On Sunday, December 4, 2016, the Drift Meeting R-87 was held at Nakamura Model Shop’s indoor asphalt circuit in Kurume City, Fukuoka Prefecture.
The layout was completely renovated to ensure equal conditions for all. It was designed as a "Bihoku layout," requiring drivers to carry their acceleration fully to the outside, pull straight along the wall, initiate a solid motion to the left, feint shallowly just inches from the wall, and then perform a sharp flick to launch into the judging corner before pulling through at a shallow angle.
Despite the high difficulty, the participants seemed to have nearly mastered it by the time the competition began. With about 40 participants—an increase from the last event—there was a high level of competition, and this time, both RWD and D1 classes were held.
Concours d'Elegance
In the RWD class, Harada led the early stages. He secured high scores on all four runs and impressed the judges with his sharp flick entries and driving that hugged the wall. As the qualifying rounds progressed, the visiting competitors began to show their strength, and drivers from outside the local area successively broke into the final tournament.
The tandem tournament featured intense drifting across every group. In particular, the battle between Tanaka and Jaaku was so heated it could have served as a final. Tanaka won by a narrow margin in a chase that stood out for his crisp entries.
The final was a showdown between Miya and Tanaka. Both were evenly matched, engaging in back-and-forth "door-to-door" action. The outcome naturally moved to a sudden death round. In a tense, edge-of-the-seat battle, Tanaka crashed into the wall at the last minute! Miya took the advantage and maintained it, clinching victory in the RWD class.
The D1 class seemed to struggle with the layout. Perhaps because it required acceleration over short distances, the FCD ratio became a major factor. While scores were generally sluggish, Chan Hayashi pulled off a high-scoring run to take the lead.
Maintaining his momentum in the tandem battles, Chan Hayashi advanced to the final and secured the win against Asamin, taking home the championship.
