Although D1 Grand Prix grabbed Nob back for this year it seems a lot like D1 Grand Prix and sinking ship could be used to describe the series as a whole. They have pulled out of Europe and the United States and are set to re focus in Japan but every week unfolds a new D1 driver coming to the USA. Also on the list of drivers coming to Formula D is Toshiki Yoshioka, famous for his crazy performances in his AE86! He is present on the Formula D roster and we plan to see him at Long Beach in less than 2 weeks.

Toshiki Yoshioka

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Time for all you Japanese fan boys to get even more excited about the 2008 Formula D season! Orido who currently competes in the Super GT series for Toyota Team Tsuchiya in a Lexus SC430 sponsored by Eclipse and Advan is slated to come stateside for some Formula D action!

Orido hasn’t been seen in D1GP since 2005 when he piloted the RSR Toyota Supra and finished 12th in points. He even has come stateside and did demo’s at NOPI Nationals before! We are ecstatic to welcome him to Formula D this year and cannot wait for him to bring his aggresive style and high level of competitiviness to the sport. If anyone had a doubt this would be the best year of Formula D ever maybe you should think about retracting that statement. Here is a photo of Manabu Oridio piloting his Toyota Supra at a D1 Grand Prix event.

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D1 Grand Prix closed it’s first round this weekend at the famous Ebisu track which was freshly paved for the new season. Masato Kawabata from Team Toyo won the Ebisu event in his blue S15.

Kazuyoshi Okachan from Yashio factory crashed demolished his pink S15. He was rolling fast into the sharp right hander and the car just locked up and slammed right into the wall. Luckily he walked away from the accident and seemed to be alright.

Ken Nomura finished second but sadly was still in his R34 Skyline which means we have to STILL wait to see a R35 in action at a professional Drifting event.

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Our main man out of Tokyo found this laying around on a Japanese website. It looks like we won’t be able to enjoy NOB back in Formula D doing some demo’s for us throughout the year. A big bummer I think for the Americans as it was a treat to see him in Atlanta and Summit Point during last season. I guess we will just have to grab our NOB Taniguchi fix in Option DVD’s for now.

“After nearly a two year absence, it looks like former champion Nobuteru Taniguchi will be returning to the D1 Grand Prix in Japan. It had been rumored for a while and Taniguchi himself finally confirmed it on his blog yesterday. According to the blog post, he will be competing in the second round of D1 next month at Fuji Speedway as part of the HKS team. His machine(s) will be the well-known pair of HKS drift-spec Altezzas.
Due to scheduling conflicts with Super GT and other events, he will be running a limited D1schedule for now. In the post, he talks about the dealing with the limited number of weekends in the racing season where it is nearly impossible to avoid schedule conflicts with other events. Nonetheless, he seems quite energized to be back, stating that the level of D1 drivers been getting higher and he is anxious to compete again.

His fans had long been hoping for his return to D1 and it looks like their wish has finally come true. There are nearly 30 comments from fans on his post saying things like “We have been waiting!”.

In addition to Round 2 at Fuji Speedway, there is also talk of a June D1 exhibition event at Odaiba, Tokyo where he would also make an appearance.

D1 at Odaiba again?With Taniguchi?

Sounds like the good old days. I can’t wait to see what happens with this.”

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Okay so I want to be impartial when talking about D1GP here in the United States but they make it very difficult impossible. According to D1’s official website they issue an apology for the cancellation of the 2008 Points series here in the United States but offer  “more information” coming soon on an  All Star Event in November at Irwindale Speedway. They of course provided no date or solid information in the post they released.

2008 November D1 Grand Prix ALL Star World Championship to take place at Irwindale Speedway. D1 Grand Prix announces the All Star World Championship at Irwindale speedway is scheduled to take place in November 2008. Please stay tuned to in the upcoming months, for all the details.

We regretfully announce the cancellation of only the series portion of D1 Grand Prix   for the U.S., after we had vigorously attempted to launch the 2008 series.  We at D1, due to issues and timing from the Japan series, and after conferring on the direction of the future, have decided to focus on the Worldwide series and also the championship for 2008 Irwindale Speedway event. Please note that our decision was based on the fact that we are dedicated to spreading the drift culture strongly and responsibly into the United States.

Our primary goal is to continue elevating and expanding the drift culture to everyone worldwide.

Thank you D1 Fans for all your support.

We look forward to seeing you all in November 2008 at Irwindale!!!

