2007 D1 Grand Prix Season
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The 2007 Autobacs D1 Grand Prix series was the seventh season for the
D1 Grand Prix The , abbreviated as D1GP and subtitled ''Professional Drift'', is a production car drifting (motorsport), drifting series from Japan. After several years of hosting amateur drifting contests, Daijiro Inada, founder of ''Option (car magazine), O ...
series and was the second season for its spinoff D1 Street Legal. It was the first time since 2003 that the entire series took place entirely in
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
. It began on 4 February 2007, as a D1SL exclusive event at Sekia Hills, the mainstay D1GP event opened on 25 March at
Ebisu Circuit is a motorsport race track, racing complex located in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima, Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Overview The Ebisu Circuit complex has seven individual tracks and two skid pad type circuits. The circuits are Nishi (West) ...
. At the same year, due to its popularity of its US point scoring round that was held over three seasons, it saw an introduction of its own domestic series, but the series would suffer two setbacks as it suffered from two cancellations, one at
Irwindale Speedway Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 91010, which is shared with Duarte, 91702 ...
on 11 March, due to its Japanese competitors who were to compete, had been building cars specially to compete in the series and could not get the cars ready in time for the event The D1 US organisation suffered a further blow when due to unresolved issues, the
Alameda County Alameda County ( ) is a List of counties in California, county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 1,682,353, making it the 7th-most populous county in the state and List ...
Board of Supervisors refused license to the D1 event to take place at
Altamont Motorsports Park Altamont Raceway Park was a motorsports race track in the western United States, located northern California, west of Tracy. It opened on July 22, 1966, and operated under the names Altamont Speedway, Altamont Raceway, Altamont Motorsports Park ...
on 24 June, forcing it to be cancelled. It was to be the second season for the
Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
n franchise, D1MY; but due to unforeseen circumstances, round 1, which was to take place on March, was cancelled. Nothing has been heard about the organisation since. The season will be best remembered for the two-car accident between
Masato Kawabata is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix series for Team TOYO TIRES DRIFT. Biography Kawabata first received his license at 18 and at that point he bought the Nissan 180SX. He practiced alone until h ...
and
Daigo Saito is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix series and Formula Drift Japan for TMAR. Formerly competing in Formula DRIFT USA and World Championship series for Achilles Radial. He was the first driver to wi ...
in
Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and nati ...
, when during the sudden death second round, Saito dipped into the inner
apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics), a teenaged super villainess in the Marvel Universe * Ape-X, a super-intelligent ape in the Squadron Supreme universe *Apex ...
of the 300R corner, causing his car to understeer and collecting Kawabata's Silvia onto the tyre barrier in the process, severely destroyed both cars. Kawabata had a second luck escape as when he collided with the barrier, a nitrous tank housed on the passenger side of his vehicle exploded from the impact, but played no part in Kawabata's injury. Among those narrowly escaping death was
Video Option is a monthly direct-to-video magazine version of the long-running '' Option magazine'' introduced in March 1988 by Sunpro. The video has always been presented by Daijiro Inada, who did many of the tuner car road tests, either on a test track, o ...
cameraman, Zaku, had to duck to avoid debris from the crash. Both drivers survived without serious injuries, but however Kawabata had to be taken to hospital for treatment for
whiplash Whiplash may refer to: * The long flexible part of a whip * Whiplash (medicine), a neck injury ** Whiplash Injury Protection System (WHIPS), in automobiles Film and television * ''Whiplash'' (1948 film), a US film noir about a boxer * ''Whiplas ...
injuries. The season will end on 25 November with an end of season All-Star event. The last D1GP event held will be on 21 October at
Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and nati ...
and 11 November for D1SL at Sekia Hills.


Changes for the 2007 Season

* The D1 Gals pairing of Kazumi Kondo and Jyuri Tamashiro have now been replaced by a quadruple called the "''D1 Sisters''" from ''D-Sign'', consisting of Hiromi Goto, Yuria Tachiki, Asami Kikuchi and Ayaka Tashiro. Unlike earlier girls who had a, extensive background as
race queen Race, RACE or "The Race" may refer to: * Race (biology), an informal taxonomic classification within a species, generally within a sub-species * Race (human categorization), classification of humans into groups based on physical traits, and/or s ...
s, the group was recruited via auditions. *The final year with Japanese car accessory retailer
Autobacs () is a retailer of automotive parts and accessories based in Japan, with branches primarily in Asia and stores also located in France. Etymology Autobacs was given a backronym as follows, which reflects the products the company provided prior ...
as a title sponsor which was replaced by
Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...
's Gran Turismo
videogame Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This feedb ...
franchise for the All-Star event.


