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Keiichi Tsuchiya Exclusive: Post D1 Interview courtesy of BEST MOTORing International
Formula 1 had Ayrton Senna, Champ Car had Mario Andretti, NASCAR had Richard Petty...Drifting has Keiichi Tsuchiya.
By Armaan D. Almeida
If you're like us, you'll find yourself in a conversation amongst friends or colleagues regarding some sort of sport. With us, it's either pro basketball or some form of racing. More often than not, I find myself in discussions about Formula 1. Who do you think the best F1 Driver of all time? The two popular choices of combatants are the late Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. No disrespect to Juan Manuel Fangio, Nigel Mansel, or Alain Prost, but ask 10 people (that are true fans of F1), and I can guarantee 9 will name either Senna or Schumacher. They were that damn good. Obviously, this genre doesn't cater well to the average enthusiast in terms of participation. One form of motorsport that does however is Drifting. And if you were to get into a discussion regarding who the best Drifter is or was, make no mistake about it, Keiichi Tsuchiya is the One. We at Super Street Online were fortunate enough to have an opportunity (thanks to BEST MOTORing International ) to get this exclusive interview with none other than the man, the number one man in Drifting, Keiichi Tsuchiya. Enjoy.
Interview courtesy of Taro Koki of BEST MOTORing International
BMV: What did you think about D1 USA?
KT: Wow it was a great event. Did you see the people? I heard 28,000 people showed up. All the drivers did great too. The 16 from Japan and the 8 Americans.
BMV: Which US drivers caught your eye?
KT: Ernie Fixmer and R. Millen. These two can compete in the Japanese D1 series. Daijiro the young kid would be ranked at D2. From next year we are squeezing D1 to only 60 cars and everyone else will have to compete from D2 to move up. Just like a minor league. There is much gap between the level of drifting so we're making another rank for the lower level.
BMV: So the top 16 drivers who went to the States are the cream of the crop?
KT: The top 16 drivers from D1 can really make a crowd go wild and give you goose bumps. Just like at D1 USA. The rest are just like, "yeah, he's a good drifter". The top D1 drivers can move you. We only brought the best to the US. But actually that doesn't mean they are all top notch. Actually we only invited 12. The remaining 4 came on their own. The drivers or team paid for the expenses. From next year we are actually going to divide the drivers into 3 ranks. D1 Super License, A class license and B class license. If you don't have enough points you can't move up to the next level. There will be a special judge license as well. Only someone who has the ability and eye to judge D1 will be able to obtain it. So these judges can be invited to go judge drifting events all over the world. From next year, it will be very important which license you have. The organizers of D1 USA asked us about all of these Japanese drifters coming to the US. I told them, "who are these guys? I don't know most of them!" What we want the people in the US to know is that, not everyone is a D1 driver. From now on if they don't have a D1 license they are just drifters from Japan. It will be more clearer next year.
BMV: What do you think of the whole drifting movement in the US?
KT: Great. Well the US has a better environment to improve your skills. I think there are fewer Touges but more tracks to practice. Did you know that they have more than 1000 oval tracks in the US? They have tons of mini circuits too. And with all of that space to practice. I'll give them 3 years to catch up to the Japanese level. Especially with guys like Ernie and Millen out there. I was a little skeptical when I saw the US drivers in June for the preliminaries but after I saw how much Ernie and Rhyse had improved in just 2 months it just blew me away. They just kept getting better, every time they went. They watch the Japanese drivers and the next time do exactly the same moves. It was incredible watching them improve each time. They are talented and have it in them to become great drifters. Honestly I was surprised. The US level will rise for sure. Watch the Drift Bible to learn how to drift. (laughs) I know the US will catch up to Japan because I saw those two guys.
BMV: How about drifting in Japan?
KT: Drifting in Japan will become more thrilling and dangerous. Nobody wants to see nice and clean drifting anymore. They want to see bumper to bumper and cars just skimming the wall. Things that'll make people scream with excitement like, "holy sh_t, no way!". Exciting and thrilling show drifting is the future of Japanese drifting.
