is a Japanese professional drifting driver, currently serving as a judge in Formula Drift Japan after he stopped competing in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
.
He has always enjoyed driving, so drifting was a natural thing for him. His other passion is flowers as his parents ran a florist business and he has always helped them out. So he has always known that he would be a florist, when he is not drifting he is working in a florists in Yamanashi called Silky House. His favourite time of the week is when he and his wife drive out to collect stock, Sometimes he cannot make it as he is at a photo shoot or a D1 event, so he uses the internet to check up.
He has been competing 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 since it began in October 2000. His first successful year was the season where he won the series title in hi
A'PEXi Mazda RX-7 (FD3S). After A'PEXi left the series he switched to ORC and has been working with the team to improve the performance of the
Nissan Fairlady Z coming in sixth in the series. In 2008, he switched to the newly formed team Auto Produce Boss with Potenza D-1 Project, driving their
Nissan Silvia S15
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, the ...
which was actually
Yasuyuki Kazama
is a drifting driver from Japan, formerly competing in D1 Grand Prix, well known for using the Nissan Silvia S15. He is also known as Waku Waku and Spin Benz Dokan.
Biography
Kazama was first introduced to drifting at age 17 when he watched Ge ...
's 2005 Championship car. He went on to win the 2009, 2010 and 2011 Series Championship in this car, making him the only driver with the most championship titles at four, the first driver to win titles in consecutive years, the second driver with the most wins at 16 after
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 w ...
. He remained compete in D1 driving for Nichiei Racing, OTG Motorsports and MMM Racing, he stopped competing after 2019 season and now became one of the judge for Formula Drift Japan
Like rival drifter who he was team mate to,
Ryuji Miki
is a racing and drifting driver from Tottori Prefecture, Japan. Miki was the D1 Grand Prix champion driving the Top Secret Silvia S15. Miki also competed in the Net'z Cup, a one make series for the Toyota Altezza between 2005 and its fin ...
, he also competed in the
Net'z Cup, a
one make series for the
Toyota Altezza
The is a compact executive car sold by Lexus, a luxury division of Toyota since 1999. The IS was originally sold under the nameplate in Japan from 1998 (the word ''Altezza'' is Italian for 'height' or 'highness'). The IS was introduced as an e ...
between 2005 and its final season in 2006,
BATTLEGEAR.NET レース＆イベントレポート
/ref> his racing antics were documented twice on 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 ...
.
Complete drifting results
D1 Grand Prix
Sources
JDM OptionD1 Grand PrixSilky House Flower BoutiqueAuto Produce Boss
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Imamura, Yoichi
Japanese racing drivers
Drifting drivers
1976 births
Living people
People from Yamanashi Prefecture
D1 Grand Prix drivers