On May 24, the second day of the 2009 D1 Grand Prix Exhibition, Tokyo Drift in Odaiba, Ken Nomura of team BLITZ ended the first-round individual tansou competition with 98.25 points, good for just 14th place. A wet roadway made for very difficult driving conditions, with a number of crashes, but Nomura was able to hang on and continue on to the finals, ending the day's competition in second place. It was an extremely tough round, with no less than three sudden-death competitions being held. At the same time, Yoichi Imamura of Team BOSS with POTENZA D1 Project advanced to the semifinals, but despite his determination he went over-line and had to be satisfied with a third-place finish. The crowd, however, went wild over his performance, giving huge applause for his driving.

Rounds 3 and 4 News!
Round 3 of the 2009 D1 Grand Prix will be held at the Okayama International Circuit in Okayama Prefecture on June 27, with Round 4 following the next day, June 28.