- Daijiro Yoshihara
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Daijiro Yoshihara (commonly known as Dai, born December 24, 1978, Tokyo, Japan) is one of the world's best drifters in the motor sports of Drifting. With 10 years of competition under his belt, Dai has always been a thrill seeker and it was only natural for him to get into drifting. At the age of 11, Dai discovered the excitement of throwing his bicycle around corners at high speeds and skidding along the curbs in tight turns. At age 16, Dai got motorized and took to nearby mountains on his 400cc motorcycle. Finally at age 18, Dai got into his first car, a 1985 Toyota Corolla Levin. He soon fell in love and gained the passion for driving on windy roads in the local mountains of Japan.
Contents
Drifting Background
Although Dai always loved drifting, there was no real opportunity in the sport that would allow him to make a living. So when Dai turned 21, he turned to more stable pursuits taking on jobs at various companies including a car dealership, a telephone company, and a trucking service. However, in 2003 a friend of Dai offered him an opportunity of a lifetime, to drive in a drift competition in the United States. Having always admired the U.S. and finally an opportunity to create some type of cash flow as a drifter, Dai was thrilled and accepted the offer. Although Dai had never been to the states nor have ever competed in a drift competition, Dai had to trust his instincts and risk the comfortable life he had just barely started.
In early 2003, Dai came to the U.S. to drive The S13 from Pacific Rim Motorsport Fashion in the upcoming inaugural D1 Grand Prix USA. Having never competed, Dai was an amateur driver with no competition experience. During his first competition among professional drivers, Dai qualified and finished in the top 16 out of 32 competitors. With such a promising finish, he then decided to compete in the Drift Showoff in Irwindale, CA and took a podium spot to finish 2nd overall.
With such strong finishes in 2003, Dai decided to compete full time in the U.S. and signed up to be in the Formula Drift Championship Series for the 2004 season. Dai finished in the top 8 at two rounds and placed 2nd at two of the rounds placing him 2nd overall in the championship run. Not only was Dai finishing at the top, he also earned the title as the man with the fastest entry speed at each event. In 2005 and 2006 he continued to shine in the Formula Drift series standing on the podium numerous times. Throughout 2007 he was continually fighting for the championship, which finally placed him 3rd overall.
In 2008, Dai took the opportunity and challenge to drive a factory backed Pontiac GTO for RMR Racing. With the help from sponsorships and guidance from teammate Rhys Millen, Dai continued to flourish and place no lower than the top 8. To finish the 2008 season with a bang, Dai took podium again and placed 2nd overall during the Red Bull Drifting World Championship.[1] Throughout the 2008 season, Dai took podium twice and eventually finished 4th overall in the Formula D series.[2]
For the 2009 season, Dai decided to join Falken Tire’s Drift team, one of the company’s that helped kick start his Drifting career. Dai will be piloting the Falken Tire / Discount Tire Lexus IS350 powered by a massive V8 motor.[3] Throughout the 2009 season, Dai his new team experienced development problems with the Lexus. After a major crash that retired the Lexus during the middle of the season, Dai and his team built a traditional competition drift vehicle, a Nissan 240sx (S13 chasis) to finish off the season. Dai finished in 11th in overall championship points.
In 2010, Dai came back with vengeance to prove that he was a true contender of the sport as he signed another season with the Falken Tire / Discount Tire team. Drifting in the Nissan 240sx towards the end of the 2009 season showed promise and was decided that the Nissan will be the competition vehicle choice for the 2010 season. The Nissan received a motor transplant and major suspension tuning. Coupled with a V8 motor and suspension tweaks, Dai came out strong with a number of podium finishes and ended the 2010 drift season in 4th place in overall championship points.
Achievements
DRIFTING
D1 Grand Prix Driver Search - 2003
- Drift Competitor
- U.S. Qualifier
D1 Grand Prix – 2003- Drift Competitor
- Best 16
Drift Showoff at Irwindale Speedway – 2003- Drift Competitor
- Podium, 2nd place
D1 Grand Prix – 2004- Drift Competitor
- Best 16
Formula DRIFT Championship Series – 2004 to Present- Drift Competitor
- 2004 Championship Points, 2nd Place Overall
- 2005 Championship Points, 5th Place Overall
- 2006 Championship Points, 5th Place Overall
- 2007 Championship Points, 3rd Place Overall
- 2008 Championship Points, 4th Place Overall
- 2009 Championship Points, 11th Place Overall
- 2010 Championship Points, 4th Place Overall
- 2011 Championship Points, 1st Overall
- 2011 Tires.com Triple Crown, 1st Overall
D1 Grand Prix All Star Exhibition at Irwindale Speedway – 2005 & 2006- Drift Competitor
- Best 16
DRIFTING JUDGEProfessional Asia Drift Series Judge – 2009 to Present
- Formula DRIFT Asia: Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand
- Good Year International Drift Series: Thailand
DRIFTING INSTRUCTORInternational Drifting Academy – 2011
- Drift Driving Instructor
TIME ATTACK / ROAD RACESuper Lap Battle – 2006 & 2010
- Competitor
- Podium, 1st Place, 2006
- Podium, 1st Place, 2010
MotoIQ Pacific Tuner Car Championship – 2011- Competitor
- Podium, 1st Place, 2011
GYMKHANAGykhana Grid – 2010
- Competitor
- Podium, 1st Place, 2010
Magazine, Commercial & TV StuntEA Games, “Need For Speed” – 2007
- Stunt driver for video game commercial
Spike TV, “1000 Ways To Die” – 2009- Stunt driver for television series
Falken Tire Corporation – 2009- Tire Test Driver
Road & Track Magazine – 2010- Vehicle Test Driver
Mitsubishi Motors "Mitsubishi Lancer Evo SE" - 2010 Viral video
- Stunt Driver
Nissan North America, “Juke Commercial” – 2011
- Stunt driver for television commercial
Falken Tire Corporation, “Azenis Commercial” – 2011- Stunt driver for television commercial
Behind the Smoke on GTChannel
Yoshihara stars as himself in the reality/documentary web series Behind the Smoke. Behind the Smoke is produced by GTChannel in association with Discount Tire. Behind the Smoke's first episode was released in April 2011. Behind the Smoke follows Yoshihara throughout his champion winning 2011 Formula D season both on and off the track providing drifting fans an exclusive look into the reality of competing in the top drifting series of N.America. Yoshihara's crew members Scott Dodgion of SPD Metal Works, Mike Kojima of MotoIQ and Chris Marion of KW Suspension are also regular casts of the weekly show. The series has accumulated more than 1.3 Million views in 4 months from release. Behind the Smoke is produced and directed by Taro Koki of GTChannel which also represents [Motoring] internationally.
Personal Info
When Dai isn't competing in drifting events, he retreats to the local beaches of Orange County in California to catch some waves and surf. He enjoys golfing, listening to music, and hanging out with close friends.
References
External links
Categories:- Drifting drivers
- Formula D drivers
- D1 Grand Prix drivers
- Living people
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