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We all think of drifting as not going fast - lazily opposite locking your way around a wet roundabout at 5mph, that kind of thing. Not so Masato Kawabata, the Japanese Pro-Drift driver who has just snatched the Guinness World Record for high-speed drifting. And when we say high speed, we mean high - 304km/h high.
The record was set in a specially tweaked Nissan GT-R NISMO (what else?) wearing custom-made ultra-light alloys and Toyo drifting tyres. The immense 3km runway of Fujairah International Airport in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was the location and Kawabata's record-setting run took the title away from the previous fast-drift record holder, Jakub Przygoński of Poland.
"Once again, Nissan has broken a Guinness World Records title and has made international history in the UAE," said Samir Cherfan, Managing Director of Nissan Middle East. "The MY16 Nissan GT-R NISMO is one of the world's most iconic supercars, proving time and again the incredible breadth of its capabilities, and has clearly demonstrated its performance leadership by beating the best drift cars out there. The fact that this achievement was set here in the UAE makes it even more special for our region. Nissan promises 'Innovation That Excites' and by setting this incredibly difficult world record, we have taken this commitment to the next level."
Cherfan also thanked the airport personnel and its management for their support, saying, "Fujairah International Airport was a perfect fit for this world record attempt and the enormous levels of support we received from every level was invaluable. We had to set up a workshop in one of the airport's hangars and had just five days to get everything ready including the specially tuned MY16 Nissan GT-R NISMO, spare parts, tyres and all the other equipment which required stringent security checks and processes. Without the dedication and tireless assistance of everyone at Fujairah International Airport we could not have achieved this, and I wish to express my sincere thanks to everyone involved."
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