James Deane (drift driver)
James Deane is an Irish professional Drifter. He is a 5-time Formula Drift Champion, 4-time Drift Allstars and 4-time Oman IDC Champion. He has also won multiple National and European titles. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest drift drivers of all time.
Career
Deane began his career in competition drifting in 2006, driving, finishing third in the series. In 2007, Deane won his first ever professional event in the main Prodrift series at Rosegreen at the age of fifteen, which is believed to have made him the youngest professional drift event winner in the world at the time. The following season, he won both the Irish series and the Prodrift European series, qualifying him to compete in the Red Bull Drifting World Championship in Long Beach, California.Deane won the 2010 Prodrift series whilst also competing in some Formula Drift events. The following season, he won the Drift Allstars series for the Low Brain Drifters team, with six podiums including four wins. He won the Irish Drift Championship in 2013 and 2015 and from 2014 onwards, won the Drift Allstars European Series for three consecutive years.
Deane took first place on the podium at the 2019 Oman Oil Marketing International Drift Championship. Representing Worthouse and Falken, Deane dominated the bracket despite an issue he was having due to a flaw with the rack and pinion in his steering assembly. This win at the Oman Drift Championship gives Deane his thirteenth title win.
On 3 March 2021, Deane announced that he would be competing in the 2021 Russian Drift Series with the AIMOL Drift Team. He would compete alongside teammates Daigo Saito and Charles NG.
Formula Drift
In October 2016, following his third DA title, it was announced that Deane would return to Formula Drift for a full campaign in 2017. Deane would pilot a Toyota 2JZ powered Nissan Silvia S15 for the Worthouse drift team alongside teammate Piotr Wiecek. Wiecek would pilot an identical S15 converted to left hand drive. His return to competition in the United States was a major success, with him winning the 2017 Formula Drift Championship.James returned to Formula Drift in 2018 alongside Worthouse. He finished the season in 1st Place, successfully defending his title. This would make him the second driver in Formula Drift history to win back-to-back championships, the first being Tanner "The Golden Child" Foust.
Having successfully defended his Formula Drift Championship title, James Deane returned for the 2019 season, which would prove to be Deane's toughest Formula Drift season since his return to the series in 2017. On 19 October 2019 Deane was crowned 2019 Formula Drift Champion for the 3rd year in a row, making him the first driver in the sport's history to pull off a 3-peat. Deane tied Chris Forsberg and Fredric Aasbø for three Formula Drift championship titles. However Forsberg's and Aasbø's championships were nonconsecutive, giving reason for many to hail James "The Machine" Deane as the best drifter on the planet.
As a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the Worthouse Drift Team withdrew from the 2020 Formula Drift championship. In the same statement, it was also announced that James Deane will no longer be competing with Worthouse.
On 23 February 2023 Vaughn Gittin Jr. announced that Deane would be competing in Formula Drift 2023 as a member of the RTR Motorsports team. He managed to get 5th place overall with 2 3rd place podiums
On 1 January 2024, he returned to Formula Drift with RTR team, he also managed to get a win during the first round of Formula Drift in Long Beach, mark his first win in Formula Drift with RTR Team.
From October 8, 2023–August 10, 2024 James Deane had 13 consecutive podiums
Deane secured back-to-back championship-winning seasons in 2024 and 2025, with 4 wins and 2 podium finishes, and 3 wins and 3 podium finishes, respectively. Deane became the first four-time and five-time Formula Drift champion with these wins.
Formula Drift Achievements
- 1 of 3 drivers to qualify with a perfect score of 100 points
- The first and only driver in the FD's history to pull off a 3-Peat
- Longest podium streak from October 8, 2023–August 10, 2024
- The first and only 4-time FD Champion
- The first and only 5-time FD Champion