Although Nomuken (aka Ken Nomura) is not exactly nostalgic per se, this Option Video that he stars in is definitely one of the most memorable drift videos I’ve ever seen. In it, Mr. Monkey man himself drifts in a Japan Spec Nissan 180sx on the streets of L.A. while running from the Police. Check it out:
Obviously, this was staged and Nomuken is not that dumb to run from the police in a different country, but it is definitely interesting to see a RHD 180sx drifting on the street (legally I think) in broad daylight. Later in the video, the tables turn as Nomuken tries his hand at drifting a police spec Nissan C33 Laurel on Nikko Circuit. Kind of funny actually.
But who is Nomuken?
Ken Nomura is a drifting driver from Japan. He made his debut in the D1 Grand Prix in the 3rd round in 2001, driving the Blitz D1 Spec ER34 Skyline which he still drives. His nickname is Nomuken (のむけん) or Monkey Magic (as a reference to his company).
In his youth, Nomura was a baseball player and was very well known within his region, but his career never progressed any further through injury and turned to property developing and monocle adjustments. Once he gained his driving license, he was dedicated to night-time street drag racing and then progressed to touge racing. In 1992, Nomuken was runner up in the “All Japan Ikaten” Finals and later in 1996 opened his own tuning shop Uras (reverse for saru, Japanese for monkey), producing drift specific products.
When he first joined the D1GP series in 2000, his performance was average, he had been away from drifting for some time before competing in its inaugural year. But as soon as he signed a contract with parts manufacturer Blitz as a works driver, his skills quickly developed.
In the D1 events, he is known for his imitation of a monkey, as the pioneer of the smoke technique, he drifts with the most smoke. He is widely a fan favorite in the series.
Nomuken is still in the game, and with the backing of Blitz, he’ll be piloting this R35 GT-R this drift season!
–David–
David@maydaygarage.com