(2009 SCHEDULE) D1GP USA Events

[INFO]

New Management Takes D1GP USA to All-New Levels E-mail
Written by Driven Media
D1 DojoLOS ANGELES (December 11, 2008) – Makes no bones about it…D1 Grand Prix is back in the USA !!! As the founder and premier drift racing sanctioning body globally, D1 Grand Prix ( www.d1gp.com ) is releasing the critical news the industry has been waiting for including: the 2009 U.S. racing schedule, locations, track design and upcoming media tour.

D1GP USA made its first announcement regarding their return to U.S. soil just prior to the 2008 SEMA Show in Las Vegas . Since then, D1GP USA has been developing a new racing format and is excited to announce its 2009 racing schedule with four unique locations across the United States and an aggressive and high impact new track design.

2009 D1 Grand Prix USA Schedule

* Anaheim Stadium, Anaheim , California - May 2 nd
* Dolphins Stadium, Miami , Florida - May 30 th
* Wachovia Spectrum, Philadelphia , Pennsylvania - July 18 th
* Soldier Field, Chicago , Illinois - August 1 st

“With our new management team in place, we decided to focus all of our initial efforts on two main objectives. The first was to make the events more appealing and accessible to local, out of town and new entry level fans. The second was to deliver a new high impact state-of-the-art racing experience that will define the future of drift racing in the United States ,” said Rich Goodwin, President of D1USA.

“In order to achieve these objectives we had to think outside the box. By moving the events to these centrally located venues allows for us to achieve our objective of making the events more appealing and accessible to fans, along with mainstream local media. In addition, the wide open spaces these venues offer also allow us to build in our aggressive new track design and to add in other exciting entertainment on and off the track.”

D1 Dojo

Dubbed the D1 Dojo, the new aggressive track design is more than a race track, it's a drifting entertainment experience that puts the show goer trackside for an up close and personal experience like never before. The track layout will be dynamic incorporating a bull ring-style with multiple entry and exit points and numerous turns. The racing will be heart pounding as in the distance fans will hear the faint roar of the engines as they ramp up from behind the Dojo before attacking the entry at top speed. The design allows for constant action - as one car exits out of the Dojo from one side of the track, the next car enters simultaneously for continual racing action. During breaks the track will take on exhibitions and other racing elements to entertain the crowd and when night falls on the Elite 8, the Dojo will be transformed into a dazzling display of lighting effects that only Driven Events, made up of the original founders of Hot Import Nights could pull off.

Surrounding the Dojo will be the D1 Fan Fest which will include sponsor and exhibitor midway, stage performances, model pavilions, car show and more. D1GP USA will release more entertainment and racing information in January to coincide with the launch of the new www.d1gp.com website and media tour.

D1 Dojo



Driven Events, Inc. (D1GP USA Management)

D1GP USA is operated by Southern California based, Driven Events. The company licensed the rights to D1 Grand Prix in the United States in late 2008 and they share a long term vision with D1GP Japan. Driven Events is made up of auto industry insiders. Led by Rich Goodwin and Michael Munar, the D1GP is under complete new management. Both Goodwin and Munar were the founders of the original Hot Import Nights (HIN) started in the late 90's. They sold HIN in 2004 and Goodwin and Munar went on to separate projects, however have now reunited specifically for this project. They are partnered with Ed and Emil Arguelles, the founders of Extreme Autofest. The group has also employed many of the original HIN & Autofest team who are now working to build one of the best new racing events in the U.S.

January 2009 Media Tour

As part of D1GP USA's call to action, the new team will be conducting a media tour in January that opens up a new line of communication with the media. The goal of the tour is to simply introduce the entire D1GP USA management team to the endemic tuner publications, along with working to drive home the message that D1GP USA is here to stay. We will also be laying out more information on the strategic plans for D1GP, sponsors, drivers, venues and future plans for the business.

For all media interested in being visited by D1GP USA in January, please contact Terry Miller, DRIVEN Media Communications , terry@drivenmc.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it , (951) 587-9465.

For more information on D1GP USA sales and sponsorship opportunities, please visit www.d1gp.com or call (949) 252-0155.

[Brian]

Weird.

Sounds like it COULD be cool,
but sounds like it is dumb as hell.
I'm not sure.

I'm just looking forward to the cars.

[Slapshotnerd]

hmmm... the new 'd1 dojo' sounds like rodeo "barrel-racing" for cars... I guess I'll have to witness it for myself before making a judgement...

It'll be interesting to see if drivers / sponsors will make any sort of commitment to the series given the history in the US...

[Brian]

Auto Barrel Racing has already been done.
google it.

[Bebop]

sounds kinda cool

but seriously, soldier field... do these event organizers listen to anyone in the drift community.

time will tell, see you in may

[akuma S14]

Originally Posted by blaze1

sounds kinda cool

but seriously, soldier field... do these event organizers listen to anyone in the drift community.

time will tell, see you in may

Time will tell for sure. But IMO it sounds lame. Drifting needs less HIN and more real drifting.

To quote Tom Brady's quote of Ben Franklin - "Well done is better than well said." & D1 has been saying a lot and doing nothing.

