YOKOMO DRIFT MEETING Round-16

　　
7-8.October.2007　YATABE ARENA

DRIFT Meeting Round-16 Met with a Great Turnout of 340 Participants!

Yokomo DRIFT Meeting Round-16 was held on October 7th and 8th at Yatabe Arena.
There was a great turnout at the event with a total of 340 drivers participating over the two day period.
Despite the rainy weather on the second day, the event carried on as planned, thanks to the
weather-proof indoor pit area.
The pit area for this event was located in the area which used to be the
indoor off-road track. Part of the large floor area available indoors was used to display of
several real-life drift cars. The cars on display included the D1 Street Legal S14 Silvia
driven by Mr. Shiro Ideura, Nomuken Spec BLITZ DUNLOP ER34 Skyline, Kensaku Koromo Spec TEC ART'S
Goodyear with TEC 86TB, WONDER & Y's FACTORY C35 Laurel Club S driven by Mr. Takashi Haruyama,
NEXCO East Tokyo KosokujinCAR MAZIORA AE86, and TNRacing Silvia for a total of six cars which
could be seen up close by those attending the event.
Demonstration runs of Yokomo products took place in the area next to the
pit area. The center of attention was around the upcoming 1/16th scale drift expected to
go on sale in December. The car was displayed with its body removed to reveal the chassis,
its superb driving received favorable opinions among the onlookers. The pre-built chassis kit and the Running Set
is expected to sell for 11,500 yen and 15,225 yen, respectively.

　Particularly impressive was the number of junior drivers participating in the event
and their performance in the competition. The event with opportunities to watch the exciting
competition among the drivers appeared to have provided a good opportunity
for families to get together to have a good time. As mentioned previously, junior drivers performed very well.
In fact, on Day 1, all the drivers in the top 3 were junior drivers.
Their performance in future events will be something to keep an eye on.
At Yatabe Arena, we plan to make further improvements to the pit area. Furthermore, a rest
area and a kid's room will be added to provide a even better environment for everyone to enjoy.
We would like to extend our welcome for people to stop by any time, including
days when events are not taking place.
For this event, we initially planned to use the drift track after resurfacing.
However, as Yatabe Arena is under extensive renovations at the moment, significant changes to the
construction schedule delayed the completion of the resurfacing.
We apologize for the delay and would like to ask for your patience as we improve our facilities.

	The track on Day 1 was basically the regular track layout. There were many drivers eagerly practicing on the track from the opening time in the morning.
In the Beginner's Class, the judging was based on an extended track segment where a 4th clip was added past the 3rd clip and the outer-clip at the perimeter was not part of the judging.
	Yokomo Ladies Ms. You Akasaka and Ms. Mika Yokobe added glamor to the event.
The pit area for this event in the area where the indoor off-road track used to be. The new off-road track is currently under construction.
	RE Amemiya, BLITZ, RAYBRIG, TNRacing and NEXCO East Japan were present at the event.
With ample floor space, real-life drift cars were displayed indoors! This proved to be a great opportunity for attendees to get a nice up-close look at the drift cars.
	WONDER & Y's FACTORY C35 Laurel Club S, driven by Mr. Takashi Haruyama
NEXCO East Japan KousokujinCAR MAZIORA AE86
	TEC ART'S D1 GOODYEAR with TEC 86TB, driven by Mr. Kensaku Komuro
BLITZ DUNLOP ER34 SKYLINE, driven by Mr. Ken Nomura
	D1 Street Legal Spec S14 SILVIA driven by Mr. Shiro Deura
TNRacing's TNS15 Yokomo Silvia. This is the same paint scheme as the R/C car.
	Next to the real-life drift cars, R/C drift cars from DRIFT PACKAGE series were displayed. A total of 21 cars are currently available from Yokomo.
As usual, many guests took time to attend the event. RE Amemiya FD3S driver Mr. Mush Suzuki, drivers Mr. Takashi Haruyama and Mr. Shiro Deura who had their cars on display, and Ms. Meri Sakikawa who was busy as both a reporter and a driver.
	Ms. Yoshika Murakami of RC Magazine attended to provide coverage of the event. She participated in the Welc Class alongside Yokomo Lady Ms. Yokobe.
Competition of Elegance was held as usual. The bodies which stood out in the competition were not the one which were merely flashy but ones which paid great attention to detail.
	Best of Competition went to Mr. Kyu-taro of Ike-Ike Works Kanto.
Also selected, again from Ike-Ike Works Kanto, Mr. Lobby's R32 Skyline.
	Chinese Man of Mystery, Mr. Ku-chan of Yokosuberi Engeikai with Kimi Sachida Aikoukai.
Box Skyline by Mr. Shouki Yoshiyuki of E☆JOY. The attention to detail is evident from the careful painting of the front grill.
	Is this a FD3S? Mr. Masaki Ooguchi's car.

Day 2 of Competition of Elegance. This car is by driver Mr. Sasuke of SLASH-WORKS ZERO. From all the customization, it's impossible to tell what this car is based on...
	This car is by driver Mr. Oreda of SLASH-WORKS ZERO. Looking at the roof, is it a FD3S? As usual, this father-and-son pair has done a wonderful job in their exterior painted bodies.
Mr. Junya Suzuki of Deep Stokers had his car's front hood tipped with silver surface graphite. Those features bring out the feel of the street version.
	Mr. Amipe of Team Amipe has the car painted in a Halloween theme.
Mr. Yoshio Suzuki of SSR with Sendai Mokei. The wheels make the car have a nice classic feel.

