Drift Tengoku — September 2004 · Page 97
Page 97 — English translation
...yet I didn't spin once in competition. A perfect 100 in qualifying made me think I'd used a lifetime of luck. Linking in third gear from the final corner to turn one seemed popular, but it was my first time doing it. I thought exiting in second and shifting on the straight was faster, but Abe and everyone said to stay in third, so I tried it while wondering whether it was right.
Nomuken's pace stayed strong in tandem. He beat Imamura after sudden death, then Taniguchi. Hibino, in only his second tandem appearance, defeated Suenaga and Kumakubo and pushed Miki into a crash on the way to the final.
His claimed 150 PS AE86 faced the measured 500 PS ER34: a 30 year old newcomer against 39 year old veteran Nomura. The crowd loved the privateer naturally aspirated car challenging the expensive works machine. Two sudden death rounds were needed in punishing heat.
From the semifinal, the Blitz Skyline had fuel pump trouble and needed refueling every two runs. Nomuken maintained focus despite it. In the final deciding run, he led with slightly subdued acceleration, but held his angle.
Hibino seemed to close up and briefly straighten. After four seasons, D1's first manufacturer works driver finally won, also delivering the first four door victory. At the ceremony fellow drivers rushed up and tossed the small hero into the air.
Captions and page details
Tournament bracket
Full opposite lock in one link from the final corner!
Angle, speed and smoke: the best of the day in every respect!
Takahiro Ueno
Ken Nomura
Sixth
Yoichi Imamura; Atsushi Kuroi; Yasuyuki Kazama; engine trouble led to retirement ; Hideo Hiraoka; Nobuteru Taniguchi
Ninth
Eighth
Nomura faced Taniguchi in the semifinal. Taniguchi made no clear mistake, but Nomura's angle was noticeably deeper with comparable speed, giving him the win. Both now lead the championship on 52 points, setting up an exciting second half.
Winner
Third
Takashi Haruyama
Wataru Hayashi
Drop Out Racing's Hibino cut the final corner to gain speed, actually jumping the car. Rather than cheating, it was a daring challenge: the height change and landing shock seriously disturb the car. Applause for that courage!
Fourth
Seventh
Kazuhiro Tanaka
Ryuji Miki
Crashed in the semifinal
Gen Terasaki
Despite losing the final, Drop Out Racing's Hibino became a star. This was his second D1 tandem appearance. His leap from local prominence surprised us. The Divine body graphics look great!
Fifth
Tenth
Nobushige Kumakubo
Hisashi Kamimoto
Second
Tetsuya Hibino; Masao Suenaga
D1
Nomuken looks back on the fierce battle
Grand Prix, round 3: Ebisu
Drifting really is about luck! I kept spinning in practice...
...attention.
Big attention
To
First
D
I wasn't good at tandem, yet somehow I kept winning. While driving...
...I kept assuming I was losing 6–4 and drove as hard as I could. Beating an FD or S15 feels wonderful. Being able to keep up makes me appreciate the great car Abe built.
The fuel pump seemed to fail in the heat, a problem recurring since practice...
Bride
...a replacement didn't solve it. Adding fuel cooled it enough to improve matters, but it worsened until the car needed a full tank to run. I was a little worried that power might disappear at any moment.
Hibino's driving in the final was intense...
...he shortcut the final corner and completely jumped it to gain entry speed. I briefly thought it unfair, but I couldn't imitate it: he was about 20 cm airborne. One attempt would wreck my front end.
Sudden death in the quarterfinal and twice in the final was...
...physically exhausting. I probably did more laps than anyone. It was so hot I wanted it to finish. But the result is wonderful! After winning the Odaiba exhibition, I postponed the celebration until a championship win, so we can finally have it. Pray for me: perhaps luck will bring another victory.
The temperature exceeded 35°C, and spectators suffered heat illness. Drivers faced severe heat too, aggravated by mandatory face masks. Nomuken joked that being allowed to crack the rear windows made him grateful for a four door for the first time. He secretly wished the event would end sooner.
...climbed to the final.
...machine.
Thus ended a day that felt both long and short...
With third, third and first, Nomuken passes Kazama in the standings and shares the lead with Taniguchi. Round three's slogan was stop Kazama; now it becomes stop Nomura.
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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.
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