Drift Tengoku — September 2004 · Page 149
Page 149 — English translation
The rule was to initiate into turn one with a single handbrake pull and clear it without unwinding the countersteer. Speed and line didn't matter: the contest was how far away you could begin and complete it in one move. Rain began midway, making the battle even fiercer. Winner Mitsuishi initiated after the midpoint of the home straight! He was almost stopped by the time he reached the corner, but finished without returning the countersteer.
The J-CUP office, headed by Itagaki, ran the event. Kakui worked hard as video cameraman and offered drift advice as a veteran expert. Sergeant Kamimoto was busy judging and instructing. By the first evening, everyone's voice was hoarse. The organizers' message: ‘Our concept is friendship among Chugoku drifters. It's an event where you can experience fun and toughness together. Every participant is a star—come again next year!’
…overnight stays inside Bihoku Circuit were permitted specially for the camp. You could stay at a nearby hotel and return the next morning, but the night after all the events felt like the real main event. Most people stayed, singing and drinking noisily all night.
Organizer Itagaki said, ‘Since last year we've tried not to invite famous guests from other regions. The stars of the festival are the participants themselves, and that seems surprisingly popular.’ Day one included racing, the 0–100 m sprint, the straight-drift contest and a general drift quiz. Teams drawn by lottery that day tackled the activities together.
Some teammates had never met, so things were awkward at first, but each event naturally brought them closer. That also made it easy to mingle during night camping. We'll cover day two's serious drift battles on the next page; first, enjoy the Chugoku drifters' revelry!
Captions and page details
The western Japan drifters' festival…
0–100 m sprint
The 0–100 m competition used the home straight and a knockout bracket. The finish was roughly where second gear ran out, making it exciting when turbo cars overtook AE86s and other naturally aspirated cars just before the line. The final was Silvia versus Silvia, with BRC's Kawamura winning by a nose.
1
Winner!
Winner: Michihide Kawamura
Makoto Mitsuishi
skidline
Drift-car race
Quiz
The 15-lap race was intensely fought! Ten cars entered with no separate classes. Everyone initially said, ‘It's dangerous, so let's just have fun,’ but once it started they were completely serious. The battles through the corners gave us goosebumps. Ultra Groover's…
PINEOP
Winner: Shuichi Yoshioka
…Shuichi Yoshioka won!
DAY EVENT
Championship
Straight-drift boss
This is what summer camp is all about!
On [heading fragment]
The night's main event had to be the big party! Barbecues, grilled food and curry turned the circuit into a lively banquet. The daytime team games seemed to encourage more mingling between teams this year.
Drift [heading fragment]
Madam and…
…call me [fragment]
Motokondō , one of Kansai's leading female drifters, got married and is now Morita. Her husband is the president of Drift Tuning Service , where Sergeant Kamimoto also works.
These are the masterminds!
Congratulations!
NIGHT EVENT
See you again!
Next year too…
…apparently.
On your marriage!
2004
Summer camp
J-Cup
A must-have for night camping!
I'll shake off my reputation as a useless boss!
Hisashi Kamimoto
Isaku Kakui
Junya Itagaki
Sergeant Kamimoto bought an S15 to raise his D1 GP game. The engine has increased boost, and the suspension setup matches his D1 car so he can absorb its behavior into his body.
On the rain-soaked course, Hayashi suddenly decided to go swimming! Happily swimming along the home straight in his birthday suit, he looked just like a kappa!
Shadow [team name partly damaged], always one of the largest groups at this camp, brought a generator and refrigerator! Other groups were envious. We love that sort of spirit.
The familiar Kamimoto boot camp was in full force. Watching video, he barked, ‘You call that driving?!’ He gave earnest advice, including many points valuable to competition drivers.
Drift
Chugoku expert Kawamura and his junior Hayashi got distinctive haircuts especially for the day. Kawamura had a crew cut, while Hayashi had a kappa-style cut…
Roaring! [fragment]
Battle
This driving…
At night, the quiz was held in the renovated lodge. Questions included kanji and the names of Chugoku expert drifters. The winning team received ¥20,000, while the last-place team faced an embarrassing punishment game.
…he is.
…was [fragment].
The person punished for finishing last was of Hiroshima [school name damaged]. He's a student drifter who also competes in the student drift contest and plans to enter again this year.
Reporting assistance: J-CUP office
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About this issue
ドリフト天国 (Drift Tengoku), September 2004, is a Japanese drifting magazine. This archive preserves 316 scanned pages in their original right-to-left reading order, including the covers.
English translations are available through the outlined text areas. Hover over a box on desktop, or tap it on mobile. The original photographs and Japanese lettering remain visible on the scan.
Reading the magazine
Use the page buttons or page number to navigate. On mobile, drag with one finger to move the page and pinch with two fingers to zoom. On desktop, drag a corner to turn a page. The zoom controls allow a closer look at the scans.