EDC resident Judge Hiroke Furuse, AKA Sleepy is known for his fair decisions and no nonsense approach to our competitions and drivers, but whats the story behind the main who makes the winners?
Firstly the age-old question - Why do people call you Sleepy?

When I arrived UK as a racing driver in 1994, my English wasn't good at all.
But I must communicate with my engineer and mechanics in English to develop the racecars. It was very hard work and always made me feel tired. So I fall in sleep quite often and I got this lovely nickname.
But don't get me wrong, I love my nickname because so easy to be remembered by anybody.
 

This year Maz joins you as joint judge in the competitions, whats the reason for that decision?
 

Maz has always supported me in the judging process at the events last year.
We expect the competition to be even closer this year therefore this step has been made to ensure we continue with fair and correct judging to all the drivers as seen last year.

 When judging, whats the most important factor for you on how points are scored?

Speed, Angle, Line. These are three most important elements for judging.
The maximum score is 100 points and we deduct points from their mistakes or poor effort. It is similar as scoring Ski Jump that you must fly as far as you can but your form in the air and at landing are also judged.

How has the driver levels changed since the first competition in 2005?

Definitely. Most of competitors have improved their driving skill and cars since 2005. It is very good for championship and spectator. Also we expect to have a few up coming talented new drivers from our feeder series during
2008 as wild card. I am sure that this system will give fresh kick to our current drivers and it will raise level of standard even higher.

With frequent contact with teams in Japan, what's the general opinion of EDC and the drivers who enter?
Japanese top D1GP drivers are keep eye on EDC and I am not surprise if they visit to compete with our finest European drivers in near future.
We will see.

Last year was a close battle at the top, was it difficult to decide the battle winners?

Judging is always difficult when you think about the amount of responsibility and pressure we got. But also I enjoyed giving many one more time call for competitors and spectators. Believe me, I must calm Mr. Glen (Operations Director who is always against clock) down every time when I decide to do One More Time!! But I do it without any hesitation if necessary.

Of all the drivers last year, which driver emerged from the crowd to shine-on as an underdog?

I think it was James Grimsey. He managed to improve his mental weakness since 2006 and now he is showing his real potential with a lot of confidence. It is nice to see the driver like him to become a strong competitor.

Do you think car setup is not so important, is it all about the drivers skill?

Both important. The competition level of EDC has risen rapidly last year.
You need to be good at car set up and driving to finish high in our competition.

What's going to be the highlight of the 2008 season for you?

The championship has increased to 6 rounds from 4 this year. This change takes a little pressure off from each round as a championship points.
However it will provide tougher season for all competitors to keep finishing high at each event to clinch the title. From last year's performance, I think there are more than 8 drivers who could win this years title. This is very exiting and I look forward to see all competitors at Donington Park in April..