Drift Tengoku — October 2013

And of course, when you're covering Nikko, you can't leave out Student Drift. There was plenty of material, but ‘we can't repeat the stories from Drift Tengoku, and it's surprisingly hard,’ he said as he walked around thinking. Fukada was focusing on the Kansai All-Star, the region's biggest event. Rather than the winner or the driving, the supporting cast's impact was simply too strong!

Fukazawa, known throughout the country as the manager at BN Sports, is also an active drifter with Team Gokujō. He lives only 55 km from Nikko Circuit, so even when he isn't scheduled to drive, he often drops by for a walk and has lunch with the circuit president. His favorite event is Student Drift. He has attended since its first year and watched over it from beginning to end.

Student drifters practice hard before the event! Monday, August 5 — TK Club Nikko Circuit drift practice day. Since the event name said ‘practice day,’ I expected Student Drift entrants to be there…

…and sure enough, I spotted one right away! I asked Tsubasa Numajiri of Kanto Automobile College, practicing in an S15 Spec S, how he felt about the event. He said, ‘I'll do my best with enough momentum to win!’ That sounded a little off… but never mind!

But wait a minute, Saitama…

Is Numajiri being supported by mechanic Sugama from AJITO, a shop in Kazo, Saitama? Is he going to be okay? That's a lot of pressure!

Nikko, Saitama…

Story…

Origin…

Organizer Kamiya-kun was also worried about the other students and kept giving them advice…

…while advising the other students. By the time this diary appears in the October issue, the special feature should have the results, so take a look…

…a surprisingly deep story.

…and see.

Good luck with the engine swap! Wednesday, August 7 — Kics open practice day

The students are dead serious! Monday, August 26 — 12th All-Japan Student Drift Championship. The ‘Kōshien of summer’ for drifting, Student Drift, is now being held for the 12th time. The huge number of cars and open practice make it a truly generous event…

Many…

Kics' practice day was limited to 35 cars…

…it's an all-inclusive event.

One particularly flashy car caught our eye.

A C33 Laurel-faced A31 Cefiro? This appears to be Team Gnz's Okumura Sadaki. He came to set up before the weekend's Round 5 Drift Muscle Tsukuba, but the engine blew! Instead of showing off his driving, he's showing off a connecting rod through the block—nice one!

Even I, a Student Drift fan, couldn't wait. The champion who won last year's East-West unified Student Drift event…

The student drift drivers had spent the whole year setting themselves goals and practicing relentlessly for this day at Nikko. How long they must have been looking forward to it!

At school he hardly listens to his teachers, but when judge Koguchi…

Kumakubo and Taguchi, the East-event champion, also came to cheer on the juniors.

…at the end of the week before the event—nice one! Then…

Fukada's eyes looked ice-cold. Okumura had asked a friend to swap his engine for ¥1,000 while they were having a barbecue. The friend flatly refused! Will he make it to the Muscle event?

Even during that unusually quiet moment, Editor-in-Chief Kawasaki couldn't resist teasing the drivers over the microphone…

…listened so quietly during the qualifying briefing that not a sound could be heard. That's impressive.

…was impressed too! He really loves it. All right, qualifying is about to start! The result…

NATS means instructor Taguchi! Friday, August 9 — Chiba Shin Group's private track day at Nikko. It's an unfamiliar event name at Nikko, but what was going on? There were about 40 cars…

Nikko correspondent

Superb Fukazawa

Lives in Utsunomiya, Tochigi Prefecture

Among the entrants was a delicious-sounding ‘Student Drift class.’ So Chiba Shin turned out to be Shinji Chiba of NATS, the Japan Automobile College, who competes in Student Drift!

Kazunari Taguchi, the 2012 Student Drift East-event champion from NATS (Japan Automobile College), also…

…the same school! Taguchi was there, of course. As a former Student Drift competitor, he gives passionate coaching to his eager juniors. From ‘Taguchi who has it’ to ‘Taguchi who helps others have it,’ he supports NATS. Now, will it pay off?

…how will it turn out?

Rivals helping one another! Tuesday, August 27 — 12th All-Japan Student Drift Championship

Day…

Student Drift starts before the event…

…the drama has already begun!

Only ten drivers passed the previous day's cone qualifying, so the rest faced a repechage where only ten would advance. The judging corners had not been announced until the day of the event. The surprise judging section was a fast corner entered from an unexpected direction—tough for drivers who hadn't practiced it.

Yes, it turns out that figuring out the cornering line is surprisingly difficult! The qualifying results…

Tetsuya Jō of Daido University versus Yoshitaka Ōgane of Yaita East High School. Ōgane…

The first round was also judged at the same corner, while the second used a reverse-direction judging section, so the drivers had a lot to handle. From the best-16 tournament onward, they ran in the regular direction and there was plenty to see. The final was especially intense!

…they were short on tires for the unified championship, so one driver offered, ‘Use my tires!’ and the others joined in to help. And with that, this year's Student Drift came to an end. Editor-in-Chief, let's do something again next year!

…won

Nikko is about to get even tastier! Wednesday, August 28

Closed

Even on a day off, our local correspondent heads out to Nikko Circuit! We previously introduced Nikko Shokudō, famous for its delicious curry. That restaurant…

Closed for renovations ahead of reopening.

Why renovate now? They said, ‘We've been planning it for a while because we want everyone to enjoy even better curry. We'll also expand the menu…’

Her homemade lunch is lovely, but if we've come all the way to Nikko, let's eat at Nikko Shokudō. I'm looking forward to it—and I'm hungry!

Drift Tengoku — October 2013

About this issue

Page 114 — English draft translation