Keiichi Tsuchiya Exclusive: Post D1 Interview courtesy of BEST MOTORing International
Formula 1 had Ayrton Senna, Champ Car had Mario Andretti, NASCAR had Richard Petty...Drifting has Keiichi Tsuchiya.
By Armaan D. Almeida
If you're like us, you'll find yourself in a conversation amongst friends or colleagues regarding some sort of sport. With us, it's either pro basketball or some form of racing. More often than not, I find myself in discussions about Formula 1. Who do you think the best F1 Driver of all time? The two popular choices of combatants are the late Ayrton Senna and Michael Schumacher. No disrespect to Juan Manuel Fangio, Nigel Mansel, or Alain Prost, but ask 10 people (that are true fans of F1), and I can guarantee 9 will name either Senna or Schumacher. They were that damn good. Obviously, this genre doesn't cater well to the average enthusiast in terms of participation. One form of motorsport that does however is Drifting. And if you were to get into a discussion regarding who the best Drifter is or was, make no mistake about it, Keiichi Tsuchiya is the One. We at Super Street Online were fortunate enough to have an opportunity (thanks to BEST MOTORing International ) to get this exclusive interview with none other than the man, the number one man in Drifting, Keiichi Tsuchiya. Enjoy.
Interview courtesy of Taro Koki of BEST MOTORing International
BMV: What did you think about D1 USA?
KT: Wow it was a great event. Did you see the people? I heard 28,000 people showed up. All the drivers did great too. The 16 from Japan and the 8 Americans.
BMV: Which US drivers caught your eye?
KT: Ernie Fixmer and R. Millen. These two can compete in the Japanese D1 series. Daijiro the young kid would be ranked at D2. From next year we are squeezing D1 to only 60 cars and everyone else will have to compete from D2 to move up. Just like a minor league. There is much gap between the level of drifting so we're making another rank for the lower level.
BMV: So the top 16 drivers who went to the States are the cream of the crop?
KT: The top 16 drivers from D1 can really make a crowd go wild and give you goose bumps. Just like at D1 USA. The rest are just like, "yeah, he's a good drifter". The top D1 drivers can move you. We only brought the best to the US. But actually that doesn't mean they are all top notch. Actually we only invited 12. The remaining 4 came on their own. The drivers or team paid for the expenses. From next year we are actually going to divide the drivers into 3 ranks. D1 Super License, A class license and B class license. If you don't have enough points you can't move up to the next level. There will be a special judge license as well. Only someone who has the ability and eye to judge D1 will be able to obtain it. So these judges can be invited to go judge drifting events all over the world. From next year, it will be very important which license you have. The organizers of D1 USA asked us about all of these Japanese drifters coming to the US. I told them, "who are these guys? I don't know most of them!" What we want the people in the US to know is that, not everyone is a D1 driver. From now on if they don't have a D1 license they are just drifters from Japan. It will be more clearer next year.
BMV: What do you think of the whole drifting movement in the US?
KT: Great. Well the US has a better environment to improve your skills. I think there are fewer Touges but more tracks to practice. Did you know that they have more than 1000 oval tracks in the US? They have tons of mini circuits too. And with all of that space to practice. I'll give them 3 years to catch up to the Japanese level. Especially with guys like Ernie and Millen out there. I was a little skeptical when I saw the US drivers in June for the preliminaries but after I saw how much Ernie and Rhyse had improved in just 2 months it just blew me away. They just kept getting better, every time they went. They watch the Japanese drivers and the next time do exactly the same moves. It was incredible watching them improve each time. They are talented and have it in them to become great drifters. Honestly I was surprised. The US level will rise for sure. Watch the Drift Bible to learn how to drift. (laughs) I know the US will catch up to Japan because I saw those two guys.
BMV: How about drifting in Japan?
KT: Drifting in Japan will become more thrilling and dangerous. Nobody wants to see nice and clean drifting anymore. They want to see bumper to bumper and cars just skimming the wall. Things that'll make people scream with excitement like, "holy sh_t, no way!". Exciting and thrilling show drifting is the future of Japanese drifting.
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