Our very own Japanese-Pinoy drifter Toni Arakaki laid down some rubber during Round 1 of the 2012 Okinawa Motor Festival last January 28-29. He comes back with some awesome coverage of the event showcasing the drifting scene in Japan. Check it out! Take it away Toni…
Toni Arakaki driving his Nissan S14 Silvia competition drift car.
The Okinawa Motor Festival 2012 Round 1 was a great experience for me as well as the Okinawan Drift Scene as it prepares to lift the bar this year for the upcoming D1 MSF Shootout Invitationals towards the end of the year!
The judges were headed by D1 driver Masayoshi Tokita, Kazama Auto’s Toshiharu Kazama and MC Bomber Yamamoto. Main Sponsors of the event was GoodYear Racing Japan, Toyota Okinawa, D-Stage, Kazama Auto and etc. And of course Drift Tengoku was present this time around along with their head editor Kawasaki san.
This was only my 3rd time driving the new TD-06 set up so I was a bit weary about it. The weather seemed to be in wet conditions til early Saturday morning, then all of a sudden the rained stopped and gave us a sunny day from 8 in the morning, the track condition was horrible at first since it left us with wet spots that threw off most of all the drifters!
The event was a two day event just like the actual D1 GP set up, at Saturday’s event was the “Tanso Banchou” or the best single run, Sunday featured the main event where “Tsuiso” or tandem runs were held and the actual point system of the series applies!
This year’s set up was a lot different from last years since from 60 cars they cut it down to the Top 16 at once, talk about gearing up and just gunning for it. I didnt make it to the top 16 but I am sure I was close to it, just need a little more time to get the hang of the car. It was a great experience for me and great practice time as I prepare for the Drift Muscle Series in March.
I was lucky to have the chance to talk with Drift Tengoku’s Magazine editor Mr. Kawasaki, I was repping ROTA and the Pinoys all throughout as you could see on my pictures, hopefully all the shots they took will make it to publishing of next months edition!
I was also lucky to be interviewed by Okinawa’s local car magazine “Car Ciao” during the festivities.
Team Special of Okinawa, dominated the competition, they placed more drifters at the top 16 than any other teams. Suprisingly, the local D1 drivers got knocked off early at the tandem battles.
In the beginner class there were about 12 entries….. And guess what, a Pinoy was repping us! With his Red AE86, Rainero Macapinlac or “Mac” from Team PURE SEDUCTIONS…
Okinawa has a busy schedule all year round with Okinawa Motor Festival Rounds on January, April, July, September, and December. While Okinawa Super Drift Series has 3 rounds total on March, August and November… talk about a busy year… yeah and adding up my schedule at Drift Muscle series… Man thats a jam packed year all throughout….
Well, that’s it for now. I’ll check back with you guys later on. In the meantime, enjoy the rest of the photos from the event!
Which do you like better? Angry eyes or not?
S15 Silvia with a Toyota 2JZ Engine
Representing Team Rota, Custom Pinoy Rides, and the Philippines!
I got Pinoy Pride yo! Car P*rn, Custom Pinoy Rides, together with Drift Tengoku.
