It’s March madness this month. I hope everyone has their calendars marked for HIN and the D1 Grand Prix USA (D1GP) Professional Drift Series. My heart is set on going to D1GP this May. If you have no clue what D1GP is, then you better ask somebody! To fill you in, it’s the utmost level of professional drifting. The D1GP includes 10 of the best drivers of Japan and some American drivers competing in all sorts of events. The D1 Grand Prix was a dream turned into reality by a Japanese car enthusiast and magazine publisher Daijiro Inada. He was the founder of the Japanese auto tuning title, Option Magazine, and the Tokyo Auto Salon. In 2001, with the help of a professional Japan Grand Touring Car Championship driver and a longtime friend Keiichi Tsuchiya, Daijiro created the D1 Grand Prix. Today, the D1 Grand Prix has grown so huge in Japan that some D1 drivers, and even judges, are considered celebrities.

At the Anaheim Stadium this May D1GP USA will be scored by a three judge panel, consisting of two appointed American judges (not yet named) and one of the following head judges: Keiichi Tsuchiya, Daijiro Inada, or Manabu Suzuki. Based on Racelogic’s highly successful DriftBox, the D1GP utilizes new proprietary algorithms and is able to measure a driver’s drift angle with 0.5 degree of accuracy, speed within 0.1mph and lateral g loads within 0.01g. This data is calculated 10 times per second and transmitted from the competition vehicle via telemetry directly to the scoring table. D1GP USA will also utilize the Racelogic Video VBOX system. The Video VBOX is a high quality solid-state video recorder combined with a GPS data logger and real-time graphics engine. This will record the action from inside the vehicle during competition and overlay the PlayStation style graphics on screen showing drift angle, speed and g-force loads. If you haven’t got your tickets already hurry and buy it now before they run out.

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