March 6, 2006 - A new year, a new season. The 2006 D1 Grand Prix championship started off with more smoke, more noise, and more cars. You may be thinking, "drifting again? Irwindale again?" But, before you jump to any conclusions about seeing the same event over again, this year's D1 field hosted an assortment of changes and updates. Following the surprise win of Vaughn Gittin Jr. and his Falken Mustang at the US vs. Japan exhibition round earlier this year, many expected the US drivers to enter the year stronger than ever. But to the disappointment of many red-blooded Americans, it was the Japanese heroes who came out on top this time around.
Proving that time never stands still and change is inevitable, the D1 ranks reshuffled and renewed for 2006. 2005 D1 champion Yasuyuki Kazama returned in his green S15, although no longer with Kei-Office title sponsorship. Youichi Imamura, the 2003 series champ, is no longer with his memorable white A'PEXi Mazda RX-7 but is now the chosen pilot of the 600ps ORC wide-body GTR-powered Nissan 350Z.
Slowly phasing out the older ranks of the D1 AE86's and RX-7's, Gen Terasaki's black hardtop S2000 and Team Orange's twin rear-drive Impreza's point towards the new direction of unique and up-to-date machinery. Following Kumakubo's insane JUN-built Impreza, fellow Team Orange drifter Kazuhiro Tanaka debuted his own 500ps rear-drive Subaru. Lacking the trunk-mounted radiator, side air scoops and sequential transmission of Kumakubo's Impreza, Tanaka's ride still makes use of the stock transmission, locked to send all power to the rear wheels. Even Show-Up's Shinji Minowa jumped ship from the AE86 camp, now rocking a wide-body S15 Silvia. With Dai Yoshihara, Rhys Millen, and Ken Gushi missing from the driver's ranks, the round appeared at first like it might be lacking some of the most exciting drifters on the grid. But in the end, there was no need to worry. From the bewildering sight of Team Orange's two-wheel drive Subaru effort to the outrageously loud machine-gun blasts of Bee-R's R32 Skyline, the show was in full swing. American hopefuls Vaughn Gittin Jr. and Samuel Hubinette looked to be shooting for the crown, but eliminations in the Final 16 and Top 8 rounds ended their dreams. Hubinette's 8.3L Mopar Viper brought an all-American assault to the Japanese drivers, but the day would belong to Kazama. Having taken the D1 Round 1 Irwindale win in 2004, 2005, and now 2006, Kazama's hat trick only proved that he is still the king of Irwindale. Six more points-paying rounds of the D1 Grand Prix are to take place in Japan before the drift circus returns to the US in mid-December, but a scheduled Las Vegas exhibition round in July promises to crash Sin City in style. We can't wait.