Event Report – The 2010 G1-GP Round 2

Temperatures were scorching in Nihonmatsu last Friday for the second round of the newly created G1-GP ( Gaijin Grand Prix ) but the staff at Ebisu Circuit, Team Orange and Powervehicles teamed up to provide a Drift competition for people living in and visiting Japan, open to foreigners only. Here’s how it shook out…

The track for round 2 was the Nishi short course. It’s an immense and frantic track but utterly satisfying and totally safe. The biggest part to the course and the one that makes it what it is, is the blind crest at the top of the hill, taken on the limiter in second gear for slower cars or by using the torque in third gear for more powerful ones.

You take the outside line on the strongly off cambered left curve up the hill and aim for the little grubby piece of kerbing on the outside of the corner, kicking the clutch in hard while simultaneously winding in full lock to the right. From there, you need to aim at the horizon and the small patch of kerb on the left at the top of the crest, using it as a “flicking” point for the downhill, completely sideways run into the flat section.

I attended the event in my usual role of journo but this time around I would also be entering the competition, using a car I knew very well; my old R32 Skyline, recently sold to fellow Australian Nathan Weissel and rented for the day by yours truly. It turned out to be a renaissance of sorts.

Here’s what it looked like when I bought from Adam Truesdale at Feast Auto a couple of years ago…

Round 1, held in May during Spring, drew a field of 16 competitors but for the summer competition, numbers had soared to 30; a near 100% increase a single event later. Make no mistake, the G1-GP is here to stay and if you are in Japan during the times the events are held ( coinciding with each of the Drift Matsuri events ) you must make this a competition to enter.

As always, Gray was the man to beat and he looked in ominous form. Living right next to the track is always going to prove to be a massive advantage and it was one he looked to hammer home in qualifying and the battles…

The event turned out to be an unexpected cracker though with Gray going up in the final against a young pretender by the name of Leighton Fine, former Drift Australia champion and a driver who was experiencing his first competition in Japan.

Here, the battle was heating up as Gray and Fine went blow for blow…

Gray stubbornly refused to budge despite heavy pressure from Fine and the judges decided a re-run was in order…

Gray made a minor error coming off the crest of the Nishi course, handing the advantage to Fine…

…who responded in kind, and took his first victory on foreign soil and in front of the right people.

Third place went to Chris De Jaeger, who missed out on a final battle with Gray by the slimmest of margins, 1.2 points, after an epic tussle with Fine.

Fourth was held by American Kyoto Rob who recovered well after a lackluster qualifying run to show up well against Gray.

Rob’s immaculate 240SX, re-imported from the States, made the difference as the controls were just where Rob needed them to be when it mattered. 7tune has had a closer look at this car coming in a post shortly.

5th place went to Christian Pickering ( pictured ) with Andrew Roney rounding out the top six places.

Here is David Lawrie and his brightly blue S14 Silvia shortly after handing me my defeat!

The action on track was pretty intense throughout the competition and everyone drove very well it has to be said. I personally think the skill level was quite high but since this is a mixed skill event, measures need to be taken to ensure parity between competitors. Some cars were packing 400 to 450hp and against a car with half the power, not to mention an experience difference, the advantage was sometimes very obvious.

This didn’t deter Aussie Paul Austin who pushed his ex. Big Win JZX81 to the limit…

..and in this shot, over it!

Team “Gaijin Smash” were looking good for the event with Billy Hanson showing how it was done…

…until this happened. While Billy managed to recover from that Bucking Bronco, his twin battles were over for the day.

Team mate Chris Conley though scored well against the rest of the field, eventually finishing in a solid 9th position.

Here is their fellow American, Kaliko Domingo with a wicked 90 degree entry into the flats in his JZX90…

Young Aussie Shane Pinson, going hard down the hill in the JPP Silvia..

Josh Zamel showed good skill in his bronze JZX90…

Frenchman JC from Autoworks Magazine showed up behind the wheel instead of a lens this time in his white R32 and didn’t disappoint.

The “Frenchness” extended to the garage where JC played music from the French Riviera amid the props of a French beret and a French baguette!

Speaking of props, this R32 “Cop Car” drew attention everywhere it went, day and night.

I think the Australian police could benefit from attending a Drift Matsuri or two wouldn’t you agree?

Scot, Emily Loudon qualified extremely well but a poor showing in the battle placed her further down the order than her talent dictated.

But after it was all said and done, there were only six who made the prize grade and when I saw Nobushige Kumakubo reaching to hand out these pieces of paper I wondered what was going on. These “pieces of paper” were a year long “All You Can Drift for Free” Gold Pass to Ebisu – definitely something I could really use!

The top 3 drivers received one each but I’m not sure how much use they will be to Chris De Jager and Andy Gray who basically live at the circuit.

The “Top 6″ all received a D1 SL license but 7tune recalls both Chris De Jager and Andy Gray receiving one in the last event so it remains to be seen what will come of their newly acquired licenses.

Leighton Fine, or “Leg” as he is called in Australia, was overwhelmed by the experience and looked truly humbled when receiving the winner wreath on the podium. The satisfaction was obvious.

Nobushige Kumakubo went on to invite Leighton Fine to the “Nations Cup of Drift” in November where the world’s best, by appointment from Kumakubo only, will be pitted against each other in equal machinery to decide who really is the global standard.It promises to be a mouth watering prospect.

Although 7tune didn’t have the opportunity to see what Fine’s driving was like from within the car, I can say that it was solid from the outside with consistency both on a mechanical and driver level

Zenky-racing.com were there this event to make sure the prizes matched the efforts and duly handed out worthy prizes including coilovers, suspension arms and boost, oil and water temperature gauges for those in the top 6.

It was a good experience all in all and everyone enjoyed the event immensely. Round 3 promises to be huge as the field is expected to swell even further with Dutchman Paul Vlasbom, the NL Drift King making a reappearance in his red 180 missile among many others who have already signed on for the next round.

Check out Powervehicles for more details on how to enter and contact 7tune for information on “Arrive and Drive” packages for the event; accommodation and transfers included.

Words: Adam Zillin

Photos: Adam Zillin