Youichi Imamura

Drift legend · Japan

Youichi Imamura, D1 Grand Prix official driver portrait

Old-school D1 precision, record titles.

The most decorated champion in D1 Grand Prix history, a four-time title winner from the world's first sanctioned drift series.

Imamura was one of the standout drivers of D1 Grand Prix in its formative years, when the Japanese series was inventing what professional, judged drift competition even looked like.

He won his first D1 title in 2003 in a rotary-powered AʼPEXi Mazda RX-7, then returned to dominate again in a Nissan Silvia S15 with a three-peat in 2009, 2010 and 2011, four championships in all, the most in D1GP history.

He belongs to the bridge generation, the drivers who took Tsuchiya's touge language and turned it into a stadium sport with rules, judges and a championship, and no one won it more.

At a glance

  • Role: D1GP pioneer
  • Region: Japan

Career highlights

  • 2003: First D1GP title. Wins his maiden championship in a rotary AʼPEXi Mazda RX-7.
  • 2009–2011: D1GP three-peat. Three straight titles in a Nissan Silvia S15, four in total, a series record.

Source: D1 Grand Prix, driver profile