2003 Irwindale Speedway - D1 Grand Prix USA

In the 1980s, the drifting driving technique became popular in Japan and led to organized events, which evolved into the formation of the D1 Grand Prix series. This form of motorsport took off internationally. On August 31, 2003, southern California's Irwindale Speedway and Drastrip hosted America's first D1 Grand Prix contest. D1 Grand Prix USA was a resounding success. The grandstands at Irwindale held over 14,000 spectators, and some fans were turned away at the gate. Twenty-seven D1 competitors and nine American drivers were given two single runs in front of the judges. The judge's scores determined which competitors moved to the final sixteen elimination rounds.

Katsuhiro Ueo was third in the standings after five events of this year's D1 Grand Prix. Ueo drove the No. 3 Cusco Toyota Corolla / Trueno AE86. He qualified for the final sixteen. In the first round Ueo was matched with the driver of the No. 23 Pacific Rim Nissan 240SX PS13 of Daijiro Yoshihara and was victorious. Next, he took on Ken Nomura in the No. 5 Blitz Nissan Skyline Sedan ER34. Nomura was sixth in the points chase and lost to Ueo. In the final battle, Ueo would go up against the No. 6 HKS Nissan Silvia S15 of Nobuteru Taniguchi. He outscored Taniguchi and captured the sixth event of the series.

Finishing in the runner-up position at Irwindale Speedway was Nobuteru Taniguchi. Taniguchi, the driver of the No. 6 HKS Nissan Silvia S15, was seventh in the D1 Grand Prix standings entering round six. He was paired with the Kazuya Hayashida, in the No. 17 RSR Nissan Silvia S14, for the first elimination and grabbed the victory. Next, Taniguchi went up against No. 7 Kei Office Nissan Silvia S15 of Tasuyuki Kazama. Kazama, who was ninth in the championship chase, lost to Taniguchi. Taniguchi met Katsuhiro Ueo in the final round but lost points when he tapped the wall and was scored with a second place.

The points leader heading into the sixth event at Irwindale Speedway was Youichi Imamura. Imamura was one of only two competitors using a Mazda RX-7; the other was Akinori Utsumi. Most participants competed in a Nissan Silvia S14 or S15. Imamura drove the No. 1 Apex Mazda RX-7 FD3S and was pitted against one of the two Americans who made the final sixteen, Ernie Fixmer. Fixmer piloted the No. 22 Rotora Nissan 240SX RPS13. Unfortunately, Fixmer was no match for Imamura. Imaura's evening ended when he went against Katsuhiro Ueo.

The No. 10 Vertex Toyota Soarer JZZ30 was driven by Takahiro Ueno. Ueno was twenty-second in the standings. His qualifying performance at Irwindale Speedway allowed him to climb the points ladder. Ueno's first match was against Kouiti Yamashita, driving the No. 14 JIC Nissan 350Z Z33. Ueno took the win and competed against Yoshinori Kogushi in the No. 11 Falken Nissan 180SX RPS13. He was victorious over Kogushi and competed against Nobuteru Taniguchi in the semi-finals. However, Taniguchi in the No. 6 HKS Nissan Silvia S15 ended Ueno's evening.

Second in this year's D1 Grand Prix championship, entering event six at Irwindale Speedway was Nobushige Kumakubo. Kumakubo trailed the points leader, Youichi Imamura, by thirty-six markers. He qualified for the final sixteen, driving the No. 2 Team Orange Nissan 180SX RPS13. Kumakuko was matched against the No. 7 Kei Office Nissan Silvia S15 of Tasuyuki Kazama in round one. Unfortunately, for Kumakubo, he was eliminated by Kazama.

The other American to qualify for the final sixteen was Rhys Millen. Millen is the nephew of IMSA champion Steve Millen. Before his foray into drifting, Millen was a successful rally competitor. He is also the owner of Rhys Millen Racing, which concentrates on rally, drift, and movie car preparation. At Irwindale Speedway, he was driving the No. 27 RMR Products Toyota Supra 2JZ-GTE. In his opening round, Millen faced off against Ken Nomura in the No. 5 Blitz Nissan Skyline Sedan ER34. Nomura eliminated Milen. Both Americans did not advance beyond round one.

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