Kazuya Taguchi was born in Hokkaido, Japan, where they are most famous for their beautiful snowy mountains and icy roads. This is where he first learned how to drift at age 15 from a friend in a TOYOTA Soarer(Lexus SC300).
Since 2014, he competed in both D1 GRAND PRIX and Formula Drift Japan before transitioning to Formula Drift USA. Kazuya started driving for Formula Drift USA in 2018, behind the wheel of a VR41 powered 2014 Nissan GTR built by Jerry Yang Racing (JYR). In 2019, the team built him a Nissan Silvia S15 which he drove for the 2019 & 2020 FD season. In 2021, he raced a Toyota FRS with a GTR engine and finished 9th in the series.
In 2022, Kazuya won the event in St Louis, qualified 1st and walked away with a perfect event weekend. He now resides in Los Angeles, CA where he opened UPGARAGE's first USA store.
When he is not competing in Formula Drift or working at UPGARAGE, he can be seen at local grassroot events where he is best known for his J-Style. Kazuya is now building his own personal dream drift car: a Nissan Silvia S15.
