Racer's Story

Ebisu, Japan - I’m standing about ten feet from the Drift King, wondering how to get his attention. Between us are just a few millimeters of plastic that keep the hot summer air from entering the judge’s air-conditioned tent.

“Tsuchiya-sama! Tsuchiya-sama!” I shout.

He turns around, drawn I suppose by the sound of my bad Japanese.

“Tsuchiya-sama wa ichiban desu!” I shout to him, giving a thumbs up.

He smiles and waves, nodding his head.

I’m shaking a little bit; I just made a complete idiot out of myself in front of the Drift King.

Here at Ebisu Circuit in Japan, Tsuchiya is just one of a star cast participating in the judging, exhibition, and competition for the Drift Dream Match 2005. Nomuken, Orido, Oka-chan, and others are here to make this event a gathering of some of the best drifting talent that Japan, and maybe even the world, has to offer.

As a frequent spectator and participant in events in the U.S., I watched closely to see how the Japanese ran the event. The Japanese place a strong emphasis on organization and punctuality. Accordingly, the event was meticulously scripted and followed the schedule to the minute. The judges all had microphones and everything they said was broadcasted throughout the entire circuit. There was no confusion or chaos in the pits, the spectators were orderly and cooperative, and the event went off without a hitch.

That being said, every once in a while you could see a glimmer of spontaneity and even craziness. For example, when Nomuken’s Blitz/Uras Skyline broke down near the judges’ platform, he got out of the car and immediately started jumping up and down, bowing towards the spectators and crowd. When they towed his car away, he was alternately kowtowing to the judges and trying to drift the car while it was being towed. Later in the event, the judges decided to only do a Best 14 and leave Tsuchiya out of the running. Tsuchiya, furious, started throwing chairs at the judges and tried to kick over the platform. Finally, after hiding under the tables in the back of the platform, they agreed to let him participate in the tandems for the Best 16.

The drifting, of course was excellent. The Drift King brought out his personal S15 to compete with the other drivers. To watch Tsuchiya’s clean racing line and perfect throttle and steering inputs is to know the highest level of drifting skill in the world. Also fun to watch were Oka-chan in the Yashio Factory S13 and Dai-chan in a broken and multicolored S13. Dai-chan piloted his trunk-less S13 heroically in six consecutive tandem battles with the Drift King, each too close to call. The 20-ft banners atop his car flapped in the wind as he drifted at high speed, eventually coming to rest as he stepped out of the car to concede the win to the Drift King. Dominic Schweger, an American driver, struggled with sliding his turbo M3 in the beginning of the day, but ended up getting the hang of it and taking the event’s top honors due in part to his unconventional drift line.

The way that the Japanese run their events is a reflection of their own cultural values and identity. Comparing Japanese and American events is for the most part a cultural study. The Japanese are typically reserved and strive for perfection in every endeavor (making their events well-planned but somewhat dry), while most Americans are boisterous and often happy to just wing it and see what happens. The comparison is also an economic one; drifting has been around in Japan for much longer, which has given it time to pick up its many and varied sponsors, from Yokomo to Bride. Drifting is a vast commercial enterprise in Japan, whereas in America it is but a newly born grassroots motorsport with the hopes of one day turning pro.

More than anything the fun thing to watch was the atmosphere of the drift event in drifting’s home country, Japan. Somewhere between a bazaar, a family picnic, and a Meet The Drifters love-in, the Drift Dream Match was fun for all ages and a fantastic opportunity to meet the best drifters in the world.