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Originally posted by ModifiedGuy
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Look at that roof!
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Reasons JR Won
Okay, I'll try this again...
Round One: Kazuma faltered- Kazuma drove well, but JR was equally fast, threw big angle during the "front straight switchback", big angle during both banked corners, and could PICK UP SPEED at any point in order to close up on the car in front of him. Kazuma's S-15 understeered when he tried to pick up speed in the same manner. JR also benefited from the knowledge of others coaching him on Kazuma's "wide in, dive to the late apex" method (used to finish of Rhys earlier in the year). As a result, JR drove directly behind Kazuma during his trailing runs like K was wearing a honey-dipped thong and JR was a bee! JR ran tight, fast, big angle defensive lines on his lead run. In his last run, JR ran wide of the clipping point at the end of the third turn, but put his nose virtually on the cone at the final turn, completely blocking Kazuma's pass attempt there. Kazuma's mistakes and corrections mid-drift in the third corner were easily visible. Uncharacteristic, but visible nonetheless, and so JR advanced.
Round Two: Imamura's Spin- JR is correct on this. Imamura carried almost no angle through the switchback, but HUGE speed. Imamura tried to outrun JR on the first run, and did until the third turn, when JR carried the corner better and caught the FD. I think Imamura's crew must have said something like, "Wow, he caught you... go faster!" because he was flying into that third turn. I personally thought he was going to put that car into the wall head on instead of spinning because of just how fast he was going and how far into the corner he went before getting the car to begin to drift. He got on the brakes, got the rear to slide, and the front to finally grip, and lost the boost, resulting in a spin. Without power there was no way to catch the spin. I also have the photos to prove when Imamura was trailing JR, he was running as close and as hard as he possibly could (approx. one yard behind in one photo!) to try to beat the Mustang. There was NO throwing that round in order to "make the Americans look good". Imamura was smoking fast and out for blood! In the last two rounds, JR kept up with the tight lines, often hooking either front tire on the rumble strips (again, photos show this) giving the remaining two drivers little chance to pass his car. He easily produced the most smoke on the banking while carrying speed and often lit up so much before the final clipping point that my photos of the trailing car (victim) were completely obscurred. My spot on the track, right behind the D1GP camera at the last turn, gave me an excellent view of the entire track. I'll back up any statement in this email with photos if any doubters exist. JR vs Imamura was the best battle of the entire night, and I believe was also the fastest. JR got the one more time by carrying more angle compared to Imamura while running similar lines and THAT'S what drifting is supposed to be about. When Imamura tried to outrun JR and was CAUGHT in the third turn, that was simply an AMAZING move by JR, and one probably attributed to his tires as much as anything else. I'd thought the judges weren't going to award a "one more time" run, but then they did, and that's all there is to that.
Overall the D1 drivers appeared to be lacking front grip and drove much more cautiously as a result (except for Imamura who smoked Alex like a peace pipe!). Obviously no one wanted to wipe out their expensive D1 car on Irwindale's fierce walls, though many did. It was amazing to be there and watch! When this comes out on video, all questions should be answered.
Congratulations JR and Team Falken! Well-deserved!
EricComment
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Congratulations to all involved, especially JR! I was delighted to hear that America had won!
All ye have to worry about now is us Europeans
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The event was kosher. JR was on and possesed nerves of steel the whole weekend.
The haters can say all they want but nothing can take JR's crown away!Comment
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OK the whole Mustang being the best drift car ever....... did ya miss the :-)?
It just happened to be running great that night and JR made it do amazing things! Although saying that the car has nothing to do with the win is also ridiculous. The reason the J guys always seem to come over here and kick our a**s**s was because we didn't have the years of seat time and our cars were no where near the dialed in machines they had. Now that is not the case any more. Look at Sam's Viper, Rhys's GTO, Steph's S2000, and all of the Falken corporate cars just to name a few! We have incredible Companies like Falken Tire that believe in this sport so much they have dove in head first to make sure that they support their driver's and give them the best vehicles possible to make this sport what it is today in the USA.