2007 Schedules


2007 D1 Grand Prix Point Series

Round 1 - March 24/25 - Ebisu South Course,
Fukushima Prefecture Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
-
Nobushige Kumakubo is a drifting driver from Japan who competes in the D1 Grand Prix series and racetrack and land owner. Nicknamed ''Kuma'', he is commonly referred to as one of the pioneers of drifting. Born to a wealthy family who owned a large portion of la ...
(GDB)
Round 2 - April 28/29 -
Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and nati ...
,
Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
- Atsushi Kuroi (PS13)
Round 3 - May 26/27-
Suzuka Circuit The , more famously known as the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka, Mie, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda, Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000. Int ...
,
Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
-
Masao Suenaga is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix series for D-MAX. He is the younger brother of Naoto who both were taught by Nobushige Kumakubo. He began his motorsport career racing minibikes in the Kyūs ...
(FD3S)
Round 4 - June 9/10 - Sports Land SUGO,
Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
-
Masato Kawabata is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix series for Team TOYO TIRES DRIFT. Biography Kawabata first received his license at 18 and at that point he bought the Nissan 180SX. He practiced alone until h ...
(S15)
Round 5 - August 25/26 - Ebisu South Course,
Fukushima Prefecture Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
-
Ken Nomura is a drifting driver from Japan. He made his debut in the D1 Grand Prix in the 3rd round in 2001, driving the Blitz D1 Spec ER34 Skyline which he still drives. His nickname is Nomuken (のむけん) or Monkey Magic (as a reference to his compa ...
(ER34)
Round 6 - September 22/23-
Autopolis is a international racing circuit located near Kamitsue village in Ōita Prefecture, Japan on the Northeast of Kumamoto. Nippon Autopolis">F1 News - Grandprix.com > GP Encyclopedia > Circuits > Nippon Autopolis/ref> Tsurumaki ordered 30 Buic ...
,
Ōita Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Ōita Prefecture has a population of 1,136,245 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of 6,340 km2 (2,448 sq mi). Ōita Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northwest, Kumam ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
-
Masato Kawabata is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix series for Team TOYO TIRES DRIFT. Biography Kawabata first received his license at 18 and at that point he bought the Nissan 180SX. He practiced alone until h ...
(S15)
Round 7 - October 20/21 -
Fuji Speedway is a motorsport race track standing in the foothills of Mount Fuji, in Oyama, Suntō District, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It was built in the early 1960s. In the 1980s, Fuji Speedway was used for the FIA World Sportscar Championship and nati ...
,
Shizuoka Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshu. Shizuoka Prefecture has a population of 3,637,998 and has a geographic area of . Shizuoka Prefecture borders Kanagawa Prefecture to the east, Yamanashi Prefecture to the northea ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
-
Masao Suenaga is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix series for D-MAX. He is the younger brother of Naoto who both were taught by Nobushige Kumakubo. He began his motorsport career racing minibikes in the Kyūs ...
(FD3S)


2007 D1 Street Legal Series

Round 1 - February 3/4 - Sekia Hills,
Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
- Kazuya Matsukawa (RPS13)
Round 2 - May 26/27 -
Suzuka Circuit The , more famously known as the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka, Mie, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda, Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000. Int ...
,
Mie Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kansai region of Honshu. Mie Prefecture has a population of 1,781,948 () and has a geographic area of . Mie Prefecture is bordered by Gifu Prefecture to the north, Shiga Prefecture and Kyoto Prefecture to ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
(D1GP Week) - Yukiharu Komagata (GDB)
Round 3 - June 9/10- Sports Land SUGO,
Miyagi Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Miyagi Prefecture has a population of 2,305,596 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Miyagi Prefecture borders Iwate Prefecture to the north, Akita Prefecture to the nort ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
(D1GP Week) - Jin Horino (S14)
Round 4 - August 25/26 - Ebisu South Course,
Fukushima Prefecture Fukushima Prefecture (; ja, 福島県, Fukushima-ken, ) is a prefecture of Japan located in the Tōhoku region of Honshu. Fukushima Prefecture has a population of 1,810,286 () and has a geographic area of . Fukushima Prefecture borders Miya ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
(D1GP Week) - Yukio Matsui (RPS13)
Round 5 - November 10/11- Sekia Hills,
Kumamoto Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyūshū. Kumamoto Prefecture has a population of 1,748,134 () and has a geographic area of . Kumamoto Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the north, Ōita Prefecture to ...
,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
- Takashi Hagisako (RPS13)


