Super D Matsuri: USA Meets Japan

Super D Matsuri is the drift event that we have always needed in the United States.

If you’re a fan of drifting like me, I’m sure you’ve looked up where it started at one point, which will lead you to Japan. The style of Japanese drifters is second to none; whether it’s a D1 pro or a street carver, the creativity put into the vehicles and how hard they drive never fails to astonish me. It’s a very special event here in the US because it brings these Japanese roots stateside.

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Take, for instance, this Nissan S13. Its owner, Derek Sanders, had Wolfreign Motorsports import a S15 326 Power 3D Star kit, and then enlisted Paul Wise from Wise Concepts to chop it up and fit it. This car is a true one-of-a-kind in the US.

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That’s just one example of what it has to offer, too. On the other side of the spectrum we have Ryan Kado in a basically stock Toyota AE86 chucking it harder than many drivers with double the horsepower would dare.

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I’ve been to countless drift events in the past six years that I’ve been following the sport, but none come close to having this much style in one place. It was a treat to say the least.

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Not to mention the fact that Super D managed to bring over the legend Naoki Nakamura along with fellow Pink Style drivers Mitsuyoshi Nishio and Miki Takagi. Animal Style and Wolfreign really need to pat themselves on the back for being able to pull off such a feat, as doing allowed so many people to be able to see some authentic Japanese drifting in person.

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I can’t forget that all the cars that Pink Style drove along with Animal Style had liveries designed by D-Magic. If you’ve seen a Animal Style car in the past couple years, chances are that D-Magic is responsible for the livery; his designs continue to improve and I honestly don’t understand how that’s possible. Nakamura and Nishio waste no time testing the limits of their cars.

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Here’s Nakamura getting up close and personal with Miki.

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It’s hard to believe, but there’s actually a car in front of Nakamura. The lead driver is Jason Bostrom of Animal Style, someone that’s no stranger to having Nakamura knocking on his door.

Nakamura wasn’t the only one though; fellow Animal Style driver Julian Jacobs was right there next to Jason the whole way.

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The event overall was extremely laid back, you could drive as much or as little as you wanted. With that type of freedom you’re always in for a good time. This puppy definitely had the right idea.

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There was a quick team tandem competition but this was more for fun than anything being that the event is not competitively driven. One driver asked what do you get if you win, and the reply was “a high five” if that gives you any idea.

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Palmer getting into the zone for the team tandem comp. As you can see, he draws inspiration from Beavis and Butt-Head.

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Even without the competition aspect there was still some killer runs being thrown down.

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The winners of the Team Tandem comp ended up being Team Broken Aero, which is a very fitting name for this event.

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I’d like to give thanks to Animal Style and Wolfreign Motorsports for putting on an amazing drift event filled with beautiful cars and hard driving. Enjoy the additional photos below.

Brandon Hallmark
Instagram: gearbangerstudios

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1

Wow, fantastic pics, I love the lighting and way the cars look sliding. Sounds like a great event! Lots of small, light cars with moderate tuning and OTT liveries.
I guess maybe there's a natural arms race towards more power and more extreme builds, taking everything more seriously, and this sort of low-stakes fun event gets back to the original fun of drifting. Great IATS story.

2
John Jeremiah Sy

ADAMLZ Made it to speedhunters! Love it

3

Just wit until they do a story, I have a serious feeling they'll do an actual feature on him, maybe TJ Hunt as well? Not sure with TJ but Adam I know for sure.

4

Yea I like the idea of expanding the bridge from just youtube & instagram to actually seeing international talent in person. Can imagine how it positively impacts the scene outside of pro competition.

5

Who here was keeping up with super d by watching Adam lz's channel?

6

Was AdamLZ at the event? Coulda sworn I saw his 240SX in a couple of the shots...

7

Yeah he was there, had his car trailered out for the event. He covered it a few videos last week.

8

How many of those cars got trailered in vs driving that 1 mile dirt road? That dirt road is killer...there is even a tire repair service along the way...

Good ole Grange...can't believe they let this go on on a go-kart / mini motorcycle track...

9
Riley McCandless

More cars than you'd think made the drive in, though most were trailered.

10

lol these cars are great

11
Big Cat Leflare

The S-12 !!! I saw it in a few of the videos last week and wasn't sure if it was an 86 or s12 and I'm very happy it was. Plus the 2 jzx100s that were there. Killer stuff guys.

12
Riley McCandless

He is part of the team that won the comp (for the 2nd year in a row).

Its VQ35 powered by the way. A VQ powered S12 is probably the most disrespected combo ever, but julian pulls it off lol

13
Big Cat Leflare

Oh that's Julian's car?! Right on. No I totally dig the VQ35 setup. Simple, cheap, parts availability, buttery trans, and RELIABILITY. Plus it can put down 250whp with simple mods and put down TONS more torque than an SR. Probs to Julian doing an unorthodox swap

14
Niels Kreischer

So super rad. :)

So many heros of the scene and some S-Chassis perfection.

Love this. :)

15

norcal always bringing the heat and a different style from the rest shout out to SH WOLFREIGN AND ANIMAL STYLE !

16

No one's gonna comment on the s13 with an e36 front end? Lol

17

Now that's a real drifting.
America needs more event like this, not like a lame FD with bunch of V8 swaps / minimum 800hp cars

18

Please feature that wise concepts Derek Sander's S13 coupe! It looks amazing!!

19

rad

20

You guys should feature Adam! (yes, the one in the cream S13) It'd be pretty sick to see his car in the different types of angles that you guys specialize in. Maybe TJ Hunt too?

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