Autopolis international raceway D1 round 2.
After two flights a long layover in Tokyo we finnaly arrived on Thursday to Fukuoka.
First day we went over to Ken Nomuras shop and met up with him. He got a RC track in his shop so we had some fun doing some drifting there to warm up.
After that we got some Japanes history under our belts by visiting one of the oldest Castles in Japan, pretty cool.
On Friday when we finnaly arrived to the track we were all really exited to get in the cars and do some testing.
This time Mike Pollard got to drive the car I competed in Odaiba with and I now got in to Oenos old competition car. Patt also got a JZZ30 so we were all in same typ of cars.
It started with a gearbox brakedown on my first test session. Then in my second session the gearbox they put in was leaking oil.
The good thing was that I was in top 10 and seeded since last event. Offcourse I wanted to get as much seat time as possible due to the high speed initiation.
So on Friday night I was not to pleased with my day but what can you do, this is the reallity with competition cars.
The awesome thing was that Team Vertex ordered a gearbox that they shipped overnight so when I arrived on Saturday morning the car was ready to rock.
Saturday I kept trying to get used to the car and the high speed entry, 190mph plus. We saw many guys crash in the first corner in to the cement wall. Orido hit it bad on Sunday morning and I do not know up till now how he is doing. During practice today I was following Ueno and he miss judged the first corner and smashed in to it bad too. Lucky he walked away and the team managed to get his car driveble for top 32.
So then on my first round in top 32 I got a 99.1 score. That put me on 10th place. But the other top seeded drivers did awesome and knoked me down to 18th place. When I got out on my second qualifying round I ended up miss shift from 4th to 5th when trying to get in to 3rd. So just short 0.1 points from making it in to top 16 I definitely feel dissepointed of not finding the right gear. You always learn something new here in life and sometimes the hard way.
Right now I’m sitting in the grandstand with probably over 20000 people.
I have never seen so many people at a drift event. The tandem rounds are spectacular to watch so I’m not suffering.
One thing I notice is that the fans are so different here. They are so quiet. Nothing bad with it it’s just different.

ATTENTION NEWS, MOTORSPORT and AUTOMOTIVE EDITORS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Two-time US drift champion returns to Japan

LOS ANGELES, California (Samuel Hübinette Racing; April 20, 2010) — Two-time drift champion Samuel Hübinette is returning to Japan this weekend for the second round of the D1 Grand Prix championship drifting series.
A strong performance at his Japanese debut last month saw the American become a rare seeded driver among the best drivers in Japan. Campaigning a right-hand drive car on an unfamiliar track, Hübinette scored an impressive Top-10 finish.
“I feel good heading into my second competition in Japan,” said Hübinette. “The other drivers and staff gave me lots of props for my performance at the first round and I hope to build on that success at Round 2.”
The Autopolis competition takes place in Oita, Japan, this coming weekend. Hübinette will drive a right-hand drive vehicle provided by D1 veteran Takahiro Ueno.
The sport of drifting requires quick reaction times to keep the car sliding and Hübinette points out there’s no time for hesitation when he reaches for the gearshift or e-brake with his left hand. He says he is optimistic that he’ll be able to adjust more quickly to driving on the right side of the car at this contest.
Drifting is a high-skill, high-powered motorsport with an emphasis on car control skill. Drivers compete on a closed-course, sliding sideways at high speed in trials judged on speed and style. With origins in Japan, it is the fastest growing form of motorsport in the world.

The D1 series developed in Japan over a decade ago and, for 2010, boasts top drivers from Japan competing one-on-one against American talent.
Hübinette is travelling from Japan straight from a Team Drift exhibition at the Long Beach Grand Prix this past weekend and a sixth-place finish at the Formula Drift Round 1 in California.
He will next appear in competition in the United States for Round 2 of Formula Drift, Road Atlanta, in Braselton, GA, May 7 and 8. He is taking on a new role as team owner this season, while also making a bid for the series title as a driver in a factory-backed Dodge Challenger.

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SAMUEL HÜBINETTE RACING PARTNERS —
Dodge, BFGoodrich, Mopar, Eibach, Weld Racing, AIT, Sparco, K&N, AEM, Stack Performance, ES Motorsports, Royal Purple, Wilwood, Tilton Engineering, Os Giken, ITI Performance, Magnaflow, Azunia Tequila, Meguiar’s.

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 ABOUT SAMUEL HÜBINETTE —

A native Swede, Hübinette has been living and competing in the United States since 2001. He became a US citizen in 2006.
When he isn’t drifting, Hübinette is also a working stunt driver in car commercials and in Hollywood productions including the Fast and the Furious franchise, Crank2, and the upcoming film Knight and Day.
Hübinette developed a taste for speed in his native Sweden, where he earned a reputation for pushing snowmobiles, motorcycles and cars to their limits. He competed as a driver in Touring Car racing on a team for Volvo from 1997 through 2000 and worked for Volvo Cars for nine years as a stunt driver and test driver in product development for the company.
He has also worked as a performance-driving instructor, including a three-year stint at the Skip Barber Racing School, where he was a member of the elite Special Product Group.
In 2009, Samuel became a “specialist reserved officer” with LAPD.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION —
To arrange interviews or find out more, visit www.toxicdrift.com or contact Eva-Stina Hübinette at (949)-350-6569 / stina@hubinetteracing.com

On Tuesday I went out to El Toro to check out the Ford X-games rally team at their practice for the X-games this weekend. It was good times with all the Swedes that are running the team and it was great to see Kenny Bräck back in racing.
Today I’m going out to see them practice at the Home Depot center!

I had a pretty good weekend at the FormulaD in Las Vegas. The Viper ran really good in the heat with over a 100 farenheit. It was our first event without the Mopar support.
After qualifying at 6th place on Friday I was going up against Alex Pfeiffer in the Tanaka Racing Corvette in top 32. I moved on to top 16.
In top 16 I was going up against Ruji Miki. We had a tight battle and unfortunately the judges called the win to Miki. After this event I moved up to 3rd place in the total standings. So over all I advanced up one place!
Drift Ya Later

Today was a good day. The car was solid and I qualified at 6th place.
At yesterdays practise the gearing was off, but the boys change it felt good.
I look forward to the competition tomorrow! Drift Ya Later!

They changed the track from last year. Still not sure that I like it. Testing went good. Back tomorrow for more testing and qualification. The car has a new look for this event due to Mopar leaving us. But that is not the first time we change colors. Its been a few over the last years.
Drift Ya Later

After a busy but fun week, me and Stina went up to Mammoth mountain biking. Happy 4th to you all!