2026 D1 Grand Prix series
The 2026 D1 Grand Prix series is a planned professional drifting competition. The competition is organised by Sunpros under Japanese Automobile Federation (JAF) Semi national competition format and recognise as Japan Drift Championship. The championship is planned to be contested over 10 rounds starting at Aichi Sky Expo on 24th of March 2026.
Hideyuki Fujino is the defending champion.[1]
Schedule
Provisional schedule was released following the final round of 2025 season. Aichi Sky Expo in Nagoya will host the opening two rounds of the season. The venue is located near Centrair which have previously held D1GP round back in 2013. In turns, Okuibuki Motorpark will not held any round for the first time since 2019. The rest of the calender will be held at same weekend as previous year.
| Round | Venue | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aichi Sky Expo, Aichi Prefecture | 9 May |
| 2 | 10 May | |
| 3 | Tsukuba Circuit, Ibaraki Prefecture | 27 June |
| 4 | 28 June | |
| 5 | Ebisu Circuit, Fukushima Prefecture | 26 September |
| 6 | 27 September | |
| 7 | Autopolis, Oita Prefecture | 24 October |
| 8 | 25 October | |
| 9 | TBA | TBA |
| 10 | TBA |
Teams and drivers
| Teams | No | Drivers | Machine | Tires | Round |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TBA | TBA | Kazutaka Yanagi | TBA | TBA | TBC |
| Shibata Racing Team | 31 | Koudai Sobagiri | TBA | Shibatire | TBC |
| MCR Factory | 70 | Masashi Yokoi | TBA | TBA | TBC |
| Team Valino Works | TBA | Sayaka Shimoda | Toyota GR86 (ZN8) | Valino | TBC |
Changes
- At 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon, Masashi Yokoi announced he is leaving D-Max Racing Team at the end of the 2025 season. Yokoi planned to compete with his own team.[2][3]
- On 25th November 2025, Shibata Racing Team announced they parted with Tetsuya Hibino. Hibino's contract which ended on 31st December of that year was not renewed.[4]
- D1 Lights runner-up, Kazutaka Yanagi announced he will stepping up to D1GP.[5]
- Sayaka Shimoda returns to the series after 2 year away. She will drive a Toyota GR86.[6]
References
- ^ "Congratulations to Hide Fujino — 2025 D1GP Series Champion!The true potential of the 2JZ has been unleashed. TOMEIUSA/RSE engine components prove their performance with real results. – TOMEI –The Engine Specialist–". www.tomeiusa.com. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ^ "大盛況に終わった東京オートサロン2025でのD1GPキックオフドリフトでD-MAXが重大発表 | ドリフト". autosport web (in Japanese). 2025-01-17. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ^ Yokoi, Masashi (2025-11-18). "D1GP 2026 plan". X.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "日比野哲也選手とのD1ドライバー契約終了に関するお知らせ | ニュースリリース". SHIBATA 柴田自動車株式会社 (in Japanese). 2025-11-25. Retrieved 2025-12-13.
- ^ Yanagi, Kazutaka (2025-11-25). "2026 D1GP Participation announcement". X.
- ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 2025-12-23.