is a drifting driver from Japan who competes in the

D1 Grand Prix The , abbreviated as D1GP and subtitled ''Professional Drift'', is a production car drifting series from Japan. After several years of hosting amateur drifting contests, Daijiro Inada, founder of '' Option'' magazine and Tokyo Auto Salon, and d ...

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 land in the

Fukushima may refer to: Japan * Fukushima Prefecture, Japanese prefecture ** Fukushima, Fukushima, capital city of Fukushima Prefecture, Japan ***Fukushima University, national university in Japan *** Fukushima Station (Fukushima) in Fukushima, Fukushim ...

countryside, with the easy accessibility of the family plot, Kumakubo was able to use some of it to build and develop the

Ebisu Circuit is a motorsport racing complex located in Nihonmatsu, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan. Overview The Ebisu Circuit complex has seven individual tracks and two skid pad type circuits. The circuits are Nishi (West), Kita (North), Higashi (East), Mi ...

.Nobushige Kumakubo » Driver Profile » Drift Japan
/ref> Kumakubo also used the circuit to host numerous drifting events as well as various motorsport events. As the lead driver of Team Orange, as his car has always been orange, he started at the D1GP series in a

Nissan Silvia The is the series of small sports cars produced by Nissan. Versions of the Silvia have been marketed as the 200SX or 240SX for export, with some export versions being sold under the Datsun brand. The name "Silvia" is derived from Sylvia, t ...

, in , whilst stumbling through the numerous rallying magazines in his office and considering that the

Subaru Impreza The is a compact car that has been manufactured by the Japanese automaker Subaru since 1992. It was introduced as a replacement for the Leone, with the predecessor's EA series engines replaced by the new EJ series. It is now in its sixth gene ...

was the car to have as many rear wheel drive cars were considered not suitable for drifting or in need of development to be considered suitable, also in a way to bring Impreza owners to his track, Kumakubo commissioned tuning company JUN Auto to build an Impreza WRX STI Impreza, significantly with a radiator on the rear passenger side. The car debuted at the Odaiba round, unlike others who switched to newer models, his performance would pay off when he was runner up at the Silverstone exhibition round and for the season, he had beaten

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 comp ...

by just 1 point. Midway through the D1 series Kumakubo switched from the Impreza to an Evo 9 (built also by JUN Auto) during round 5 at Ebisu. He has also built a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X in the Team Orange livery which was shown at the

Tokyo Auto Salon The is an annual auto show held in January at the Makuhari Messe, Chiba City, Japan for Performance and custom aftermarket parts and technology displays. Hosted by thNippon Auto Parts Aftermarket Committee (NAPAC) The Tokyo Auto Salon is one o ...

. He also runs the Big X the invitation only outdoor show that combines drifting, FMX, supermoto, car stunts and other extreme sports featuring the experts from each field. Big X's drifting squad is called DriftXtreme, which the well known drivers of the D1GP are invited to join including team mate

Kazuhiro Tanaka is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently competing in the D1 Grand Prix series foTeam OrangeanYuke’s He entered the D1 Grand Prix in the first round in 2001 and had his first win in 2003. He is a member of Team Orange with Nob ...

and Naoto Suenaga. Kumakubo is currently competing in the European Drift Championship Japanese Drifter Kumakubo to enter EDC2008!
in his

Subaru Impreza WRX STI The is a compact car that has been manufactured by the Japanese automaker Subaru since 1992. It was introduced as a replacement for the Subaru Leone, Leone, with the predecessor's Subaru EA engine, EA series engines replaced by the new Subaru EJ ...

. His Team Orange teammate

is also competing.

Complete Drifting Results

D1 Grand Prix

References

External links

Yuke's D1 Project Blog (Nobushige Kumakubo)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kumakubo, Nobushige Japanese racing drivers Drifting drivers 1970 births Living people D1 Grand Prix drivers