Drift Tengoku — October 2003

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About this issue

English draft translations are available throughout this issue. Unclear or unreadable OCR remains flagged; these drafts have not received full image proofreading. The archive retains 310 scan files, including two duplicate captures, representing 308 unique pages.

Browse all magazines · September 2004 issue

Page 17 · English draft

Draft translation. Unclear OCR remains flagged; full image proofreading has not been performed.

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  1. All-Japan Student Drift Championship
  2. Presented by Drift Tengoku
  3. With passion!
  4. Fun and full of energy! Bihoku was buzzing in the fierce summer heat!
  5. The Western Japan event had an extremely tight schedule: one 15-minute free-practice session, followed by qualifying in the second session. With many drivers visiting this circuit for the first time, we wondered if that was a little harsh, but there were so many entrants. As in the Eastern Japan event, we accepted all applications received by the deadline. Bihoku Highland, the venue, is one of the Chugoku region's best-known circuits and hosts contests of all sizes, including the D1 Grand Prix. But with entrants gathering from across western Japan, about half had never driven Bihoku before. And Bihoku means…Turn 1! Once again, plenty of cars provided drama. Individual selection had four stages; team selection had two. In the individual class, two rounds of roulette runs cut the field from 80 cars to 20, then solo judging selected eight. From there it became a knockout tournament, with tandem battles from the final four deciding the placings. Drivers who especially caught the judges' attention included Iwai in the KP61 from September's “Promising Newcomers” feature; Nakanishi in an HCR32 with a naturally aspirated RB25; Araki in an AE86 with strong backing from NA Works' Kubo; and Fujikawa, whose feint entries stood out. Iwai in the KP61 deservedly won, while cars the judges considered particularly special received judges' awards. [Several venue/chassis/name OCR words require source review.]
  6. EXCITING PERORT
  7. The team class had seven entries, more than the Eastern Japan event! The overall skill level wasn't especially high, but there was a stronger feeling of representing a school than in the individual contest, and it produced its own heated battle. Come to think of it, none of the teams called Bihoku their home circuit. Nagoya Institute of Technology won, with Aichi Gakuin University second: a one-two finish for universities in the Chubu region! We hear that drifting conditions in Chubu have recently become difficult, but with such energetic drivers around, its future should be secure!
  8. Drift Tengoku Award. Silvia (S13). Reasons: the energy to do absolutely everything himself; the spirit of “If you haven't got the money, make it!”
  9. [Unclear: isolated caption character.]
  10. [Unclear: isolated caption character.]
  11. Prize: Ganador Super Mirrors (Matsushou). 中尾将一郎, 19, Nissan Gakuen Kyoto Automobile Technical School.
  12. …spirit.
  13. A bundle of energy! It's certainly rough, but packed with ideas and modifications. The workmanship isn't great, yet you can't help liking it! The reinforcing bars made from thin iron rods don't look particularly effective, but they're properly welded and he seems serious. The bucket-seat rails are just brackets sold at a hardware store! Drift cars have become cleaner-looking recently, but at Drift Tengoku, we love the “If you haven't got the money, make it!” approach. [Some component words damaged by OCR.]
  14. Homemade side…
  15. …brackets!
  16. Drift Tengoku loves guys…
  17. …like this!
  18. Nakao's bucket seat was secured with homemade brackets, the kind sold at a hardware store. Are they really strong enough…? Well, he says they're fine, so perhaps that's okay?! And the passenger seat is secured with cable ties?! Isn't that a bit dangerous?! [Some OCR words damaged; the questions are the magazine's own commentary.]
  19. Judges' special awards
  20. 61
  21. Emperor☆Koguchi Award. 180SX (RPS13). Reasons: thoroughly reinforced interior; high-speed, sharp feint entries. Prize: Max canards (Koguchi Power). Is the reinforcement working? At first glance the car looks plain, but inside it is full of reinforcing bars! The setup looked familiar, and Koguchi said, “It's like my 180SX!” More than ten bars were securely welded together, making it resemble the Emperor's 180SX… [Article continues in another fragment; product wording needs source review.]
  22. Masahiro Fujikawa, age 23 — Tokushima Prefectural Seibu Techno School. [Name reading requires confirmation.]
  23. Leave the explanations for later; keep following through!