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We found some photos of Ken Gushi’s Scion tC he will be using in Formula D for 2008! Enjoy the samples, it looks very similar to the rendition we showed earlier in the year.

Ken Gushi’s 2008 Scion Drift Machine.

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Blair shot us over a PR we are going to share with you guys tonight. We already knew from Ryan Tureck that he would be running on Maxxis Tires but Mobil 1 is a huge partnership for the sport of Drifting and the Gardella Racing Family. Mobil 1 has a long standing racing partnership with General Motors and it looks like it will continue with Gary Gardella and his Pontiac team.

Howell, NJ (Mar. 28, 2008) – Gardella Racing has brought out some big guns for their first ever drift team. The team previously announced agreements with Pontiac, GM Racing and ECOTEC Powertrain and if that weren’t enough, Gardella Racing is announcing new relationships with oil giant Mobil 1 and drift tire kings Maxxis Tire. Both Maxxis Tire and Mobil 1 will be well represented on the Pontiac Solstice GXP Drift car driven by rising drift star Ryan Tuerck.

“Gardella Racing is proud to partner with first class companies committed to the future of motorsports, Mobil 1 and Maxxis Tire.” stated team owner Gary Gardella. “Mobil 1 has come on the team as the official oil for both the drift and drag teams and Maxxis’ MA-Z1 Drift Tire has been a huge asset for the team as we prepare the Solstice GXP for the kick off of Formula D.”

The Gardella Racing crew has been working around the clock on the Solstice GXP to give Tuerck as much seat time as possible to ensure the Long Beach debut will be a huge success for the team and their new sponsors. “As we make our debut in drifting,” added Gary, “We are confident that with the support of Mobil 1, Maxxis Tire and all our sponsors, we will have a very successful season.”

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We highlighted Eric O’Sullivan in our Issue 3 because we know something about Flat Eric that no one else seems to. HE CANNOT LOSE and proves it again at the UK race called JDM All Stars, a night race in the UK. He cannot be stopped by anyone in Europe it sure seems and we know Eric is itching for a chance to do battle here in the states. Here is a description of the finals from jdmallstar.com.

Ffrenchy Vs Flat Eric

Eric Leads the first run and from the start both drivers attack each other on both runs.
Both drivers are on the limit millimeters apart from each other on the greasy track.
After three sudden death battles, Ffrenchy makes an error and straightens and hands the
win to Eric. In what goes down as one of the most exciting battles ever to be seen in
the UK.
As the drivers clambered from there cars, they are welcomed by a huge applause from the
crowd. Another spectacular night of drifting in Teesside Autodrome. Both drivers do
celebratory donuts and winner Flat Eric goes for his final celebratory donut around
JDM’s closing ceremony fireworks.

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There’s not much history to drifting in America… yet. Here’s a chance to get in on the ground floor of automobilia by purchasing Takahiro Ueno’s D1GP USA-spec Toyota Soarer (aka Lexus SC 400). With no drifting series for 2008 there is suddenly a need to sell the drift machines, making it one of the fastest ways to get into highly-tuned JDM metal. There’s no word on price, but we’re guessing it won’t be cheap, especially after looking at the parts list.

JZZ30 TOYOTA SOARER D1 SPECIAL VERTEX RIDGE 30 SOARER Yes, you read that correctly. Vertex USA would like to announce Mr. Takahiro Ueno’s famous D1 USA Vertex Soarer is up for sale! For SERIOUS inquiries only, please call our offices at: 888-3-Vertex ext. 401. Below are images and specs of this D1 legendary drift machine.

The JZZ30 Soarer is established perfection with [VERTEX] Body Kit and it reminiscence GT500 racing car. The bonnet and Doors are made by Carbon Fiber and all the windows replaced to Acrylic Windows to achieve lightweight special car. Front Bumper Canards and Front Aero Fenders manufactured to give effective aerodynamics and engine cooling. They also produce wide and aggressive visual. All the parts are balanced each other and fitted to make best potential of JZZ30 Soarer.

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Spotted pre season testing was Daijiro Yoshihara in his Bridgestone Pontiac GTO! We cannot wait to see this V8 beast back in action! Hopefully it will be back in the championship light again this year. It looks like the car is keeping it’s same basic winning setup that Rhys Millen used back in the 2004/2005/2006 season and gave him quite some success. This will be Daijiro’s first time Drifting at a Formula D event not in a Nissan 240sx. He is definitly a driver to keep an eye on for 2008.

Daijiro in his new Bridgestone GTO sliding away.

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