Press Release

Hyogo, Japan - May 11, 2021 - Toyo Tire Corporation announces that we will participate in the drift competition* "FORMULA DRIFT JAPAN 2021 (hereinafter, FDJ)" scheduled to start at Suzuka Twin Circuit (Mie) from Saturday, May 15, 2021.

 

FORMULA DRIFT is a drift event born in the United States under the influence of the D1 Grand Prix, a representative competition of the DRIFT, which is a motorsport that originated in Japan. "FORMULA DRIFT JAPAN" has been held since 2015 as an international series of FORMULA DRIFT. FDJ is famous for its live streaming of the race, with a total of over 2.7 million views from across the world, it is one of the most popular motorsport events in the world.
As part of our commitment to motorsport, Toyo Tire is delighted to announce its continued sponsorship of FDJ in 2021.In this season, we will supply our PROXES R1R tires to "Mad Mike" Whiddett and Masataka Kawashima to support their challenge for the competition. Mad Mike, who became our brand ambassador in January 2020, could not compete in the first round due to the current COVID-19 situation, but he is very much looking forward to participating in FDJ and meeting his fans as when the situation allowed. Masataka Kawashima, our newly joined tire support driver, made his debut at D1 Grand Prix 2021 series held at the Okuibuki Motorpark on April 24, 2021 and very excited to participate in the long-awaited FDJ.
Keep an eye on our two exciting drivers!
 

^{*: Drift Competition
A motorsport competition in which drivers cause the racecar’s wheels to slide, and the outcome is determined based on sliding technique, visual quality of driving and performance delivered to the crowd. Drift drivers perform at a level that exceeds the limits of normal racing drive. In order to control cars with an unparalleled level of balance, drift drivers are cutting their steering wheels in the opposite direction while the car is turning. Compared to other motorsport competitions, the outcome is determined much more by the skill of the drivers than the performance of the machines.}
 

 

[Reference information]

 

■ "Mad Mike" Whiddett

Michael Whiddett, well-known as “Mad Mike,” is a world-renowned New Zealand drift racer and is the champion of the 2018 Formula Drift Japan series
He specializes in off-road driving, drifting and gives performance runs in not only in New Zealand and Australia but countries all over the world, such as US, the UK, Russia, Japan etc.
With strong support from Red Bull, he delivers impressive performance videos and photos on Social Media for his fans over the world.
 

 

■ Masataka Kawashima

Masatake Kawashima, a drift driver of Team M2 Racing, started his drift racer career from 2010 participating in lower categories under Formula Drift Japan and D1GP. In 2019, he won his first championship at D1 Lights, a lower category under D1GP.
He took a leave from drift racing in 2020 due to the spread of COVID-19, and comeback to participate in D1GP and Formula Drift Japan with his new machine in 2021.

 

■PROXES R1R

PROXES R1R is an ultra-high-performance tire with outstanding stability in both dry and wet conditions.
Advanced dry grip performance is effective on the circuit and high-speed corners, realizing a stable run with reliable wet grip performance.

For more information about PROXES R1R, please refer to here.

https://www.toyotires.com/product/proxes-r1r

 

■FORMULA DRIFT JAPAN 2021 (scheduled)

Date	Round No.	Locations
May. 15 (Sat) & May.16 (Sun)	Round 1	Suzuka Twin Circuit, Mie
Jun. 5 (Sat) & Jun.6 (Sun)	Round 2	Ebisu Circuit West Course, Fukushima
Aug. 7 (Sat) & Aug.8 (Tue)	Round 3	Sports Land SUGO, Miyagi
Sep. 4 (Sat) & Sep. 5 (Sun)	Round 4	Okuibuki Motorpark, Shiga
Oct. 12 (Sat) & Dec. 13 (Sun)	Round 5	Okayama International Circuit, Okayama
Nov. 12 (Fri) & Nov. 13 (Sat)	Round 6	Fuji International Speedway, Sizuoka

Please note that Round 1 (Suzuka Twin Circuit) will be held without spectators to prevent the spread of COVID-19.