Nobushige Kumakubo has been sliding sideways around corners for 14 years now. A pioneering figure in the Japanese drifting scene, his name is always associated with the multi-car ‘Team Orange’ organisation he founded and continues to drive for. Kumakubo & co’s passion for drifting has taken them all around the world to car shows, exhibition events and rounds of local drift championships, constantly promoting drifting, raising awareness of the sport and winning over new fans all the time. It was at one of these now-regular overseas trips that Modified Motors caught up with Kumakobo and his Team Orange teammate Kazuhiro Tanaka, who had come to Silverstone to run in the third round of the UK-based European Drift Championship in their unmistakeable bright orange, RWD-converted Subaru Imprezas.
‘Kuma’, as he’s nicknamed (it means ‘bear’ in Japanese), has a work colleague to thank for introducing him to the world of drifting many years ago, but what started out as an entertaining diversion has now become his life. He’s been part of the Japanese D1GP championship since its inception in 2001, initially competing in an S15 Silvia like many of his rivals. In 2005 however, he had a change of heart and decided to something a little different.
“I was thinking more about showmanship than results,” he says, “and thought how much the crowd would love to see a more unusual car out there drifting.” A big WRC fan, he reckoned a rear-wheel-drive Subaru Impreza was the way to go and called on the considerable skills of car builder Susumu Koyama from JUN Auto Works to turn his vision into a reality. Sponsorship from Japanese computer games company Yuke’s softened the financial blow, and soon the new machine, based on the GDB-chassis Impreza, was making quite an impression amongst the more familiar Silvias and AE86s of the D1GP series.
Kuma’s original thinking paid off in a big way the following year, when a string of great results earned him the 2006 D1GP title and cemeted his status as a Japanese drifting legend. Having won the title in the Impreza, he continued with the car into 2007, but soon felt the need to be different once again. Setting an even greater challenge for JUN this time, the goal was to convert the latest-model Mitsubishi Lancer Evo IX to RWD D1GP spec. Koyama obliged, but the conversion required the elaborate step of shifting the Evo’s engine from a transverse to a longitudinal alignment. The car was an instant success however, reaching the top eight in its first ever event.
So as D1GP enters its eighth full season, what changes has Kuma observed since the early days? It’s a similar story to most drift series worldwide: “The cars are constantly evolving and the driving is constantly getting better,” he says. “The levels are moving up all the time.”
As well as his prowess behind the wheel, Kuma is also famous for being the designer, developer and owner of the renowned Ebisu Circuit back in Japan. Located on his family’s land in the rolling countryside outside the city of Fukushima, this purpose-built, multiple-layout facility has become intimately associated with drifting since its construction. In designing the circuit, Kuma says he did things a little differently than he would have if he was designing a race circuit.
“It was important to have a very wide, sweeping first corner with a large braking area,” he says. “I also made sure to keep in mind that the circuit could be enjoyed by drivers of all levels, not just D1GP pros in top-level cars.” Kuma says that while drifting on race circuits like Suzuka is fun, drifting could do with having more purpose-built circuits like Ebisu. “They’re better, because people can come and practice whenever they want, for as long as they want, building up their skills and confidence with no time or results pressure.”
Both Kumakubo and Tanaka were full of praise for the quality of European drifitng, which they reckon has come on in leaps and bounds since the exhibition rounds in 2005 and 2006. “Compared with three years ago, there’s a huge difference, there’s several drivers here who are at D1 level now,” says Kuma. “I only wish we’d brought along our latest competition cars instead of our European demo cars!” Ask them what they have heard of Irish drifting and they both immediately say one name: “McNamara.”
While it’s easy to get the impression that all Japanese are as mad for drifiting as the Irish are, Kuma notes that, like in Europe, there are plenty of ‘traditional’ F1 and rally fans in Japan who are still not convinced of drifting’s merit as a legitimate motorsport. This, he says, is part of the reason why he and the rest of Team Orange continue to work so hard at their demos and promotional appearances in order to win over as many doubters as possible. In Japan, Team Orange are also responsible for the spectacular ‘Big X’ event, an insane extreme sports festival that combines drifting, freestyle motocross, street bike stunts, and car stunts and draws huge crowds.
Out of the cockpit, both Kuma and Tanaka like to have fun in the world of RC drifting. “We’re not quite at pro level there yet, we need a bit of practice,” laughs Tanaka, though that shoudn’t be a problem for long, as an indoor RC track was recently constructed at Ebisu.
So what’s next for Kumakubo and Team Orange? Having established an enviable track record with the Impreza and Evo, the team and JUN Auto Works are now among the world leaders in drift car innovation. Is it a coincidence, then, that Kuma has just taken delivery of one of the very first R35 Nissan GT-Rs to come off the production line? Things may just be about to get very interesting indeed. But while Nissan’s new supercar may keep him occupied for now, ask him what his dream drift car would be and Kuma’s answer is simple: “Ferrari!” Seems the grass is always greener on the other side after all.
This interview was originally published in Modified Motors magazine.
