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Text from D1GP USA
DI GRAND PRIX’S RETURN TO THE U.S. A HUGE SUCCESS
AS DAIGO SAITO WINS IN ANAHEIM!!!
- PACKED CROWDS, COMPETITIVE RACING, AND WORLD-CLASS ENTERTAINMENT MAKES D1GP THE BEST TICKET IN TOWN -
After a three-year absence in the United States, the D1GP made its comeback on Saturday May 2, at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. With the grandstands packed, competitors from around the world gathered in Anaheim to compete in the first of four scheduled rounds in the 2009 D1GP USA Championship Points Series. Daigo Saito in his Toyota Chaser managed to stave off Nobushige Kumakubo in the Team Orange Subaru Impreza in a hard-fought battle for first place. Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, was rookie American driver Forrest Wang eliminating several experienced drifters on his way to an impressive third place finish.
“This was such a dream come true for me. I have looked up to both Saito and Kumakubo and was honored to drive with them today,” Wang said at the post-event press conference.
The opening round of the 2009 series also marked the first-ever use of Racelogic’s DriftBox in drifting competition history. Many of the questions at the press conference were centered on this new technology, which is designed to reduce subjectivity in the scoring process.
“The Telemetry-based GPS scoring system in each car performed just as we expected,” said Terence Jenkins, SVP of Operations and D1GP USA Competition Director. “The audience saw in real-time, on the JumboTron, data such as vehicle speed and drift angle that was transmitted from each competition car.”
“I was surprised with how accurate the number readings were on the new DriftBox scoring system,” said Round 1 winner Daigo Saito. He also added, “It was great to drive alongside Mr. Kumakubo in the finals.”
Second place finisher Nobushige Kumakubo also praised the new scoring system saying, “This was the first time I competed with the DriftBox. I look forward to using it again in the future. I was satisfied with the results.”
Overall, the D1GP’s return to the United States was a resounding success with the high level of competition and the non-stop action from the start of practice on Friday morning to the final tandem run on Saturday evening.
“The crowd attendance was outstanding. The competition was closer than I have ever seen before,” Jenkins said. “We want to thank all our sponsors for their support and we are thrilled to have them supporting D1GP USA. With the first event so successful we are even more excited for Round 2.”
News of the upcoming events will be coming out shortly.
1. D. Saito
2. N. Kumakubo
3. F. Wang
4. T. Ueno
5. K. Tanaka
6. R. Petty
7. C. DeNofa
8. R. Walker
9. H. Hokkanen
10. T. Yoshioka
11. Q. Ly
12. K. Arreola
13. W. Parsons
14. T. Cox
15. D. Blunt
16. C. Martinez - Retired
DI GRAND PRIX’S RETURN TO THE U.S. A HUGE SUCCESS
AS DAIGO SAITO WINS IN ANAHEIM!!!
- PACKED CROWDS, COMPETITIVE RACING, AND WORLD-CLASS ENTERTAINMENT MAKES D1GP THE BEST TICKET IN TOWN -
After a three-year absence in the United States, the D1GP made its comeback on Saturday May 2, at Angel Stadium of Anaheim. With the grandstands packed, competitors from around the world gathered in Anaheim to compete in the first of four scheduled rounds in the 2009 D1GP USA Championship Points Series. Daigo Saito in his Toyota Chaser managed to stave off Nobushige Kumakubo in the Team Orange Subaru Impreza in a hard-fought battle for first place. Perhaps the biggest surprise, however, was rookie American driver Forrest Wang eliminating several experienced drifters on his way to an impressive third place finish.
“This was such a dream come true for me. I have looked up to both Saito and Kumakubo and was honored to drive with them today,” Wang said at the post-event press conference.
The opening round of the 2009 series also marked the first-ever use of Racelogic’s DriftBox in drifting competition history. Many of the questions at the press conference were centered on this new technology, which is designed to reduce subjectivity in the scoring process.
“The Telemetry-based GPS scoring system in each car performed just as we expected,” said Terence Jenkins, SVP of Operations and D1GP USA Competition Director. “The audience saw in real-time, on the JumboTron, data such as vehicle speed and drift angle that was transmitted from each competition car.”
“I was surprised with how accurate the number readings were on the new DriftBox scoring system,” said Round 1 winner Daigo Saito. He also added, “It was great to drive alongside Mr. Kumakubo in the finals.”
Second place finisher Nobushige Kumakubo also praised the new scoring system saying, “This was the first time I competed with the DriftBox. I look forward to using it again in the future. I was satisfied with the results.”
Overall, the D1GP’s return to the United States was a resounding success with the high level of competition and the non-stop action from the start of practice on Friday morning to the final tandem run on Saturday evening.
“The crowd attendance was outstanding. The competition was closer than I have ever seen before,” Jenkins said. “We want to thank all our sponsors for their support and we are thrilled to have them supporting D1GP USA. With the first event so successful we are even more excited for Round 2.”
News of the upcoming events will be coming out shortly.
1. D. Saito
2. N. Kumakubo
3. F. Wang
4. T. Ueno
5. K. Tanaka
6. R. Petty
7. C. DeNofa
8. R. Walker
9. H. Hokkanen
10. T. Yoshioka
11. Q. Ly
12. K. Arreola
13. W. Parsons
14. T. Cox
15. D. Blunt
16. C. Martinez - Retired
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