D1 Grand Prix: Round 4 in Maishima, Osaka
It was a hot weekend on the island of Maishima in Osaka, but the competition at D1 Grand Prix Round 4 being held there might have been even hotter. The venue is not a regular on the D1 calendar, but the layout is very similar to that at Odaiba. The main sweeper however ends in a very tight hairpin, and the uneven surface proved to be too much for some drivers.
Tanso
The only major surprise during the top 16 qualifying was Kawabata's spin in his GTR during his first run. This put pressure on him to make a more conservative second run to secure 13th position in the Top 16. With Kawabata on top of the points table, he would have to fight his way through the bracket in order to maintain his position. Not an easy task to say the least. In contrast, Fujino kept his cool during the rainy Top 32 qualifier on Friday resulting in the top singles qualifying score. This would secure him the top seed going into the Top 16.
Bracket to the Final 4
Top qualifier Fujino in his 180sx dispatched #16 Murakami and his S15 by closing the gap during his chase run to secure the win. Another S15 piloted by #8 Taguchi was edged out by #9 Suenaga in his R35. The major excitement in the Top 16 was during #13 Kawabata's chase run against #4 Hatanaka in his JZX100. If you recall, Kawabata had spun during his Top 32 singles run.
In the main sweeper, there were some pretty big dips which were causing some cars to "skip" along the track. This was also the case near the entry to the hairpin but let's talk about the main sweeper.
Kawabata definitely was definitely too fast on the entry and with both car at opposite lock, it exposes the wheels and tires essentially making them a bit like open-wheel racers. In the event the drivers contact tire surface to tire surface, chances are that the chase car going must faster will get airborne.
The crash pretty much destroyed Hatanaka's JZX100 but left little long-term damage to Kawabata's R35. Spoiler warning, Kawabata would return the next day to win the exhibition match.
The following rounds took a turn for the worst, literally, for some drivers. #12 Kohashi in his Altezza spun out in the hairpin, while #15 Iwai in his Roadster and #7 Utsumi in his S15 both nearly spun out each leading to victories for their opponents, #5 Hirajima in his S15, #2 Suenaga Natao and #10 Saito in his Corvette, respectively. #14 Takayama and his GS350 was looking to upset #3 Matsui, but Matsui and his FD RX7 pulled away on the lead run and kept close during the chase run earning a spot in the Top 8. Finishing out the round, #6 Takahashi went up against #11 Yokoi. The JZX100 and S15 made some of the smokiest runs of the day, but when the smoke cleared, Yokoi took the win and the upset.
The Top 8 could be known as the round of upsets, starting with #1 Fujino against the Suenaga. Suenaga was able to pass Fujino during his chase run and end Fujino's weekend. Suenaga Naoto got kocked out by Saito and his Corvette, which Suenga Naoto commented was "too fast."
Would the Matsui also get upset by Yokoi? Although Yokoi tried his best, his S15 ended up entering too fast and his rear bumper made contact with Matsui's RX-7. With that, Matsui was able to stop the upsets and to make his way into the Top 4.
After the crash between Kawabata and Hatanaka left Hatanaka's car unable to continue, it gave Hirajima a bye-run and a spot in the Top 4.
Hirajima got a free pass in his previous run, but faced Suenaga in the Top 4. Both runs were door-to-door which lead to the first and only "extended" battle of the day. If your keeping track of drift terms, D1 has gone from the classic "one more time" to "sudden death" to "extended." Not sure if that will catch on.
Back to the action for the extended run where Suenaga was eventually able to dispatch Hirajima sending the R35 into the final.
Saito was looking to get into the final for consecutive events when he went up against Matsui. Unfortunately, Saito's Corvette made contact with Matsui's RX-7. Saito might not have made it back to the finals, but he was still able to earn a podium spot after edging out Hirajima for third place.
The Final Battle
For the first time this season, both Matsui and Suenaga have reached the final. Both drivers were consistent and the runs appeared evenly matched with the only difference being Suenaga keeping the distance slightly closer during his chase run. This was enough to give Suenaga his first win of the season.
Points Standing
After the dust settled on a rather dramatic D1GP Round 4 in Maishima, Osaka, the leaderboard didn't change much.
Fujino and Kawabata are tied with the points with 75 each while in third with 67 points is Yokoi followed closely by his team mate Fujino. Rounding off the top five is Saito with 53 points.
On a side note, someone should give Suenaga some champagne opening lessons. This is the second time he has been the last to join the celebration.
The next two rounds will be held consecutively at the legendary Ebisu circuit next month.
