Daijiro Yoshihara – Post Event Report

Daijiro Yoshihara
2009 Formula D – Atlanta Event Report

With the weather forecasted for rain in Braselton, GA during round 2 of the Formula Drift series, the newly built Falken Tire/Discount Tire Lexus IS350 piloted by Daijiro Yoshihara was going to be a challenge. This was especially the case since he was drifting in Road Atlanta Speedway, one of the most technically challenging courses in the series.

Practice sessions provided Daijiro more time to adjust to the Lexus before competition. Due to a new build for 2009, the Lexus was still not 100% ready for competition. “The car has a small window of drivability,” explains Daijiro. “If I can drive the car in that window, then I’m ok. If not, I have to work harder to make the car drift.”

Fortunately, the window of drivability was wide open during qualifying and with little to no sign of rain; the weekend began to look brighter. With Daijiro’s first qualifying run, he scored enough points to take the first qualifying spot. After his second qualifying run, coming just a bit short of Tanner Foust, Daijiro qualified second overall to secure a spot in the Top 32.

Daijiro’s first tandem battle in the Top 32 was against Pat Mordaunt. With two solid runs, where Daijiro lead and chased, the judges felt that it was too close to call. They ordered a “One More Time,” to determine who would advance. However, during this final run, the “window of drivability” began to shrink and Daijiro was fighting to hold on. Unfortunately, after an intense battle Daijiro fell short of advancing to the next round, which ended his weekend prematurely.

With Round 3 of Formula Drift only a little over three and half weeks away, Daijiro and SPD Metal Works will be making the necessary adjustments to the IS350 to help it become more competitive and hopefully chalk up a win for Daijiro. “I am part of an excellent team this year and I am confident that Falken Tire and SPD will continue to tune the car to be even more competitive.” – Daijiro Yoshihara