Drift Tengoku — October 2013

Daido University brings together three generations of third-place finishers! Kawamura finished third in the East Japan tournament in 2008 and 2009, and Yamada finished third there in 2011. They supported Kume with their know-how and encouragement. This year became a ‘graduation from third place’ project for the three of them. This S14 used to belong to Kawamura.

Since finishing third at Gakudori, his results had kept landing in third. Kume arrived determined to win: ‘I’ll reach the top and erase the third-place curse!’ His Silvia’s battered aero showed a year of hard driving, and the flashy stickers made him look like a seasoned member of Mind Control. He drove perfectly from qualifying onward, repeatedly turning in top-class runs—then, just as he was on a roll, disaster struck. His transmission blew during the second round, costing him third gear. He hurriedly changed the transmission oil, but third gear never came back.

He cried when the win was decided! Last year he had cried from frustration. Kawamura was already crying before the results were announced, and when the win was confirmed he burst into tears. People who reach the top at Nikko seem to cry every time—at both the East Japan tournament and the unified championship. Along with the water thrown at the awards ceremony, it has become a Gakudori tradition.

But if he gave up here, he would lose to the ‘curse of 3’ again. Gakudori has an unspoken rule against changing cars mid-event, and he understood it well: ‘Saying you can’t do it without third gear—isn’t that just an excuse before you even try? For the entry battle, fourth might actually be faster!’ Koguchi and Drift Samurai’s pep talk seemed to reach him. He scored 97 points and won his first final-bracket battle. The switch had fully flipped. Right after the transmission blew he had nearly been in tears, but after that first win he was grinning from ear to ear. The crowd erupted in applause; the wind was at his back. Compared with the other entries, his Silvia had been heavily worked over. It had changed little since last year, though the turbo had been replaced, and at a glance it was a drift car built to win. Many competitors must have thought it was beyond student level—and envied it. Then, at the crucial moment, third gear was gone, and everyone probably thought, ‘That’s it.’ That is why his comeback was so exciting. In the high-speed corners he shifted from second to fourth, kicking the car and linking the corners; it was moving. He proved it wasn’t ‘equipment over skill,’ but ‘determination over equipment.’ He advanced through the unified championship as well and looked relieved after the final. The announced result was second place. He must have been disappointed, but this was his final Gakudori. A Daido alumnus had said, ‘With Kume being Daido’s last S- street driver, it’ll be difficult for Daido to stay active for a while.’ But after the Daido legacy of Kawamura, Yamada, and Kume—and a win this dramatic—the juniors are bound to be fired up for next year’s Gakudori!