Team pictures are a staple to this event. Let's start with T-STYLE.
	Team Confidence and Black Seek
Members of E☆JOY
	WORKS ZERO
Members of Yokosuberi Engeikai have performed wonderfully in each class.
	Shino Rengou, Team Itazuraya - Raji Ken - Team Kaiyou Works
These are the Day 2 members of Yokosuberi Engeikai.
	Team Tec Art R/C Group。
SHAKE' HIP and Shino-P Gundan K-D-P-C
	VIP Federation
Ike-Ike Works had two cars selected for the Competition of Elegance.
	WILD KING。
ReroReroRero is a group of skilled drivers. Five drivers have participated in the D1 class.
	KIWAME Racing had its cars unified with a metallic blue scheme.
Imai Juku is unified with orange.
	A combination team of SSR with Sendai Mokei, Akita Daihyou, and Deep Stoker from the Northeast.
Team SLASH and WORKS ZERO

TEAM Sarusuberi and DRIFT KING.

	Members from Fine Racing. The body of driver Mr. Etsu from TNRacing can be seen as well.。
Mr. Hiro Okada of DPUG with Minkara
	Mr. Ichihara and Mr. Ishii.
FAST Dori Raji Group
	Team Kani Pan and FRT Baka Chin Group
Gekisou Koma 2 Gakkou
	Mr. Bandi of Bakusou Dori Raji Shoukai.。
Team Confidence and Black Seek.
	E☆JOY。
Ms. Cherry of Ayase Arena and Ms. Yoshika Murakami of RC Magazine
	Tawashi Wa-kusu
Ike-Ike Works
	Members of SNIPE. For some reason, Mr. Iizuka from TNRacing is in the picture as well. 。
Momotaro Union Torigoya Works.
	Team Kani Pan. Mr. Oofuji came all the way from Fukuoka to attend this event.
TEAM Sarusuberi and Torigoya Works.
	VIP Federation.
Slide Master Kamio Branch and Tamagawa Works. D1 driver Mr. Haruyama is sitting up front.
	Members of Yokosueri Engeikai.
Takkochi☆Revolution, Custom Family, Bachikonzu
	NEXCO East Japan

Our camera crew stopped by the pit area to provide coverage of the event. The reporter is of course, Ms. Meri Sakikawa. The DVD is currently being edited for release.
	Why is there a bumper in the front? Actually, Mr. Tomoaki Fukazawa reconfigured the steering area to make a front midship motor powered car.
The steering servo is mounted in the front overhang. It only uses Yokomo parts and passes inspection without any problems.
	ICHIROKU M, the new 1/16th scale drift car. It's been covered lately in magazine articles and has been the talk of the town. The car was on display for attendees to get a good close look.
A demonstration run was performed using the final pre-production chassis. The car ran on concrete pavement and carpet, and there were many attendees asking when the car will go on sale. The car is currently in the design-phase and should be ready to ship by the end of the year.
	Team Yokomo drivers Mr. Masami Hirosaka, Mr. Naoto Matsukura, Mr. Hiroshi Suzuki, Mr. Takeshi Yokoyama, and Mr. Takehiro Yamauchi performed a demonstration run for the Super-Scale Grand Prix to be held on Sunday, December 23rd. This race will be a new category where the cars will use the Drift Package kit with a realistic body and the driving will be at a speed where it is easy to control the car.
The race is expected to take place at a speed of about 20 to 25 km/h by adjusting the motor and the gear ratio of the cars. Close driving of the cars are expected so it will be a very exciting race to take part in.
	Drivers' stand during the Welc Class. There are many female participants in this class.
On Day 1, D1 Class drivers participated in a demonstration run. The participating drivers were: Mr. Tetsuhito Oofuji (Kani Pan Fukuoka Branch) Mr. Yujiro Okada (Team Moriya) Mr. Masanori Akita (Team Moriya) Mr. Tatsuei Dobashi (DRIFT KING) Mr. Yuuki Shiina (DRIFT KING) Mr. Shigeaki Takakura (DRIFT KING) Mr. Kei Koga (K-Pit) Mr. Futoshi (Club ReroReroRero) Mr. Aka Shiru☆Jun (Club ReroReroRero) Mr. Tomokororu (Momotaro Union Tori Goya Works) Mr. Daisuke Sudo (Fine Racing) Mr. Toshimi Sezaki (Fine Racing) Mr. Masa (SLASH) Mr. Nemura Taisho (WORKS ZERO) Thank you for a wonderful performance!
	During the demonstration run, a mock pursuit tournament took place where the drivers performed breath-taking pursuit manuevers.
On Day 2, the difficulty of the track layout was increased by an addition of a chicane to the beginning of the straight-away and restricting the track at the left perimeter.
	Although the track could be run at a higher speed, there was an requirement to tightly turn on the corners, so sliding from the first and second clips would result in a penalty.
Mr.Deura and Mr. Haruyama seem like they are really getting into R/C Drift. It appears the two are extracting tips from Wakasugi.
	There was an appearance of Ultraman Seven on the track! It sure was catching the eyes of the onlookers.
The final round of the Expert Class, with the most number of participants for any one class, was a very fierce competition with the promotion to the D1 class on the line.
	Finals for the D1 class was a round between two highly-skilled drivers; Kondo Custom of Custom Family and Chinpira-no of VIP Federation. Kondo Custom, with his stable driving, took home his 5th win.