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And it cant be the diff gears or the gear box making this sound.
Oh yeah if you don’t notice the music created by the 13B and the waste gate, that also sound nuts!

The car in question.

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You done well, you placed in the top 10 at your first D1 event, you have taken wind to some comments saying you might be in line for some tire sponsorship after your efforts. You are in good spirits as you drive to your next D1 event. At the event you manage to lay down perfect runs against your rival Tezuka whose piloting the Goodyear backed Nissan Skyline. You take the long drive back to the start line waiting to hear an outcome. What! Your called back for a re-run, even after your rival made a mistake causing you to lead in the points score, it does not matter the judges want to see a re-run. You know you clearly that you beat him but you head out again for a re-run. The results come in, you just happened to miss out and wont be making it into the top 8. This is your first taste of the real world in D1, as you and your pit crew pack up for the long drive home you cant help but feel some sort of failure.

Your car is all ready, you have paid the ridiculous 70,000 yen entry fee again, the truck is loaded and everything is packed, you just got off the phone to your new tire sponsor, this year Yokohama who are happy to have you on board but did they forget to mention that you will never ever have a chance of wining D1 because of their main tire competitor Goodyear. Goodyear is one of the D1GP’s main sponsors who will always have the last say in who wins, thank the King for the that. You happen to being doing flawless runs but yet the Goodyear backed big guns still manage to score more points then you every run without fail, you can also thank the King for that.

Yoshida from SuperMade in his super gangster S13.

Whose the King you ask, well its none other then Keiichi Tsuchiya also known as Dorikin . The King is the largest icon in drifting, who brought the D1 Grand Prix to all its glory but now he seems to be closing it down event after event with the crazy entry fee costs and his ridiculous judging. Only 2-3 years ago you would find over 100 cars entered into any D1 event around Japan, that was before they decided to up the price from around 25,000 yen to 70,000 yen, and for what? So you had the pleasure of packing up and leaving early because the judges decisions were completely biased. You and the other 40 or so competitors, did I say 40 or so, sorry I meant 100 no actually I didn’t, D1 now struggles to even get entries and have resorted to calling up ex-D1 drivers personally to see if they would like to enter upcoming events. I have seen with my own eyes at the Suzuka 07 D1 event the lengths that Tsuchiya will go to when one of his friends, not mentioning names but he drove a bright pink S15. He did not quite achieve the points needed so they called for a re-run against lesser backed privateer, resulting in the higher profile driver wining. The judging got so bad that they even started brining in guest judges such as Nobushige Kumakubo from Team Orange for the pure fact of just trying to make the judging calls fairer for all participants not just the high profile drivers.

These higher entry prices coupled with the fact the economy is going down the drain is not good for the Smaller privateer drivers who would usually just put everything on the credit card and worry about paying it back another day. Not this year with banks cutting down credit limits in Japan it also means a lot of privateers now have no money to enter D1. Now days you will see most D1 drivers at local events just drifting for the passion and fun of it, before it was taken over by money and sponsors. They are returning into the real drift scene, not this Pamela Anderson version of drift, with new improved bits and pieces but the price to pay is getting Hep C, turning green and losing your hair.

Good friend Tomohiro Murayama from Team Geki in his 550HP SR2.2.

So its clear there is only one way to the top and that’s making it to the Kings table, make it their and your sure in for a win. Do the hard work kiss the right backsides and in no time you will have a spot. But once your there don’t ever think of leaving, leaving the table would result in having all you hair cut off then getting it dyed green upon the Kings request of following the traditions and showing your loyalty. After that process you may never enter a D1 event again unless you make piece with King Tsuchiya. Your now a free man with a name, where do you go? You go to America where the grass is greener, the money flows like water and your fans line up in dozens just to get a glance at you. If you done all of these things you would sound just like Nobuteru Taniguchi also known as NOB, a very smart man who seen the light and happens to be one of the best drivers in drifting or grip to date and whose making a killing for himself in America the land of opportunity.

Another good friend and fellow Team Geki member, Zema in his RX7 along with his bright green D1 Street Legal 180sx below.

So there it is D1 is dying, prices have doubled and entrants have been cut by at least 50% or more. You cant really run a D1 event with no cars drifting. If you do intend on seeing some drifting in Japan I would be hunting down some MSC events or if you demand on seeing D1, the Ebisu event is always the best one to watch.

All my information has been based on facts and truths, its not just a propaganda rag out on the D1 Grand Prix even if it does sound a bit far fetched. My close relationship with a few good friends who happen to be ex-D1 drivers for all the reasons mentioned above have always brought up some great stories about D1 and the trouble it has caused.

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