Ken Nomura

Who is Ken Nomura?

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 or Monkey Magic.

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. Once he gained his driving licence, 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, 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.