We're extremely pleased to announce that the the Drift King, Keiichi Tsuchiya will be making a return to the Federal Tyres King of Europe series for the 2016 season!
After forming the King of Asia Championship alongside King of Europe owner Mike Procureur in 2014, Keiichi would play a vital role in the growth of the competition across Asia. In turn this then encouraged the expansion which has formed King of Nations, the first Worldwide drift series which began in 2016, as Keiichi joined us as head judge for Round 1 in Fujairah, UAE.
After joining us for the 2015 King of Europe final at Slovakia Ring, it was clear that the drivers and fans in Europe were blown away to have the opportunity to meet the Drift King in person. It was also a fantastic opportunity for Keiichi to encourage the unique high-speed Japanese style of judging within a European series.
This year will see Tsuchiya travel from Japan exclusively for three King of Europe ProSeries rounds! Starting at Round 2 at Anneau du Rhin, France which is undoubtedly only of the fastest and challenging circuits on the calendar.
Round 5 at Circuit de Lignières, Switzerland and Round 7 in Oschersleben, Germany are two entirely new tracks on the King of Europe calendar - both of which shall also graced by the presence of the Drift King!
A brief history of the Drift King
Mr. Keiichi Tsuchiya first used the drifting technique at an official race on 1977. He kept high speeds while entering corners and this forced the car to tail slide, thus drifting was born at an official race, he was also given the nickname “Drift King” in the process. He retired as a racing driver on 2003 and focused his efforts to train and encourage younger drifters whilst also managing and judging drift events.
As well as his driving style, Keiichi is also known for famous quotes such as “I drift to overtake. Not because it is the quickest way around a corner, but the most exciting way.” and also more recently for his appearance in The Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift movie.
Tsuchiya, alongside Daijiro Inada formed the D1GP series in Japan before they later both left to form the Drift Muscle series in 2010, which is still hugely successful.
We look forward to welcoming the Japanese legend once in his return to Europe, and we have no doubt that the fans and drivers will be ecstatic to have the Drift King on-board once again!