  24. Keep pursuing your own style…
  25. Daijiro Inada Award. Haruo Hayakawa, age 21 — Tokushima University. Silvia (S14). Reasons: the day's biggest crash; staying cheerful although he must have been feeling down inside. [Name reading requires confirmation.]
  26. His sharp feint entry was impressive!
  27. Don't get discouraged! You had great energy…
  28. …it seems. [Fragment; surrounding clause unclear.]
  29. …and that was great!
  30. Fujikawa's feint entries were rated highly! He controlled the car so well that it was hard to believe he'd only finished building it two days earlier…
  31. Prize: cash envelope / DT-SPORTS (M2 Sales). The day's biggest crash! He went into the bank at Turn 1, rolled and …back onto the course. It ended unfortunately, but we award the Daijiro Inada prize to honor his brave effort! The cash won't cover the car, but get it running again soon! It's a good thing he had a roll bar. We're really relieved he wasn't injured… [Exact crash motion and several source words damaged; verify image/text.]
  32. An RB25's…
  33. …I think.
  34. Choosing the naturally aspirated version—you're an unusual one!
  35. Skyline ECR32. Award reasons: enjoying a naturally aspirated RB25; a Tsuchinoko intake chamber designed for a Civic. Prize: HKS brake fluid.
  36. Drift Samurai Award
  37. Kazuya Nakanishi, age 20 — Hiroshima Kokusai Gakuin University. [Name reading requires confirmation.]
  38. …done.
  39. His mistake-free driving took him to the final. It didn't look like the skill of someone who'd only been drifting for a year and a half! Apparently the RB25DE produces only 180 PS. [A few OCR words damaged; historical magazine claim.]
  40. 54
  41. [Unclear: isolated caption character.]
  42. Do you have a girlfriend?
  43. Does your school have an automobile club? And do you belong to it?
  44. Today’s student drifters: attitudes survey!
  45. Q
  46. 1
  47. Is one circuit visit a month becoming the norm?
  48. 100
  49. Q2
  50. Q3
  51. Q4
  52. Have you entered a competition before?
  53. How many days do you drift on average? We asked the entrants! [OCR partly unclear.]
  54. 70
  55. 80
  56. 60
  57. 50
  58. Zero days
  59. 11–15 days
  60. 16 days or more
  61. 1–5 days
  62. 6–10 days
  63. Only on rainy days
  64. 60 [chart label]
  65. [Unclear: damaged chart label.]
  66. Once
  67. 2
  68. Three times
  69. 4
  70. Five times or more
  71. 95 respondents
  72. 51 respondents
  73. 53 respondents
  74. There is one, but…
  75. …I don't belong. [Chart-label OCR partly unclear.]
  76. No girlfriend… [chart label partly clipped]
  77. 76 respondents
  78. 40
  79. 30
  80. 20
  81. 10
  82. 33 respondents
  83. …respondents [count missing]
  84. 43 respondents
  85. 40
  86. 20
  87. 38 respondents
  88. 64 respondents
  89. 21 respondents
  90. Once
  91. 25 respondents
  92. [Unclear: isolated chart-label fragment.]
  93. I belong to it
  94. 65 respondents
  95. 91 respondents
  96. Exactly half! How should we interpret this result…?
  97. 15
  98. Street
  99. 11 respondents
  100. 9 respondents
  101. 4 respondents
  102. 0 [chart label]
  103. Circuit. [Chart-label OCR partly unclear.]
  104. 5 respondents
  105. The number with competition experience is definitely growing!
  106. Five times or more
  107. The influence of visits to automobile clubs?! A high club membership rate! [First phrase damaged by OCR.]
  108. Western special awards: Drift Tengoku—中尾将一郎, 19, Nissan Gakuen Kyoto Automobile Technical School, S13 Silvia, for the “If you can’t afford it, make it” spirit. Emperor Koguchi—藤川昌大, 23, Tokushima Prefectural Western Techno School, RPS13 180SX, for thorough interior reinforcement and fast, sharp feint entries; Max Canards from Koguchi Power. Daijiro Inada—早川春雄, 21, Tokushima University, S14 Silvia, for remaining cheerful after the biggest crash of the day; cash award / DT-SPORTS from M2 Hanbai. Drift Samurai—中西和也, 20, Hiroshima Kokusai Gakuin University, ECR32 Skyline, enjoying an NA RB25 and Civic Tsuchinoko intake chamber; HKS brake fluid.
  109. Monthly drifting frequency. Street categories: 0 days / 1–5 / 6–10 / 11–15 / 16 or more / rainy days only; people: 33 / 69 / 43 / 11 / 9 / 4. Circuit categories: 0 visits / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 or more; printed counts: 38 / 64 / 21 / 4 / 5 / 5. The second circuit bar is taller than its printed 64-person label; the printed count is preserved.
  110. Contest experience: none 95; some 51. Printed detailed counts: once 25; twice 7; three times 4; four times 5; five or more 12. The printed detailed counts total 53, differing from the printed “some” total of 51; figures retained without reconciliation.
  111. School car club: no club 53; club exists but not a member 91; member 65. Girlfriend: no 77; yes 76.