Nobuteru Taniguchi Nobuteru Taniguchi is a Japanese racing driver and former drifting driver who currently competes in Super GT. Taniguchi is commonly nicknamed "NOB" or "The Pimp" as a reference to his S15 Silvia which he is best known for.... |
HKS | Toyota Altezza Lexus IS The Lexus IS is a series of entry-level luxury cars / compact executive cars sold by Lexus since 1998. The IS was introduced as an entry-level sport model slotted below the ES in the Lexus lineup... |
D1GP D1 Grand Prix The , abbreviated as D1GP and subtitled Professional Drift, is a production car drifting series from Japan. After several years of hosting amateur drifting contests, Option magazine & Tokyo Auto Salon founder Daijiro Inada, and drifting legend Keiichi Tsuchiya hosted a professional level drifting... |
2001 Champion 2001 D1 Grand Prix Season 2001 D1 Grand Prix Point Seriesn.b. Winning Driver are mentioned on the rightRound 1 - October 6, 2000 - Ebisu Circuit South Course, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan - Youichi Imamura... |
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| Youichi Imamura Youichi Imamura is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix series for team with .He has always enjoyed driving, so drifting was a natural thing for him. His other passion is flowers as his parents ran a florist and he has always helped them out... |
Auto Produce Boss | Nissan Silvia Nissan Silvia The S12 was produced from 1984 to 1988, with revisions to the exterior trim in 1987 . It was sold in three configurations—a coupe , a hatchback, and a widebody chassis called grandprix .A number of different engines were equipped in the S12 chassis, depending on production year and more... S15 |
2003 Champion 2003 D1 Grand Prix Season -2003 D1 Grand Prix Point Series:Round 1 - February 2 - Tsukuba Circuit, Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan - Nobushige Kumakubo Round 2 - March 8/9 - Bihoku Highland Circuit, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan - Kazuhiro Tanaka... |
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| Yasuyuki Kazama Yasuyuki Kazama is a drifting driver from Japan.Kazama was first introduced to drifting at age 17 when he watched Gengo-San, who later became his spotter and mentor, drifting on a touge.... |
2005 Champion 2005 D1 Grand Prix Season -Changes for the 2005 Season:* Keiichi Tsuchiya being the sole judge, with Manabu Orido leaving his spot to become a D1GP competitor.* The introduction of the DriftBox being used as a judging aid.... |
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| Nobushige Kumakubo Nobushige Kumakubo is a drifting driver from Japan who competes in the D1 Grand Prix series and racetrack and land owner. Nicknamed Kuma, he is commonly referred to one of the pioneers of drifting.... |
Team Orange | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution The Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution, colloquially known as the Lancer Evo or Evo, is a high-performance sedan manufactured by Mitsubishi Motors. There have been ten official versions to date, and the designation of each model is most commonly a roman numeral... |
2006 Champion 2006 D1 Grand Prix Season -Changes for the 2006 Season:* An extra 1 point is now awarded to the driver who manages to earn a perfect score of 100.0 during a 100pt tansou round from the judges.* Jyuri Tamashiro replaces Hatsuno Sugaya as a D1 Gal.... |
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| Masato Kawabata Masato Kawabata is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix series for Team Toyo.-Biography:Kawabata first received his license at 18 he bought the Nissan 180SX. He practiced alone until he met late D1 driver Atsushi Kuroi who started to teach and advise Kawabata. At age... |
Team Toyo | Nissan 180SX Nissan 180SX The Nissan 180SX was a hatchback coupe based on the S13 chassis from the Nissan S platform, and sold in Japan; and in some other countries under the 200SX name.... |
2007 Champion 2007 D1 Grand Prix season The 2007 Autobacs D1 Grand Prix season was the seventh season for the D1 Grand Prix series and was the second season for its spinoff D1 Street Legal.It was the first time since 2003 that the entire series took place entirely in Japan.... |
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| Daigo Saito Daigo Saito is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix series for .From an early age he was into motorbikes as his father was, and got his motorcycle license at 16. One night when he was out riding with his friends they stumbled upon a drift meeting in the hills of... |
Team 22 | Toyota Mark II Toyota Mark II The Corona Mark II, first offered for sale in Japan September 1968 at Toyopet Store dealerships, was intended as an intermediate model between the large luxury sedan the Crown, sold at Toyota Store dealerships, and the smaller Corona, also available at Toyopet Store... JZX 100 |
2008 Champion 2008 D1 Grand Prix season The 2008 Gran Turismo D1 Grand Prix season will be the eighth season for the D1 Grand Prix series and the third for the D1 Street Legal spinoff series. The US series was proposed for a second season in November 2007, but in February 2008, due to commitments, the series was cancelled, leaving the ... |
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| Manabu Orido Manabu Orido is a Japanese racing driver who currently competes in the Super GT series for Toyota Team Tsuchiya in a Lexus SC 430 sponsored by Eclipse and AdvanOrido began his racing career as a street racer and then progressed to touge racing... |
MSC Challenge | Series judge | |||
With the exception of Formula D, each series are allocated two entries, including D1GP, who following negotiation, were given six invites
When negotiation broke down, D1 drivers were discouraged from taking invites, therefore they were approached directly by the FD management to find out that they invited entrants, the former D1GP champions in particular, had to decline their entries for the reason of scheduling conflicts. Kumakubo declined his as he was due to take part in a drift demo in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, Kazama, despite no longer involved in the series, declined because of schedule clash.
