Day 9 - Suzuka Twin Circuit, Formula Drift Japan round 1 (April 22nd)

 This morning I hired a car and drove from Nagoya to Suzuka Twin Circuit where Formula Drift Japan (FDJ) were holding the round 1 qualifier.  The actual battles for the competition are on tomorrow but I don't attend motoring events on the Sabbath, so I just went today.

Drifting is a sport which is very misunderstood in the motoring community but something I have admired for a long time.  The talent the drivers require to be successful, balancing the exact performance and location of these machines with over 1,000 hp, is incredible to witness.

For the past few years FDJ broadcast each round live on YouTube with commentary in both Japanese and English.  So today I got to meet the English commentators and thank them by giving them a small "I love Australia" koala gift each.  Here I am with the commentators and drift car in the background:

This sport is so accessible, even at this elite level I was able to walk through the pit areas talking to participants and photographing the cars.

I took 600 photos and  videos today, so here are just a few of the cars in action:

This is one of my favourites:  look carefully at the rear wheel . . . .  where is the tyre?

Here are two short videos of the drifting action (best with sound on):

Tonight we had fresh (made on the premises) soba noodles with tempura