Atsushi Kuroi

Atsushi Kuroi (黒井敦史, Kuroi Atsushi, 30 March 1969 – 2 February 2010, Osaka) was a Japanese professional drifting driver who competed in the D1 Grand Prix series for Team Toyo with River Side. He died on 2 February 2010 during the evening due to a motorcycle accident.[1]

Atsushi Kuroi
Nationality Japan
Born(1969-03-30)30 March 1969
Died1 February 2010(2010-02-01) (aged 40)
Related to(list of notable relatives with line breaks)
D1 Grand Prix career
Debut season2001
Current teamRiver Side
Wins1
Best finish13th in 2006
Previous series
(previous series with line breaks)
Championship titles
(championship titles)

He loved cars from an early age and dreamed of getting his license, when he did the first car he got was a four-wheel drive as he was into WRC at the time. He enjoyed dirt driving but ran out of money for repairs to his car so he bought a Nissan Silvia (S13) and turned to drifting. He practiced a lot but as he mainly did it alone he couldn't tell whether he was any good, so he studied the drift bible and some other books on drifting to try to improve. Though he never knew whether he was any good until he began competing against other people. He was the manager of the River Side Tuning Garage in the Osaka prefecture, so he sponsored himself.

He competed in the D1 Grand Prix series since it began in 2001, until his death before the 2010 season. He always used a Nissan Silvia (S13) as he loved the way they drift. The Silvias he used in the D1GP are not usual, his old one had an RB26 from a Nissan Skyline GT-R and his current car has a 1JZ from a Toyota Chaser, as he liked the bigger displacement engines.

Death

On the evening of 1 February 2010 Kuroi was hit by another vehicle while travelling home from work on his motorcycle. Kuroi later died in the hospital after bleeding to death from injuries to his thigh.[2]

A memorial for Kuroi was featured at the Osaka Auto Messe.[3]

Complete Drifting Results

(key)

D1 Grand Prix
Year Entrant Car 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Position Points
2001 Nissan Silvia PS13 EBS
 NIK
DNQ		 BHH
DNQ		 EBS
DNQ		 NIK
 0
2002 Nissan Silvia PS13 BHH
TAN		 EBS
DNQ		 EBS
DNQ		 SGO
TAN		 0
Nissan 180SX RPS13 TKB
DNQ		 SEK
 NIK
2003 River Side / Toyo Tires Nissan Silvia PS13 TKB
TAN		 BHH
DNQ		 SGO
DNQ		 FUJ
TAN		 EBS
DNQ		 SEK
 TKB
DNQ		 0
2004 River Side Nissan 180SX RPS13 IRW
7		 EBS
9		 16 14
River Side / Toyo Tires Nissan Silvia PS13 SGO
TAN		 APS
16		 ODB
TAN		 EBS
DNQ		 TKB
10
2005 River Side / Toyo Tires Nissan Silvia PS13 IRW
 ODB
DNQ		 SGO
DNQ		 APS
DNQ		 EBS
DNQ		 FUJ
DNQ		 TKB
16		 32 1
2006 River Side / Toyo Tires Nissan Silvia PS13 IRW
16		 SGO
2		 FUJ
TAN		 APS
16		 EBS
TAN		 SUZ
16		 FUJ
10		 IRW
16		 13 26
2007 River Side / Toyo Tires Nissan Silvia PS13 EBS
TAN		 FUJ
1		 SUZ
14		 SGO
TAN		 EBS
12		 APS
12		 FUJ
13		 13 26
2008 River Side / Toyo Tires Nissan Silvia PS13 EBS
TAN		 FUJ
6		 SUZ
2		 OKY
TAN		 APS
9		 EBS
 FUJ
 8 44

References
  1. Jesus Rodriguez (2 February 2010). "D1GP Driver Atsushi Kuroi Dead at Age 40". Zimbio. Archived from the original on 30 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  2. "Farewell, Atsushi Kuroi". Archived from the original on 29 August 2013. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  3. http://noriyaro.com/?p=4637
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