Former D1GP judge, competitor and Super GT
Super GT
The Super GT series, formerly known as the All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship or JGTC , is a grand touring car race series promoted by the GT-Association...
driver, Orido was forced to declined his invitation as he was competing in the WTCC
World Touring Car Championship
For the video game, known as World Touring Car Championship in Japan, see TOCA World Touring CarsThe FIA World Touring Car Championship is an international Touring Car championship sanctioned by the FIA.-History:...
Guia Race
Guia Race
The Guia Race of Macau is an international touring car race, and currently a round of the World Touring Car Championship. It is held on the temporary Guia Circuit on the steets of Macau, the Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China as part of the Macau Grand Prix weekend...
at Macau
Macau Grand Prix
The Macau Grand Prix is a motor-racing event held annually in Macau, one of China's Special Administrative Regions. It is known for being the only street circuit racing event in which both car and motorcycle races are held...
on the same weekend, as was fellow judge and returning competitor Taniguchi, was taking part in a Super Taikyu race in Japan.
Other than that, and 2003 champion, Imamura declined his as he was unable to attend, the 2007 champion Kawabata declined his entry, bit it was revealed that "conflict of interest
Conflict of interest
A conflict of interest occurs when an individual or organization is involved in multiple interests, one of which could possibly corrupt the motivation for an act in the other....
" led them to decline. Saito, who originally accepted his entry, was forced to decline his entry for the same reason, although it was rumored that he placed two cars in a container to make its way to the event. Millen backed this claim of the organisation's bullying tactic during an interview
Only one FD driver, Tuerck, declined for budgetary reason as he is lacking a title sponsor, funding could not stretch for the event, therefore Mohan took his place. Santos, Bolger and Ruiterman made up the rest of the available slot.
Qualifying
| Number | Starting order |
Driver | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 26 | Millen | 98.17 |
| 77 | 18 | Hubinette | 97.00 |
| 32 | 9 | Vlasblom | 96.83 |
| 86 | 13 | Ueo | 96.08 |
| 8 | 10 | McNamara | 95.75 |
| 9 | 28 | Yoshihara | 94.67 |
| 25 | 6 | Gittin | 94.50 |
| 79 | 25 | Grunewald | 93.83 |
| 34 | 5 | Foust | 93.50 |
| 99 | 21 | Mohan | 93.08 |
| 23 | 11 | Takatori | 92.25 |
| 64 | 32 | Forsberg | 92.08 |
| 16 | 7 | Ruiterman | 90.33 |
| 51 | 24 | Aasbo | 90.33 |
| 17 | 19 | Deane | 86.67 |
| 48 | 17 | Djan | 86.50 |
| 12 | 23 | Verdier | 83.92 |
| 118 | 8 | Marshall | 83.67 |
| 69 | 14 | Fink | 83.42 |
| 11 | 29 | Whiter | 82.92 |
| 7 | 31 | O’Sullivan | 82.92 |
| 22 | 16 | Sherman | 82.50 |
| 14 | 12 | Fine | 80.58 |
| 20 | 30 | Niezen | 79.58 |
| 31 | 3 | Nishida | 77.83 |
| 19 | 4 | Santos | 77.25 |
| 911 | 27 | Bolger | 72.67 |
| 24 | 20 | Broke-Smith | 72.42 |
| 5 | 1 | Gushi | 0.00 |
| 15 | 2 | Widdet | 0.00 |
| 26 | 15 | Miki | 0.00 |
| 13 | 22 | Pawlak | 0.00 |