SPEED adds drifting coverage
The first SPEED broadcast is scheduled for September 4 at 6 p.m. ET from Tokyo, with the second event premiering September 12th at 6 p.m. ET from Oita, Japan.
“Bringing USA D1 Grand Prix drifting events to SPEED is a cool new addition to the network," said SPEED President Hunter Nickell. “Combining the young, cutting-edge atmosphere of drifting with the history and familiarity of host venues like Atlanta, Texas, Homestead-Miami, and Irwindale will be a unique experience for our viewers."
D1 Grand Prix events are held as adrenaline packed, tire smoked filled weekends with wheel to wheel, head-to-head matches between drivers drifting inches apart at speeds in excess of 120mph. Successive single elimination heats leading up to a final competition are used to determine an event winner. All drivers that endure the crashes, mechanical failures, and stiff competition receive points based on their final event standing and accumulate points throughout the season to determine the overall season champion, similar to other automotive entertainment.
The 2010 USA D1 Grand Prix events are:
August 13-14 Texas Motor Speedway, Fort Worth, TX (Round 1 & 2)
September 24 – 25 Atlanta Motor Speedway, Atlanta, GA (Round 3)
October 29-30 Homestead Miami Speedway, Homestead, FL (Round 4)
November 27-28 Toyota Speedway at Irwindale, Irwindale, CA (Round 5/Finale)
D1 Corporation Co., Ltd. (Japan) president Osami Suzuki proudly announced, “We are extremely proud and honored that D1 has found the proper home on SPEED to make our sport flourish."
“We are bringing true Japanese-style drift-car competition to raceways, including several NASCAR tracks, in the United States," said Bob Cook and Sam Johnson, partner-owners in D1 Worldwide Entertainment, along with D1 Corp Japan. “The excitement and adrenaline rush of D1 Grand Prix is like watching the last four laps of a NASCAR race in every head-to-head match!"
The series of fifteen one-hour television broadcasts will cover all the action, drama and insane driving as drifters clash like modern day gladiators on the asphalt battlefield at five USA D1 Grand Prix events and nine D1 Grand Prix events in Japan plus a season-ending wrap-up special. The events will be a true international competition, including drivers from both the United States and Japan. Each television broadcast will cover the Top 3 American drivers including Samuel Hubinette, dubbed the “Crazy Swede" a 2-time American drifting champion who also happens to be a Hollywood stunt driver; Hawaii-native Forrest Wang, who is one of the elite drivers in the D1 Grand Prix drifting series; and Mike Pollard, the 24-year-old sensation from Minnesota as they challenge the top D1 Grand Prix Championship drivers from Japan in their quest to be crowned the best drifter in the world.
The 2010 D1 Grand Prix events in Japan are:
March 27-28 Tokyo Drift in Odaiba, Tokyo, Japan (Round 1 and All Stars)
April 24-25 Autopolis International Racing Course, Kamit-sue-mura, Hita-gun, Oita, Japan (Round 2)
June 5-6 Fuji Int’l Speedway, Nakahinata Oyama-Cho Sunto-Gun, Shizuoka-Ken, Japan (Rounds 3)
June 26-27 Okayama, Aida-cho, Aida-gun, Japan (Round 4)
July 17-18 Tokachi, Japan (Round 5)
August 7-8 EBISU, Nihonmatsu-shi, Japan (Rounds 6 and 7)
October 9-10 Fuji Int’l Speedway, Shizuoka-Ken, Japan (Exhibition and Round 8 Japan Finale)
SPEED broadcast schedule (all time ET; subject to change):
Tokyo Sat, Sep 4 6:30 pm
Oita Sun, Sep 12 6pm
Fuji Sat, Sep 18 6pm
Okayama Sun, Sep 26 6pm
Tokachi Sun, Oct 3 6pm
Ebisu Sat, Oct 9 5pm
Ebisu 2 Sun, Oct 17 6pm
Texas Sat, Oct 23 5pm
Texas 2 Sun, Oct 31 2pm
Atlanta Sat, Nov 7 4pm
Fuji Exhibition Sat, Nov 13 6pm
Miami Sat, Nov 20 6pm
Fuji Sun, Dec 5 5pm
Wrapup Sun, Dec 5 6pm
Irwindale Sun, Dec 12 6pm