The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift - Drifting Competitions

Drift Racing Competitions

The D1 GrandPrix

The largest drifting competition is the D1 Grand Prix, with matches held in Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The D1 Grand Prix was started in 2000 as the All Japan Drift Championship, with the Drift King Keiichi Tsuchiya serving as one of the judges. This first competition introduced the' side-by-side' battle, where one driver leads and the 2nd must copy the drift and improve upon it.

The series stayed only in Japan until 2003, when the D1 Grand Prix hosted an exhibition round at the Irwindale track in California.The exhibition hosted a sellout crowd of 20,000 and ended up becoming the series opening round. This exhibition also introduced Toshi Hayama as commentator, who also serves as a drift consultant on The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.

2005 was a year of many changes for the D1 series - it introduced the Drift Box, an electronic GPS scoring device that accurately tracks the angle and speed of the drivers' drift. The D1 series was introduced to Europe that year, as well as a new category into the competition - Street Legal, which has much tighter restrictions on the way that a car can be modified. ln particular, the car must have a working stereo system and the original engine. This category was aimed at the amateur audience who modified their own everyday-use cars for drifting.

Each D1 Grand Prix has three qualifying runs to make it to the top sixteen 'tsuiso' battle. The tsuiso battle is a version of the side-by-side battle, now referred to as a chase-run battle, in which two cars run simultaneously. This tsuiso differs from the side-by-side battle, because not only must the second car copy and improve the first car's drift, the driver also attempts to pass the first car. In the tsuiso rounds, the racing line does not count as a judging point.

To enter the D1 competition, drivers must follow the se steps:

1. Apply for a Drivers Search held in the U.S., Japan or Europe.

2. The driver must pass the search to qualify for a D1 event.

3. Sign up for a D1 Event in the Qualifying series.

4. The driver must pass the qualifying events to compete in the D1 Single runs.

5. Once the driver passes the single runs, they compete in Twin Drifting 'Tsuiso' runs.

6. lf the driver wins the tsuiso, they win the event.

The drivers searches are held the day before a qualifying event, usually during practice sessions. In addition, hopeful drifters can enter the Ikaten drivers search, in groups of 5, and score high points. If the score is deemed high enough, a D1 license is granted.

Formula D

The Formula D competition is the United States' drifting series, as well as the name of the TV show that covers the competitions. The series is always sponsored by the popular drifting video game series Need for Speed.

The Formula D series has seven rounds, all at different tracks, which differ every year. Unlike the D1 Grand Prix, the Formula D has no competitions outside of the U.S.

* The first Formula D competition was held in 2003 at the Irwindale Speedway in California.

* Formula D has the largest number of tire manufacturers involved, more than any other motorsport series in the world, including:

- Nitto Tires

- Toyo Tires

- Yokohama Tires

- Falken Tires

- CooperTires

- Dunlop Tires

- Kumho Tires

* The Formula D series was the first drifting championship to be featured in a major video game.

* Formula D was the first drifting series to have sponsors that were not tied to motor sports, like EA Games and Circuit City.

Drifting Competitions around the world: