D1gp update: Less than 2 weeks!

[Mute]

ANAHEIM, Calif. (April 20, 2009) – Excitement is mounting as D1 Grand Prix (www.d1gp.com), the motorsports industry’s premier drifting series, enters the final stages of preparation for its return to competition in the U.S. The premier event, round 1 of four scheduled events in the Championship Points Series, is set to take place on Saturday, May 2 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, Calif. As the event nears and the final pieces are being put in place, D1GP USA released its schedule for the event weekend.

Industry & Fan Appreciation Night

On Thursday April 30th the D1 drivers will be at K1 Speed in Anaheim for an autograph signing from 5:30pm – 7pm in the parking lot. Afterwards, attendees are invited inside the facility to witness industry executives, members of the media and fans doing battle on the track against the D1 drivers.

Official Pre and Post Parties

On Friday May 1st D1GP USA, in association with the Gumball 3000, will be holding its official launch party at the Santa Monica Pier beginning at 5pm. The pier will be shut down for special live performances, a showcase of Gumball Rally cars, celebrity drivers and more. The event is open to the public and admission is free.

On Saturday May 2, D1GP USA will host its official after party at the Sutra Nightclub in Costa Mesa, with a live DJ and performance by the Speaker Junkies.

D1GP USA
On Saturday May 2, D1GP USA Round #1 at Angel Stadium in Anaheim will feature the largest build-out of a drift track in history. Some of the highlights on and off the track will include:

Track Build

* Largest build-out for a drifting event in history
* 1,000 foot long entry allows competitors to reach 3rd gear and high speeds before entering the 500 foot by 500 foot drift course.
* Newly developed half-circle truss clipping point markers within the course.

Off-Track Entertainment




* Extreme AutoFest car show competition featuring more than 250 highly modified exotic and tuner vehicles.
* Stunt bike, shifter kart and skate demos.
* HPI Racing RC drift track.
* Celebrity drivers and cars from the Gumball 3000.
* Live performances by the reunited members of Sublime, Speaker Junkies and more.

Event and Championship Prize Purse

* Event registration fees go directly into the prize purse, with 50 percent going into the event payout and 50 percent being added to the “pot” for the series championship.
* D1GP USA’s Progressive Prize Payout system ensures that the prize purse will be no less than $7,500 per event and $30,000 for the championship, although the amounts could be much higher depending on the number of drivers registering and any contingency money thrown into the pot.

Competition Format

* Practice and qualifying rounds will take place on Friday, May 1.
* The top 16 qualifiers will compete in the “SUPER16” main event on Saturday, May 2.
* Features tournament style bracket and head-to-head battles (1 vs. 16, 2 vs. 15, etc.).
* Championship series points will be awarded to all 16 positions – from 25 points for the first place finisher to 1 point for sixteenth place.

Judging Format

* The D1GP USA Pro1 system introduces advanced computerized scoring into the world of drifting competition, allowing 75 percent of the total score to be calculated from unbiased data measurements.
* Remaining 25 percent will be based on style points and averaged out between the three judges.

Event Head Judge

* The head judge for the Anaheim D1 event will be Hisashi Kamimoto, who also serves as a judge for D1GP Japan.

Associate Judges

* Recently announced series judge Brian Norris, Southern California native and one of the earliest adopters of the sport of drifting in the United States.
* Adam Andretti, professional race car driver and member of one of the most legendary families in all of motorsports.

Competition Director

· Terence Jenkins – Jenkins founded Lateral G Racing and along with his driver Samuel Hubinette, the team went on to become crowned the first ever championship winning American drift team. Jenkins went on to form the WDC and since 2005 he has provided drift exhibitions, promoting the sport of drifting at major Indy Racing League events. Additionally, Terence ran Octane TV, a cable TV On Demand, broadband and mobile network focusing on automotive programming.

Technical Director

· Chiaki Goto – Goto’s racing career includes championship wins in the N1 Endurance Race in Japan for three consecutive years, from 1995 to 1998. He also served as the director and mechanic of the JIC Magic drifting team in 2003. From 2004 to 2007, Goto served as Race Operations Director for D1GP USA.

Director of Track Operations

· Naoki Kobayashi – Kobayashi hosted the first ever drift clinic in North America, called Drift Day. Soon after, he formed the Drift Association and started working with D1GP to host its first Ikaten competition. He also helped bring the first D1GP competition to the United States, co-organizing the 2003 event at Irwindale Speedway. Since 2002, Kobayashi has hosted well over 250 events nationwide. His most recent projects include the Pro Am Drift series and Drift 101.

Announcer

· Will Mattox takes over as the voice of D1GP USA. He is currently the voice of Rally America and has played as host for the rally portion of X Games 14 and 15. Lisa Uchida, the voice of D1GP Japan, will also be calling the play by play in both English and Japanese.

Line Production

· Dennis Condon & Associates –The Dennis Condon and Associates team represents the pinnacle of event production, with a resume that includes the Olympic Games, MTV Music Awards, Disney events, and Supercross. They will be responsible for all on-track entertainment as well as the opening and closing ceremonies.

Option Video

· D1’s Option video will be filming with legendary host Manabu Suzuki - the voice of D1 in Japan

Ticket Prices

· Bleacher & General Admission tickets are available at www.d1gp.com and at the event box office.

Driver Registration

· Driver registration can be done online at D1GP.com

[Twincamlove]

wait!?

so no more Manabu Orido, or manabu suzuki in the judging stand.

thats a shame

insted their throwing abunch of white dudes up there.

[newblood]

Originally Posted by Twincamlove

wait!?

so no more Manabu Orido, or manabu suzuki in the judging stand.

thats a shame

insted their throwing abunch of white dudes up there.

that's good
fresh faces all around
driver wise
staff wise
i dig it
hopefully my bike sells today so that i will be able to compete

[Twincamlove]

Originally Posted by newblood

that's good
fresh faces all around
driver wise
staff wise
i dig it
hopefully my bike sells today so that i will be able to compete

ryan. some dude wants to know if you want another 33

PM me

[Souljahzs13]

Originally Posted by Twincamlove

wait!?

so no more Manabu Orido, or manabu suzuki in the judging stand.

thats a shame

insted their throwing abunch of white dudes up there.

Yea I'm with you on this one, I was expecting more judges from Japan. I was already dissapointed on the outcome of Formula D and how they rate the drivers. I have high expectations for D1 and hope it does not get watered down.

[simplistek]

can't wait. gonna be fun and hot day!

[Mute]

We still have the OGs. Manabu will actually be taking off with the Option crew and doing hosting during the event. And Keiichi will be joining us in Miami.

[Gordo714]

im so pumped up for this !!!!!!!

[ro240sx]

I going for sure. headed to k1 rite now.

[I Hate Ricers]

Hey guys, I stumbled accross this:

AE86FTW!

It got me $5 off the admission price when I entered the code. See you there!