After a three-year hiatus, D1GP brought its unique blend of competitive drifting back to U.S. tarmac, with the first of four nation-wide stops scheduled for the 2009 season. Under new management, with new judges and judging format, and with the addition of a vendor area, car show, VIP services, food court, stunt bike demos, RC car drifting, live music and the official Gumball 3000 kick-off, the Anaheim event became a sharp departure from "just drifting"-themed events of events past, and, combined with drastic last-minute schedule, format and track changes - along with the addition of the infamous "DriftBox" - a bit of a controversial one.
Look to a future issue of Import Tuner to find out what was loved and what was hated, which Japanese drivers flat-out refused to compete in the event and why, which U.S. privateers took out the Japanese big dogs, and which one of our homeboys almost started a riot by taking matters into his own hands.
D1GP Anaheim Results:
1. Daigo Saito
2. Nobushige Kumakubo
3. Forrest Wang
4. Takahiro Ueno
5. Kazuhiro Tanaka
6. Rosstamon Petty
7. Chelsea DeNofa
8. Russel Walker
9. Harri Hokkanen
10. Toshiki Yoshioka
11. Quoc Ly
12. Kelvin Arreola
13. Will Parsons
14. Tyler Cox
15. Dave Blunt
16. Cyrus Martinez
D1GP U.S. Schedule:
"Laces Out!!"
5.30.09 - D1GP Miami @ Dolphins Stadium
"Always Sunny"
7.18.09 - D1GP Philadelphia @ Wachovia Center
"Daaaaa Bears"
8.01.09 - D1GP Chicago @ Soldier Field
www.D1GP.com