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Saturday December 16th was the D1GP Championship. The last big event of the 06 season. A serious rain downpour for most of the day seemed as if it would put a damper on things. However after the warm up practice prior to qualifying, it was clear that all drivers were not letting up even after the slick conditions. JR jumped out on the track and started to do his thing. He was the only driver smoking tires in the rain, which shows his skill and aggressiveness with a no stopping attitude. The fans loved it, and knew that they where in for a treat!

JR was the only American to qualify for the final round scoring a 99.8 in qualifying. His qualifying score put him against the first place qualifier "Tsuyoshi Tezuka" in the Bee-R R32 Nissan Skyline. The first run JR was on his door in what turned into a double spin. The second round Vaughn was given the advantage of 6-4. The judges moved Tsuyoshi Tezuka onto the great 8 over JR due to their perspective, they thought JR hit him and caused him to spin. We caught up to JR and he said this "From my perspective it seemed he was spinning out so I hit the brakes forcing me to get a huge angle. As this happened my wheel touched him and we both completed a spin. They are good judges and I will respect their decision. I am content with our results and look forward to Sundays World Championship event!"


In the end on Saturday, JR finished out the D1GP championship as the Highest ranked US driver in the series.

On Sunday December 17th, the D1GP World All Star

Sunday was the day JR had been waiting for! This event was more important to him than Saturday due to the fact that this was the event he won last December. The only thing different about this year is the fact that this event was filled up with the WORLDS BEST Drifters. To put it into perspective, there were drivers from New Zealand, England, Ireland, Japan, and Malaysia. It was sure to be a great competition as the driver skill represented by each country was top notch. JR was looking great during practice and even better in qualifying. JR qualified 1st with a score of 100 points, which got him ready to take on the competition. The fans were in full support of JR and that helped motivate him even more than he already was. JR said, "After our driver introductions and the national anthem, I was so moved and motivated by the crowds cheers when my name was announced I just went out there and gave it my all scoring a 100 with the very strict point system of D1GP. This was a great accomplishment for me."

Being the first place qualifier paired JR up against T.Djan who was the 16th
qualified and was driving a Corrolla and representing Malaysia. The first pair of battles were so close they called for a one more time. During the first one more time round, JR was leading and he entered the horseshoe with great speed and angle. However the little Corrola took a very shallow line and was able to come in on the inside of JR for a pass. The second battle JR was given the advantage however because of the pass T.Djan moved on to the great 8 and JR was eliminated.


JR finished 9th overall and was once again the highest ranked American in the event. When we caught up with JR he was overwhelmed and said this. "I drove my heart out this weekend and I am happy with our results. Those Corrolas are very hard to judge as a driver, not to mention they are so nimble, that it makes them a very hard car to beat. T.Djan is a great driver and he took a unexpected shallow line and was able to squeeze by me. There is no doubt that he deserved the win. We did not win this event again but we are leaving here with the First Place Qualifier and continuing to have the title of being the highest ranked American Drifter in the WORLD! That right there makes me very Happy! I could not have done this with out the support of The Falken Tire Crew and all the fans….

To contribute to a discussion about Vaughn Gittin Jr's 2006 Ranking click here