James Deane claims his first win of the season and stands atop an all-Irish podium flanked by the Shanahan brothers, Jack and Conor.
EVENT DETAILS
Date: Saturday, June 20, 2026
Location: Stafford Motor Speedway, Stafford Springs, CT
Event: Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 4
RESULTS FROM FD PRO ROUND 2
- James Deane (Ireland) – O’Reilly / Pennzoil Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD
- Jack Shanahan (Ireland) – Pulsar Turbos E82 BMW
- Conor Shanahan (Ireland) – Red Bull / GT Radial / JYR Toyota GT86
NOTES
- The new venue for Round 4 of the Formula DRIFT PRO Championship at Stafford Motor Speedway had a baptism of smoke and fire, producing one of the closest, most entertaining battles of the season in front of a capacity crowd
- After a spin on his second Qualifying run dropped Deane down the starting order, he vowed to make amends and did so in emphatic style. On his path to the podium, Deane vanquished Jhonnattan Castro (Dominican Republic), Andy Hateley (USA), Ryan Tuerck (USA) in an intense Top 8 battle, and RTR teammate Ben Hobson (USA) in the Final 4 heats
- In the Final, Deane completed two flawless runs in the O’Reilly / Pennzoil Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD against fierce competition from Jack Shanahan. Sadly, spectators were robbed of a full-blooded contest when Shanahan suffered steering issues on the second run in the Pulsar Turbos E82 BMW, which put him off-track and out of contention
- Following his premature demise in Round 1, Deane placed second in both Round 2 and 3 before claiming his first win of the season tonight at the new venue. His 50-point reward allowed him to leapfrog “Odi” Bakchis (Lithuania) into first place in the 2026 FD PRO Championship standings with a 22-point margin
- Jack Shanahan had to defeat Conor to reach the Final, and a technical issue meant his younger brother was unable to complete the second run. Jack then performed celebratory donuts around Conor’s stricken Red Bull / GT Radial / JYR Toyota GT86
- Jack’s second place finish thrust him from sixth to fourth in the 2026 FD PRO standings, while Conor’s third place allowed him to remain fifth
- FD CT witnessed the first all-Irish podium in series history, but few would bet against it happening again
- Ben Hobson (USA) had one of his best events since being promoted from the PROSPEC Championship. Losing to teammate Deane in the quarter-finals, he placed fourth and rocketed from 22nd to 12th overall driving the Pennzoil Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD
- Bakchis, whose Feal Suspension / GT Radial / Subimods Subaru BRZ was beaten in the Great 8 heats by Conor, placed eighth on the night and dropped to second overall
- Branden Sorensen (USA) maintained his 2026 momentum and placed sixth in the Sorensen Motorsports / Quad Lock BMW, allowing him to remain third in the Championship standings
- Top Qualifier Dylan Hughes (USA) lost to Hobson in the Great 8 heats but placed fifth in the Royal Purple Synthetic Oil / GT Radial / 2JZ-powered BMW, boosting his Championship aspirations by one place to sixth
- Fredric Aasbo (Norway) continued his inconsistent season in the Rockstar Energy Toyota GR Supra. A broken axle eliminated him from the Top 16. He finished ninth, demoting him from fourth to seventh in the standings
- In the absence of Cole Richards (USA) who failed to Qualify for Round 4, Cody Buchanan (USA) was the leading Rookie. He placed 12th in the Life Wide Open / Reboot Energy 350Z. However, in 21st position, he still trails tenth-place Richards in the Championship table
- In the 2026 Formula DRIFT Auto Cup, Ford maintained its lead, as did GT Radial in the FD Tire Cup
ROUND 4 FD PRO TOP 16 DRIVER POINTS*
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | James Deane | 50 +1 |
| 2 | Jack Shanahan | 40 +1 |
| 3 | Conor Shanahan | 30 +2 |
| 4 | Ben Hobson | 30 +1 |
| 5 | Dylan Hughes | 20 +4 |
| 6 | Branden Sorensen | 20 +3 |
| 7 | Ryan Tuerck | 20 +1 |
| 8 | Aurimas Bakchis | 20 +1 |
| 9 | Fredric Aasbo | 10 +1 |
| 10 | Matt Field | 10 +1 |
| 11 | Dan Stuke | 10 +1 |
| 12 | Cody Buchanan | 10 +1 |
| 13 | Dan Burkett | 10 +1 |
| 14 | Derek Madison | 10 +1 |
| 15 | Simen Olsen | 10 +1 |
| 16 | Andy Hateley | 10 +1 |
2026 FD PRO TOP 16 DRIVER CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS*
| POSITION | DRIVER | POINTS |
| 1 | James Deane | 149 |
| 2 | Aurimas Bakchis | 127 |
| 3 | Branden Sorensen | 107 |
| 4 | Jack Shanahan | 106 |
| 5 | Conor Shanahan | 105 |
| 6 | Dylan Hughes | 87 |
| 7 | Fredric Aasbo | 85 |
| 8 | Ryan Tuerck | 64 |
| 9 | Chris Forsberg | 58 |
| 10 | Cole Richards | 56 |
| 11 | Vaughn Gittin Jr | 51 |
| 12 | Ben Hobson | 44 |
| 13 | Matt Field | 44 |
| 14 | Dan Burkett | 34 |
| 15 | Simen Olsen | 34 |
| 16 | Ken Gushi | 24 |
2026 AUTO CUP TOP 5 STANDINGS*
| Ford | 243 |
| Toyota | 169 |
| BMW | 110 |
| Nissan | 72 |
| Chevrolet | 45 |
2026 TIRE CUP STANDINGS*
| GT Radial | 286 |
| Nitto | 243 |
| Kenda | 183 |
| Kumho | 130 |
* Preliminary standings. Final results pending official confirmation