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| BEST 8 [Kawabata vs. Utsumi] |
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SEMI-FINALS [Kawabata vs. M.Suenaga] |
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Kawabata faces off Utsumi, who has been absent in the scene for some time, in the best 8. On the 1st run, Utsumi swerves straight for his Ebrake wire becomes involved with issues. Kawabata takes the 2nd round by a landslide when he displayed more angle and smoke than his opponent. |
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The rain had died down but the road conditions still remained very slippery. Kawabata here faces the previous round's champion, Masao Suenaga. Suenaga goes into a half spin in the 1st round after overspeeding a turn. Although both parties made small errors, Kawabata advances to the next round after the judges decision. |
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| Kumakubo takes down the rain expert Hiraoka |
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Nomuken clings on, but spins |
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The expert driver for wet conditions, Hiraoka, had made his way to the semi finals. Kumakubo gained the advantage in the 1st run as he jumps inside Hiraoka's inside and closely keeping up. On the 2nd run, Kumakubo pulls away from his opponent to take the win. |
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During the best 8 battle between Nomuken and Hiraoka, rain started to drizzle onto the race track. On the 1st run, although Nomuken rockets into the turn with an amazing angle, he ends up spinning. Hiraoka advances to the next round after displaying no mistakes. |
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| BEST 8 [Horino vs. Hibino] |
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SEMI-FINALS [Horino vs. Yamano] |
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Horino faces off one of D1's most feared driver, Hibino, in the best 8 round. Hibino spins out on the 1st run after misjudging his opponent's speed, sending him into a spin. Horino takes the 2nd run, and the victory after displaying no mistakes. |
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Yamano, a Super Taikyu race champion is matched up against Horino in the semi finals. Yamano makes a huge mistake on the 1st run after initiating drift at the wrong timing. Yamano then spions out on the 3rd turn in the 2nd run to hand the win to Horino. |
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After a miraculous chase battle,
Murayama loses |
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After spinning out,
Matsukawa displays exceptional tsuiso skills |
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Murayuama and Kamiya both displayed spectacular drifting in the wet condition. Both were fairly equal but had several small mistakes, sending t hem into an over time sudden death match. Murayama leads in the 1st run but ends up spinning in the 2nd run, handing the win to Kamiya. |
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Matsukawa, the winner of the 1st D1 Street Legal round, is matched up against Matsukawa in the best 8. Although he seemed to be doing well, Matsukawa ends up spinning. Matsukawa then attempted and successfully pulled off sticking right beside his opponent on the 2nd run, but he failed to advance. |
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| BEST 8 [M.Suenaga vs. Nomura] |
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SEMI-FINALS [M.Suenaga vs. Kumakubo] |
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M.Suenaga faces Nomuken in the best 8 round. While chasing Nomuken on the 1st run, Suenaga stuck closely behind but his opponent had the better angle, ending in a tie. The 2nd run determined Suenaga the winner when he pulled away from Nomura on the embankment. |
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M.Suenaga faces Kumakubo in the semi finals. Suenaga chases behind Kumakubo so close; almost touching each other to take the advantage. Kumakubo kept closely behind Suenaga on the 2nd run, however Suenaga was given the win because of his angle. |
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| Kawabata & his new car, 3 100 point runs |
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Yashio Factory's Okamura matches Kuma's run |
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Kawabata was back in the game with his new machine after destroying his other car last round. He displayed amazing speed and angle for 3 conscutive 100 point runs to astound Tsuchiya Keiichi. However, he came up short only making it to the best 8. |
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Okamura had finally entered the D1 Grand Prix, coming in as a usual competitor of the D1 Street Legal series. Going up against Kumakubo into a sudden death round, he was satisfied eventhough he had lost because he had made it this far. |
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| BEST 8 [Komagta vs. Ueo] |
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SEMI-FINALS [Komagata vs. Matsui] |
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Komagata was matched up against Ueo in the best 8. Komagata stumbled after swinging his tail around, but Ueo faced his own problems, going into understeer. Komagata takes the advantage and in the 2nd run Ueo displayed shallow angles for the loss. |
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Komagata faces Matsui in the semi-finals where on the 1st run Matsui misses the line. Komagata displayed extraordinary drifting especially at the Dunlop corner. On the 2nd run Matsui swerves back straight to hand the win to Komagata. |
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With a 30 years age difference,
