Drift Tengoku — October 2013
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About this issue
188 available scans from Drift Tengoku — October 2013, in right-to-left reading order. Japanese OCR and English translation drafts are available throughout. Drafts have not received exhaustive image proofreading; unreadable source remains recorded in the archival data.
Page 115 — English draft translation
The Kansai All-Star GP 2013 finally opened. Kansai drifters qualify through prefecture-level events, and one representative from each prefecture earns a place. It's a fun event even to watch, so people of all ages come from outside Kansai too, filling the small Meihan C course. At this huge event, my own day was cut short when an engine problem left my car unable to run…
A leopard-print drag queen spotted! Sunday, August 11 — Kansai All-Star GP 2013. Someone had been the subject of rumors since the morning drivers' meeting. The vague report said ‘a body-con outfit in leopard print’… Then I saw the person in the gallery: a very burly figure wearing women's clothes, drawing every eye. Be careful in the hot, intense Meihan heat—there's sunstroke, heat exhaustion, and, as the final knockout, a dazzling drag-queen show!
Captions and page details
On-site correspondent
The biggest attendance of the season! Sunday, August 11 — Kansai All-Star GP 2013
Spectator's diary
I saw it!
The Meihan leopard was a male!
The annual festival where Kansai drift fanatics gather—the Kansai All-Star…
Meihan Fukada
…I felt frustrated after having to withdraw. But a young driver from Shiga got to go into battle in my place, so I can look back on it as a good memory…
Circuit
I was deeply disappointed and frustrated that I couldn't compete because of a mechanical problem.
Next year I want to take part in perfect condition and really let loose.
…I thought.
Limited to 14 cars! Sunday, July 14 — Hitomi GO track day. Meihan Sportsland opens its gates at 6 a.m., and participants head to their respective courses…
Meihan Sportsland correspondent
…but on Course C, out of sight, a battle royale had already begun that morning. It was a fight for the covered pits, of which there were only enough for 14 cars!
Fukada style
According to the regulars in the pits, the day before a track day they check Yahoo Weather to see whether the chance of rain…
What's more, the organizer informally reserves about three spaces, so…
In reality, a fierce contest breaks out over each individual pit space.
Lives in Ōtsu, Shiga Prefecture
The ‘Fukada Style’ sticker often seen on Kansai drifters' cars is his official seal of approval. Some people may not know his real name, Masahiro Fukada, or the shop he runs, but everyone recognizes that sticker. Meihan is his home circuit, and he judges at many events held there. He lives 75 km from Meihan and visits about four times a month.
When the number of cars is high, they camp in their cars overnight—that level of dedication blew me away!
Meihan's drifting-couple guide, Part 1 — Sunday, August 11 — Kansai All-Star GP 2013
This is a column about couples we meet at Meihan who have recently started driving there and become completely hooked…
This column introduces couples we meet at Meihan who drive there often and are deeply into the circuit. We're worried this feature might not make it past the first installment, but our lucky first couple is the Fujios, who live in Iga, Mie Prefecture.
His wife Rika-chan was born in 1981 and is 32…
The husband, Akihito, was born in 1983 and is 30. The couple spend their time drifting in their Silvia…
An astonishing full wrap! Wednesday, August 7 — MARS track day. I went to test the wheel setup on my Mark II at the MARS track day held four days before the 2013 Kansai All-Star GP…
Akihito used to make a name for himself driving in tandem and triple runs with Naoki Nakamura. Recently he's joined the Enjoy Drifter crowd and appears at Meihan driving for fun, then tearing up the track…
…and he almost always practices paired with Erika-chan…
…but both are expert-level drivers at Meihan, so they're a pair you can't take your eyes off even as a spectator.
With drift couples becoming more popular, is there anyone who could organize a Kansai married-couple or dating-couple event…
These days I keep wishing someone would organize a CUP event just for married couples and couples dating…
…I took part.
…but the car developed a problem during the first heat and I had to retire early. It was really disappointing. Beside my car, the organizer's Mark II had been parked there—wrapped in a wild, eye-catching design…
That Mark II has the full wrap that's so popular right now, and the vivid…
The compact design overwhelms everything around it. You hardly ever see a Kansai drift car driving around with such a flashy full wrap…
…you don't see that every day!
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…the rumor was quickly forgotten as the event got underway.
The moment I saw it at the stand, I instinctively pointed my camera…
…posing seductively, with a proud bulge in the crotch.
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