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Article by D1 Staff:
The three-digit Mojave Desert temps in Las Vegas this summer did little to stifle the intense level of competition and high-speed drifting excitement at the 2007 Las Vegas D1 Grand Prix at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With the July 13-14 the main events starting in the evening, on both Friday and Saturday, over 15,000 sport-compact and drifting fans from Las Vegas and beyond couldn't resist the allure of insane entry speeds and massive tire smoke. By the main D1 Grand Prix competition on Saturday night, even with additional grandstand capacity added around the drift course over last year, every seat in the house was full with standing room only for latecomers.
This year's Las Vegas D1 Grand Prix was part of the 2007 Las Vegas Sport Compact Nationals, hosted by Las Vegas Motor Speedway with motorsport and lifestyle action provided by three main content partners, D1 Grand Prix USA, NHRA Xplod Sport Compact drag racing series and Extreme AutoFest. With something to see or do all afternoon and evening, there was no time for boredom as fans circulated through the different areas of the venue where something was always going on.
After a number of unexpected sudden death matches in the later rounds of the best 16 "tsuiso" competition, 2003 D1GP Japan series champion Youichi Imamura shared his emotional victory with fellow drivers and fans as he accepted his trophy and $5,000 first place check at the conclusion of the event. Piloting the ORC/Top Secret Nissan 350Z, this was Imamura's first win since joining the ORC/Top Secret team in 2006.
Saturday evening the spectator gate was scheduled to open up at 5PM but the crush of the crowd lining up to get in encouraged the speedway to open a bit early. Good thing too, as D1 qualifying started a few minutes before the scheduled 5:25PM start time so fans were able to make their way to the grandstands to watch some serious one-up judged runs. Twenty-one drivers lined up for their shot at one of the coveted 16 slots, including nine drivers from the U.S.
The Las Vegas drift course wasn't taking prisoners though and the high speed initiation at the first turn and the extremely technical judging points soon separated the experienced high-speed runners from the rest of the pack. Nearly tied for first position were two cars that couldn't be farther from each other in weight and power. With identical 89 mph entry speeds, last year's Las Vegas winner Toshiki Yoshioka in his underdog 260 hp NOS equipped Droo-P AE86 Toyota Corolla was closely pursued by Takahiro Ueno in his massive, 650 hp T&E Vertex JZZ30 Toyota Soarer. Ueno was in good form with crazy speed, smoke and massive angle, but Yoshioka edged him out by a fraction of a point by hitting the clipping points and zones perfectly.
On Ueno's heels were Tanaka, Nomura and Imamura followed in 6th place by U.S. driver Ryan Hampton in his McKinney Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette. Ryan was struggling with the course and car set-up all weekend but managed to throw down a super clean run in qualifying with a crazy 88 mph entry speed while maintaining good angle and form to achieve a very respectable 99.50 score.
A crowd favorite and scoring a 99.00 was 16th place finisher John Russakoff in his light blue Speed Machine AE86 Toyota Corolla. John's entry speeds were off by almost 10 mph from the top of the field but he more than made up for that with what was easily the steepest angle of the day at 45° as well as excellent lines and smooth transitions. Unfortunately, in John's last run went a bit wide after hitting the first clipping point and he tangled with the tire barriers with a hard hit. John was fine but the Corolla was unable to continue so 17th place Ernie Fixmer in his KURE International Nissan Silvia advanced to the top 16 tsuiso round.
At the conclusion of D1 qualifying, the drift course went cold and fans migrated to the drag strip for the NHRA Xplod Sport Compact drag racing series main event. On the way, fans swarmed the D1 driver autograph session held under the drag strip grandstand where many of the D1 Grand Prix USA stars signed everything from event programs to t-shirts, DVDs, hats and whatever else fans could lay their hands on. As the smell of VHT and the sights and sounds of 1/4 mile action filled the night air, the D1 teams got back to prepping their cars for the main D1 Grand Prix tandem round at 9PM.
By 8PM the grandstands around the drift course were already filled to capacity as fans waited in anticipation of the spectacle that was about to unfold. Promptly at 9PM, the fanfare of the 2007 Las Vegas D1 Grand Prix opening ceremony was underway and after a parade lap for the top 16 driver introductions, the tsuiso (tandem) round was underway.
As last year's Vegas winner Yoshioka, paired up with Fixmer, approached the first turn, the crowd roared to life as the battle ensued. Yoshioka advanced and the tandem battles continued. Undoubtedly, the most exciting best 16 tandem battle was the all-Subaru match between Team Orange teammates Tanaka and Kumakubo. Being the masters of tandem exhibitions that they are, their runs were so evenly matched that it was almost impossible for the judges to declare a clear winner. After TWO sudden death "one-more-time" matches, Team Orange boss Nobushige Kumakubo narrowly lost out to teammate Kazuhiro Tanaka's finesse of his Impreza.
The top 16 round was not an easy one for anyone, especially the four local drivers (Fixmer, Hampton, Pawlak and Ly). The high speed entry and crazy transitions were one thing in single car runs, but even more daunting in the tandems for the less seasoned drivers. As the D1 series in Japan has matured, the skill level has grown by quantum leaps and some of the newer high speed courses in Japan have prepped the imported drivers well for Vegas and have given them the experience to dial-in their set-ups for high speed initiations. Unfortunately, the locals haven't had as much exposure to higher speed circuits and were eliminated by their JDM colleagues before the best 8 round.
As the best 8 round got underway, former AE86 maestro Katsuhiro Ueo, driving the Driftspeed liveried previous champ Kazama's S15 Nissan Silvia, went head-to-head with last year's Vegas winner, Toshiki Yoshioka. After a couple bumps and scrapes, which Ueo felt were controversial, the former AE86 master had to accept defeat from the run laid down by Yoshioka in his NOS equipped "hachi roku".
Meanwhile, Imamura's RB powered 350Z edged out Ken Nomura's Blitz RB powered Nissan Skyline. Tanaka advanced his Subaru Impreza against the S15 Nissan Silvia of Tetsuya Hibino and Hideo Hiraoka in the red Driftspeed Nissan Silvia made a surprise attack to advance on Takahiro Ueno's Toyota Soarer, which had been running magnificently all weekend.
The semi final round was full of surprises. Imamura was paired up with Yoshioka and in the tight battle, it was Imamura who surprised everyone with an advance to the finals. Meanwhile Tanaka and Hiraoka launched into battle with Hiraoka's Driftspeed Silvia laying down a blistering run that sent Tanaka's Team Orange Subaru back to the paddock.
The all-Nissan final battle between Hiraoka and Imamura was close, but it was Imamura who emerged victorious in the end. The 2003 champion was overcome with emotion as he was awarded his first win since joining the ORC/Top Secret team in 2006.
After D1 and Las Vegas Motor Speedway officials presented Imamura with his $5,000 check, and runner-up Hiraoka with his $2,000 check, the celebrations got underway as champagne corks flew and camera flashes fired. Immediately following the drifting competition, the crowd migrated to the main stage for the Extreme AutoFest nightcap. After the final music act, the EAF gang held a kickin' bikini contest then followed that with the car show awards. With 231 competitors in the car show, contestants and fans hung in until the final trophy was awarded...a fine ending to a hot summer night in Sin City.
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