Daigo Saito

Drift legend · Japan / USA

Daigo Saito drifting the Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430 at Formula Drift Atlanta 2013

Two series, two championships, zero half-measures.

The only driver to win both the D1GP All-Star Championship (2008) and the Formula Drift Pro Championship (2012). No-limits builds, aggressive driving, the most decorated active Japanese drifter.

Saito made his pro debut in D1GP in 2004 and spent the second half of the 2000s building toward the title. His 2008 D1 Grand Prix championship was the breakthrough, the season's tandem battles are still among the most-cited reference clips in modern drift media for chase proximity and judging difficulty.

He crossed to Formula Drift in 2011 with the Achilles Tire / Bridges Racing Lexus SC430, a 2JZ-swapped V8 platform with the Japanese tandem discipline carried over wholesale. In 2012 he took the FD Pro Championship in his second American season, becoming the only driver to date with both the Japanese and American series titles on his CV.

In Saitama he founded Fat Five Racing as his own shop and build identity. The trademark Saito move is engine-swap ambition, a 2JZ in a Mazda RX-7 FD3S, a V12 Lamborghini Murciélago in drift trim. He still campaigns the JZX and the Lambo at D1GP and exhibition rounds; the discipline he built in 2008 is the same discipline.

At a glance

  • Role: Two-series champion
  • Region: Japan / USA

Career highlights

  • 2008: D1 Grand Prix All-Star Championship. First Japanese pro title. The tandem battles of this season are still a modern reference for chase proximity.
  • 2012: Formula Drift Pro Championship. First and only driver to win both the D1GP and FD Pro titles. Won in his second FD season, in the Achilles SC430.
  • 2014 →: Fat Five Racing + Lamborghini drift programme. Founds Fat Five Racing in Saitama. Famously builds a V12 Lamborghini Murciélago drift car, the signature no-limits Saito gesture.

Signature cars

Source: Formula DRIFT