OSAKA, Japan (April 18, 2013) — Toyo Tire & Rubber Co. Ltd. is fielding a drifting team for the 2013 D1 Grand Prix Series in Japan.
Team Toyo Tires Drift participated in the series' opener, which kicked off April 13-14 on a specially built course at Maishima Sports Island in Osaka—the first time a drifting event has been hosted in the city. The series, sponsored by D1 Corp., will hold five other races throughout Japan, including at Odaiba and Huis Ten Bosch.
The Toyo team consists of five drivers: team leader and top driver Masato Kawabata, Tatsuya Sakuma, Akinori Uchiumi, Yoshifumi Tadokoro, and new team addition Seimi Tanaka, the 2011 D1 Street Legal2 Series champion.
During the event at Maishima, Toyo had a booth with team goods for sale, and held a talk show event featuring its drifting drivers and the company's 2013 "Toyo Girls Race Queens." Race reports and happenings at the track were uploaded to the company's Japanese drift website.
Toyo said it has "positioned Asia, particularly the Chinese and Southeast Asian markets, as the most important markets for boosting the growth foundation of the company's tire business unit, and is aggressively ramping up its business in these regions."
Its participation in the D1 Grand Prix Series, "which is hugely popular in Japan and throughout Asia, is an instrumental move for raising the appeal of the Toyo tires brand in the Asian market," the company added.
The remainder of the 2013 D1 Grand Prix Series comprises:
- Round 2—May 25-26, Suzuka Circuit, Mie, Japan;
- Rounds 3 and 4—Aug. 3-4, Ebisu Circuit South Course, Fukushima;
- Round 5—Sept. 14, Huis Ten Bosch Special Course, Nagasaki; and
- Round 6—Nov. 9, Odaiba Special Course, Tokyo.
D1 said the following exhibitions are scheduled:
- Sept. 15, Huis Ten Bosch Special Course, Nagasaki; and
- D1 World Champions—Nov. 10, Odaiba Special Course, Tokyo.