James Deane wraps up season in Utah, Jack Shanahan wins Long Beach.
The Irish have clearly stamped their mark on Formula Drift—whether it’s luck or pure talent is up for debate. James Deane claimed an extraordinary fifth Formula Drift championship last month in Utah behind the wheel of his Driftmaster RTR Mustang, while his close friend and rookie sensation Jack Shanahan captured the final round of the 2025 season in Long Beach, California, driving a BMW 1 Series.
Jack Shanahan, 26, hails from Cork and didn’t just stumble into success. He was the British Drift Championship winner in both 2016 and 2017 and took the Russian Drift Series title in 2021. He began drifting at 13 in the Irish Drift Championship, piloting a Nissan 180SX—a smaller-engine cousin of the 240SX. Over the years, Shanahan has proven he knows every corner of the drift circuit, often literally sideways.
“It’s been an incredible season chasing that first win,” Shanahan said at the awards ceremony. “We had our struggles with the car, but today it all came together.”
James Deane, also from County Cork, not only became the first driver in Formula Drift’s 22-year history to win five titles but did so with one event still remaining—a record-setting feat.
Deane, the son of an Irish rally driver and mechanic, started his motorsport journey exceptionally young. At eight, he got his first taste of a rally stage, and by ten, he was hooked on drifting.
“When I was 10, I’d line up everyone’s cars at the drift track while they were talking or busy,” Deane recalled. “I’d move them around, thinking, ‘I’m going to go hard from day one,’ and I think people noticed that drive immediately.”
From those early days, he never stopped honing his skills.
“There were places to do donuts and just have fun in the cars, and I loved every second of it,” he said, continuing his journey all the way to the Long Beach podium, where he secured third place.
The final round presented additional hurdles. With the traditional season-ending track in Irwindale demolished, organizers had to construct a new course in the Long Beach Convention Center parking lot. The compact, technical layout packed seven tight turns into a space the size of a baseball diamond, demanding precision and focus from every driver.
Last weekend, it was the Irish who rose to the challenge, showing they are at the top of their game in Formula Drift.
