This season the D1GP USA is back in the United States and ever since their recent change in Management in Japan and their licensing of the brand in the U.S. to Southern California based Driven Events, D1GP USA has been making all the right moves.
D1GP USA first announced that it would pull out of traditional tracks and move to downtown stadium environments back in December. The events are scheduled for May 2nd in Anaheim, Ca.; May 30th at Dolphins Stadium in Miami, Fl.; July 18th at Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, PA. & August 1st at Soldier Field in Chicago, Ill. This move by them allows them to create an atmosphere that is totally their own, not having to conform to the constraints of a traditional track venue and also makes it easier for attendees to get to.
Shortly after the announcement regarding the venues, they announced that the series would be a Championship Points Series format and that the initial list of Japanese drivers competing at every event would be Saito, Imamura, Nomura, Ueno, Yoshioka, Kumakubo & Tanaka. Maybe the most significant move by D1GP USA was the change in their rulebook and judging format. The judging this year will incorporate the D1GP Pro 1 system which is proprietary technology derived from the Drift Box System. The system transmits data at a rate of 10 times per second from the car to the judging tower and this data will account for 75% of the overall score leaving just line and style to account for the other 25%. This 25% is left up to the average scores of the 3 appointed judges making D1GP USA the most transparent and fair judging system there is.
The judges will consist of a 3 judge panel made up of 1 Japanese judge (Keiichi Tsuchiya, Daijaro Inada or Manabu Suzuki) and the other 2 judges will be appointed American judges. One of them already named is Adam Andretti. Adam Andretti is no stranger to getting cars sideways, but this is not the reason for his selection. Due to the implementation of the D1 GP Pro1 system, the judges are now responsible for accurately scoring only the Line and Style criteria. Adam, just like any professional racecar driver has spent years studying and practicing different lines around all types of track configurations in just about every type of racecar. With that Adam brings an unbiased critical eye to the judges' table. Regarding Style? Well if you are a driver, then it's up to you to impress one of the world's most famous family names in auto history with your mad skills. The eventual goal is to get Adam in a car driving in D1GP USA and that would really be something for the growth of this industry. The other judge has not yet been named.
D1GP USA has also seemed to make all the right moves in terms of entertainment value in and around the event. Media nights, pre parties & other forms of entertainment on & off the track are planned. The events are being so well received by the public that VIP tickets for their Anaheim event sold out in just two weeks. D1GP USA was then prompted to expand the VIP area to accommodate the demand. The other locations are not far behind. We are told that a major TV deal is in the works and by the time of this article being published that it will likely already be announced.
D1GP USA also recently implemented the D1 Underground (www.d1underground.com) which connects local event promoters with local drivers. The program is designed to help both through D1GP USA's promotional arm and to elevate the grassroots of drifting. A move that has netted them 300 drivers and over 50 grassroots events in under 30 days. This will undoubtedly deliver the grassroots of drifting and the future stars of drifting to D1's doorstep while helping the growth of the industry at the same time.
It will be interesting to see what's next from D1GP USA.