The Mustang is an American Drift Machine..... But then again, So was JR that night! Congrats again bro for what i am sure is only the begining of things to come! Formula D '06 look the f**u**c**k out!Comment
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It was the f-n Taliben!!!! they did this!!! Good work for USA WIN!!! YEY!!!Comment
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So true.Originally posted by j.r.
You comin to the FD qualifier down here in Feb.?Comment
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American Drivers, in only 2 shorts years of professional competition, have reached the level and beaten top Japanese pro's. Period. 20 years in the Touge, various events and the 5+ years of D1 and many of the drivers that drive here in the states have matched the ability of the best drifters in the world who of course are Japanese.
Not every FD driver can beat every D1 driver, that is a given. However we have now a very interesting piece of drifting history playing out in front of our eyes. At it's core, we all love drifting and where it came from and all of the great drivers who paved the way for this great sport. It is my opinion, however, that the top talent and main focus in drifting, if it continues to go in the direction it has will be based here in the states and we are seeing that shift of power happening now. Just the sheer size of the US and the media hits outweigh most other countries. This is obvious a key factor in growth. JR, himself, by winning against the best did something massive, but the shift has been occurring over the past year or so. Even at JGTC last year, many of our drivers held their own and beat other top drivers. I reckon if Rhys was in competition that night it would have been possible to have him and JR in the final. What a sight that would have been, eh? FD drivers in a D1 final!?
We should all appreciate the hard work and dedication that people have put in to make drifting where it is now. Without guys like JR, his team, car builder and support from sponsors who believe drifting to be something that can truly stand on its' own in motor sports against other forms of racing that continue to their own pissing contests with one another.
I am honored to be associated with the people like JR that have never faltered, never waivered and never questioned their own commitment to drifting here in the states and furthermore we will continue to push as hard as we can to create the highest level of competition between the competitiors in our series. Congrats again to JR and every American driver who did well this last weekend. You guys rock!!
FDComment
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the only reason the j guys made mistakes in the final rounds was because JR was putting mad preasure on em. i was there and saw everything, jr won it fair and sqaure.Comment
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It's sad that he has to come and defend the D1 victory on his 'home turf'.Comment
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ha, he dosent have to defend Chit!! He drives, He made the choice to go main stream and pro. And he scored a victory for the USA side of drifting... If the lil e-thugs with there busted azz's cry let , So what. No matter what you do even if you where the fuKing super ninja grandmaster bad azz of the world those peeps will aways wet there pantys about something. Im super anti maint stream, I could care less about any of F.D,D-1 or any big events. But I have no hate for some dood who busted his azz to get where he did. And I will watch the events..
Keep up the good work..
hey, Drift girl wana make out! :-DLast edited by jwoo; 12-22-2005, 05:32 PM.Comment
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Gitten, you've done us all proud with this win, and I hope this is a sign of things to come when it's time to get back to real work: i.e. winning the SCCA Formula Drift championship for Falken.
All this mucking about in D1GP is fine and dandy, and you've done our whole world good by sinking mythic Japanese superiority like it was the Yamato, but all you've succeeded in doing is making me even hungrier for Long Beach than ever.
Well done, man, well done.
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NIce JR!
I wish i had been there to cheer you on and change your tires
see you next year in the LBCComment
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JR you did excellent.
And with these kinds of debates is exactly why I'd like to see some US drivers goto Japan and compete on their courses and compete in D1. If D1 comes to the US twice a year, why doesnt Falken send some of the US drivers to JP to compete? They should drop 10 of their 30 sponsored guys and use that money to run the best falken 10 in a few worldwide drift events. Like F1. I'm sure all the US drivers would love to drive ebisu so why limit yourself to just FD when everyone knows most of the best drifters come out of JP.
and remember, some of the J drivers just got off the plane and I'm sure they were Jetlagged. So if the US does goto Japan, make sure you're out there at least 4 days to get used to the time difference cause it does make a huge difference.
See some of you in Tokyo in 2 weeks.Last edited by SpoonFork; 12-24-2005, 05:28 PM.Comment
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the guy Jr ran against was putting it down like no other earlier in the day i wish it would have been a crazy battleComment
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