[captainNEO]

so the events are gonna be INSIDE the mentioned stadiums...at first i just assumed the parking lots.

i'd say that blueprint/picture rendering thing at the end of the Press Release is a bit ambitious...I'd like to see them fill up the outside of Anaheim Field like that.

[OldSkool510]

There is no way this event will be inside the stadiums! What are they gonna do - lay down asphalt on top of the fields? I don't think so.....

The parking lot is more like it. Hope this comes through for D1 and the fans of drifting. I'll be there in Anaheim for sure.

[Cavi Mike]

Already planning for the philly event.

[Bebop]

it honestly does not look too fan friendly

[MonkeySlide]

Originally Posted by blaze1

it honestly does not look too fan friendly

Visually it looks pretty fan-friendly to me. Grandstands bordering each side so no matter where you sit you can see cars run the whole course. It's actually a smart set up seating-wise.

The thing is how much space will they leave in the middle...will there be enough to set up a challenging course?

I'm also concerned about the "once one car leaves one way another car is immediately comming in at a different entry point" aspect.

If there is a constant flow like that then how the heck are the runs going to be judged?

The whole "light show" part worries me too. It's cool that they have event producers from HIN but drifting is a Motorsport not an automotive exhibition.

They haven't done much to address any new or unique "competition" aspects of the "new" D1GP USA.

Although this is just an early press release and they say more will be released during their media tour next month.

[Cavi Mike]

I'm here for the show, not the competition.

[OldSkool510]

Originally Posted by MonkeySlide

The whole "light show" part worries me too. It's cool that they have event producers from HIN but drifting is a Motorsport not an automotive exhibition.

They haven't done much to address any new or unique "competition" aspects of the "new" D1GP USA.

Although this is just an early press release and they say more will be released during their media tour next month.

It seems like an "automotive exhibition" is exactly what they're trying to promote. HIN has enough followers to actually make this work. Instead of being the main event, the "motorsport of drifting" would become the undercard to the wet T-shirt contest or the sounds competition. The lowrider "hopping" contest will take place during the breaks. lol

I would just hate to see cars and trucks with Lamborghini doors sittin' on 24's with their booming systems at a drifting event. That would really kill the mood.

This might bring more fans out to the event, but it could possibly reduce the likelihood of "drifting" to be taken as a serious motorsport.

Regardless, I will be there in Anaheim.

[akuma S14]

Originally Posted by OldSkool510

There is no way this event will be inside the stadiums! What are they gonna do - lay down asphalt on top of the fields? I don't think so.....

The parking lot is more like it. Hope this comes through for D1 and the fans of drifting. I'll be there in Anaheim for sure.

Actually it is possible to lay down asphalt on the field - it is the same thing they do for supercross. There have been a few events in China that have used Gary McKinney's formula for this exact plan. I won't go into detail on how it is done.... but I will tell you that it is possible.

[OldSkool510]

Originally Posted by akuma S14

Actually it is possible to lay down asphalt on the field - it is the same thing they do for supercross. There have been a few events in China that have used Gary McKinney's formula for this exact plan. I won't go into detail on how it is done.... but I will tell you that it is possible.

I didn't say that it was impossible. I just don't think it would be po$$ible for
D1GP to afford the costs of doing it. I go to the Supercross every year at Anaheim Stadium, which seats about 50,000 and it's completely filled to capacity. A drifting event would attract only about 10-15,000. It just doesn't make good financial sense.

[Formula D]

“With our new management team in place, we decided to focus all of our initial efforts on two main objectives. The first was to make the events more appealing and accessible to local, out of town and new entry level fans. The second was to deliver a new high impact state-of-the-art racing experience that will define the future of drift racing in the United States ,” said Rich Goodwin, President of D1USA.

Drift racing? New format?

[akuma S14]

OH WOW! Drift Racing!!!!!! New Format!
Upgrade your drifting system! New and improved formula - now with 20% more stupid.

I love to see D1 USA continue to step on their own nuts....

[Brian]

*Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* everybody that calls it drift racing.

ASB or bust.

[akuma S14]

Originally Posted by Brian

*Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* everybody that calls it drift racing.

ASB or bust.

I could not agree more. They might as well call it total crap racing.

[NismoP10]

Originally Posted by Brian

*Censored**Censored**Censored**Censored* everybody that calls it drift racing.

ASB or bust.

I agree. Never been a fan of the term "drift racing" or "drift racer".

[eomund240]

It seems the D1GP officials are the 3 year old with the shiny ball. When they were the only ones with the ball they loved the attention, but when we got our own ball to play with, they took theirs and went home.

Now they want to show is they can do new tricks with their ball. Lets see if they succeed or fail. And if they fail, will they pop their ball by mistake?

[akuma S14]

yeah......balls!

[Bebop]

Does anyone riches email, I need to relay a message for him.

[Smokeemup]

I am relying to the message on here posted by Formula D. These guys have straight out been copying D1 for year's in just about everything they do. Now they are trying to take credit for the concept of the Red Bull World Championships. Let's see, D1 Tokyo Drift was held in June of 08'. The Red Bull event was announced at the end of July of 08', The Red Bull event was held in November of 08'. Let me ask you, does the track layout / set up of the D1 Tokyo Drift held 4 month's prior to the Red Bull event look familiar to anyone?Now who is really copying who FD?

[Brian]

...you could also say FD copied the Irwindale D1 drift course...