Okamura takes win |
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Naoki Nakamura takes down
the perfect Hagisako |
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Okamura, in his late 40s was faced up against a high school student Kaneoka in the best 8 round. Going into the sudden death round, Okamura displayed much more intensity when Kaneoka attempted to close in. Kaneoka couldn't keep up with Okamura on the 2nd run, handing the win to Okamura. |
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Hagisako is the previous year's champion, where he displays all the good qualities of intensity, speed, and stability. On the best 8 round against Nakamura, he stays right behind Nakamra until the end. The 2nd run was different where Hagisako could not close in on his opponent, handing the win to Nakamura. |
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| BEST 16 [Kuroi vs. Ueno] |
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BEST 8 [Kuroi vs. Takatori] |
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Kuroi's first tsuiso opponent is Ueno, where he was chased down very closely with no misses. However, Ueno follows Kuroi too closely on the inner line, and ends up spinning out at the hairpin. Kuroi makes no mistakes on the next run, advancing him to the next stage. |
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Kuroi faced an opponent that he is very fond of during the best 8. Takatori and Kuroi go into overtime, and on the 1st run Kuroi keeps right behind Takatori. The 2nd run included no mistakes for both parties, handing the win to Kuroi. |
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Suenaga takes down Kumakubo
after a super close run |
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Saito nudges Kawabata sending
both into a crash |
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The battle between Kumakubo and Suenaga involved no cheap tricks. Both were experts at twin drifting, closing in on each other on each run. Suenaga was given the advancement after displaying a closer following distance to his opponent. |
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During the Kawabata Saito battle, Saito dives into the 300R corner sending both parties plummeting into the tire barrier. Kawabata was carried off in an ambulance after suffering whiplash and other injuries, and fortunately his injuries were not life threatening. Kawabata wins this round, nonetheless was forced to retire. |
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| BEST 8 [Kumakubo vs. Haruyama] |
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SEMI-FINALS [Kumakubo vs. Tezuka] |
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At the best 8 round, Kumakubo was matched up against Haruyama. Kumakubo takes a huge advantage after the 1st run after sticking his front nose inside his opponent during mid-drift. On the 2nd run, Haruyama spins out, handing the advancement to Kumakubo. |
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Kumakubo faced Tezuka in the semi-finals. Tezuka slams into the wall on the 1st run, going out of bounds. Kumakubo won the match since Tezuka's suspension arm was bent out of shape, preventing him to proceed with the battle. |
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Kawabata's angle helps him win
the technical battle. |
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Nomuken slips during a fierce match |
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The other pair matched up for the semi-final round was Kawabata and M. Suenaga. Both parties brought out their best techniques; with Kawabata having more angle on the first half and Suenaga having more speed at the second half of the run. Overtime ensues, and Kawabata was handed the win after Suenaga swerves straight. |
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The best 8 match up between Tezuka and Nomuken leaks into overtime. Although Nomuken lines up square with Tezuka at the 1st turn, he misses a shift and sends him swerving back straight. Nomuken also lacked sufficient vehicle angle on the 2nd run. |
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| Best 8 [Matsukawa vs. Matsui] |
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Semi-Finals [Matsukawa vs. Yamashita] |
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“Since I've watched him run all last year, I predicted it was going to end up in a sudden death.” Claimed Matsukawa. A sudden death round had surely occurred however Matsukawa managed to display more angle at entry to take the win |
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Yamashita, who is known for his high speed cornering abilities was Matsukawa's semi-final opponent. Matsukawa slipped a mistake on the first run but was saved when Yamashita mis-shifted into a spin. Matsukawa wins the second run for his intense entry and extreme angle over Yamashita. |
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Last year's champ Hagisako defeated
at semi-finals |
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Ueo suffers transmission trouble |
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Hagisako sported a number 1 sticker on his vehicle due to last season's spectacular rank. Trying to duplicate last year's winning techniques, Hagisako is stopped by Yasukochi at the semi-finals. This round, he was defeated at the best 4 after displaying understeer by E-braking too aggressively. |
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Ueo's new AVEX colored vehicle scores a perfect 100 points at the solo portion of the run. However at the tsuiso rounds after closing in on Naoto Suenaga at the best 16, his transmission gives in. Unable to shift, he swerves straight and retires from the competition. |
