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Near-freezing temperatures and constant rain kept all but the most hardcore drift fans away from the final points round (Round 6) of the 2006 D1GP Championship. Leading up to this last round at Irwindale Speedway, Nobushige Kumakubo was first in points while fan favorite Ken “Nomuken” Nomura was close behind. The driver that won here would be the D1 champ of 2006.

The American drivers did put up a good fight. However, Rhys Millen was out of the competition as he crashed his new Solstice during qualifying; Sam Hubinette was still shaking the bugs out of his new drift-spec Charger; and our buddy Tanner Foust crashed his AEM 350Z. Irish AE86 driver Darrin McNamarra was the only “gaijin” driver to make it to the Top 8, but he was knocked out of the competition by Nomuken.

In the end, Team Orange WRX driver Kazuhiro Tanaka took the Round 6 win when his rival, S15 pilot Yasuyuki Kazama, spun out due to the wet track conditions. Kumakubo placed third in Round 6 and he earned enough points to take home the 2006 D1 Series Championship.

(go to page 2 for D1GP World All-Star Series coverage)

STORY & PHOTOS: Justin Kaehler << for more D1 stuff, CLICK!