D1 Grand Prix Officials have been rather quiet about the inaugural 2007 D1 Grand Prix USA Season and even cancelled the first event scheduled for March 10th and 11th at the Irwindale Speedway, CA. On March 7, 2007 D1GP Officials announced the confirmed 2007 D1GP USA Schedule and explained why the first D1GP USA event was cancelled in the first place.

2007 D1 Grand Prix USA Season Schedule (Updated)

• May 4th & 5th - Old Bridge Township Raceway, NJ

• June 23rd & 24th - Altamont Motorsports Park, CA

• July 13th & 14th - Las Vegas Motor Speedway, NV

• November 24th &25th - Irwindale Speedway, CA

The reason D1GP USA’s first event was cancelled was because the Japanese drivers participating in the season wouldn’t be ready in time for the first event. The Japanese drift teams making the trip to the United States decided to build cars specifically for the D1GP USA series and the cars were still being built when it was determined that they wouldn’t be ready for the season opener originally scheduled for March 10th and 11th at Irwindale Speedway. So, the drifting event was cancelled and re-scheduled for May 4th and 5th at the Old Bridge Township Raceway in Englishtown, NJ.

Kenji Okazaki, D1GP Chief Director of Operations explains why having the Japanese drivers is important to the success of the D1GP USA Season, “We’ve had great success in the U.S. by blending the best drifters from both cultures into one exciting event. Bringing the most competitive drivers from Japan, the birthplace of drifting, is essential to elevating the sport here and to provide the top U.S. competitors a world-class national series to aspire to compete in.”