Exhibition Rounds


D1GP Exhibition

Exhibition 1 - May 4/5 -
Old Bridge Township Raceway Park Old Bridge Township Raceway Park, originally known as Madison Township Raceway Park, is an American auto racing facility located in Old Bridge Township, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, (with an Englishtown ZIP code). History Racew ...
, Englishtown,
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
-
Nobushige Kumakubo is a drifting driver from Japan who competes in the D1 Grand Prix series and racetrack and land owner. Nicknamed ''Kuma'', he is commonly referred to as one of the pioneers of drifting. Born to a wealthy family who owned a large portion of la ...
(GDB)
Exhibition 2 - July 13/14 -
Las Vegas Motor Speedway Las Vegas Motor Speedway, located in Clark County, Nevada in Las Vegas, Nevada about 15 miles northeast of the Las Vegas Strip, is a complex of multiple tracks for motorsports racing. The complex is owned by Speedway Motorsports, Inc., which is ...
,
Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...
-
Youichi Imamura is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently serving as a judge in Formula Drift Japan after he stopped competing in 2019. He has always enjoyed driving, so drifting was a natural thing for him. His other passion is flowers as his pare ...
(Z33)
Exhibition 3 - November 24 -
Irwindale Speedway Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 91010, which is shared with Duarte, 91702 ...
,
Irwindale Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 91010, which is shared with Duarte, 91702 ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
-
Nobushige Kumakubo is a drifting driver from Japan who competes in the D1 Grand Prix series and racetrack and land owner. Nicknamed ''Kuma'', he is commonly referred to as one of the pioneers of drifting. Born to a wealthy family who owned a large portion of la ...
(CT9A)
All Star Duel - November 25 -
Irwindale Speedway Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 91010, which is shared with Duarte, 91702 ...
,
Irwindale Irwindale is a city in the San Gabriel Valley, in Los Angeles County, California. The population was 1,422 at the 2010 census, down from 1,446 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Codes serving the area are 91010, which is shared with Duarte, 91702 ...
,
California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
-
Vaughn Gittin Jr. Vaughn Gittin Jr. (born September 20, 1980), commonly known as JR, is an American, self-taught, professional drifter from Maryland who competes in Formula Drift in a Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-D sponsored by Monster Energy, Nitto Tire, and Ford Per ...
(S197)


Championship Results


Round 1


Round 2


Round 3

note. ''
Tetsuya Hibino (born 10 April 1974, Aichi) is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix series for Shibata Racing Team. Like many of the drivers in the D1 Grand Prix, he is the owner of his own tuning shop called SunRis ...
'' was originally awarded second place but was later disqualified after it was revealed that he had deliberately swerved into the path of Suenaga's car before the first corner during a Sudden Death match, causing a collision. Therefore, Hibino was stripped of his position and no second place was awarded.
Video Option is a monthly direct-to-video magazine version of the long-running '' Option magazine'' introduced in March 1988 by Sunpro. The video has always been presented by Daijiro Inada, who did many of the tuner car road tests, either on a test track, o ...
Vol. 160


Round 4


Round 5


Round 6


Round 7


Final Championship Results


D1GP

* Highlighted in blue - 100pt tansou (solo run) bonus
Source: D1GP
Official Site 2007 Championship table


D1SL

* Highlighted in blue - 100pt tansou (solo run) bonus

Official Site 2007 Championship table


See also

*
D1 Grand Prix The , abbreviated as D1GP and subtitled ''Professional Drift'', is a production car drifting (motorsport), drifting series from Japan. After several years of hosting amateur drifting contests, Daijiro Inada, founder of ''Option (car magazine), O ...
*
Drifting (motorsport) Drifting is a driving technique where the driver intentionally oversteers, with loss of traction, while maintaining control and driving the car through the entirety of a corner. The technique causes the rear slip angle to exceed the front slip ...


References


Sources

D1GP.co.jp

D1GP.com
{{D1 Grand Prix D1 Grand Prix seasons
D1 Grand Prix The , abbreviated as D1GP and subtitled ''Professional Drift'', is a production car drifting (motorsport), drifting series from Japan. After several years of hosting amateur drifting contests, Daijiro Inada, founder of ''Option (car magazine), O ...
2007 in Japanese motorsport