Drifting
How James Deane sacrificed everything to become a drift champion
From racing on his PlayStation and competing in a 200 Euro banger to lining up alongside his hero Mad Mike at Red Bull Drift Shifters – Irish drifting champion tells the story of his road to the top.
James Deane holds the Formula Drift title and goes into the Red Bull Drift Shifters race in Liverpool as the leading driver in this year's championship. Yet, after speaking to the humble Irishman about his journey to the top of his motorsport, he's still sounds like he can't quite believe that he's competing against legends such as Mad Mike Whiddett and Masato Kawabata.
Part of a thriving Irish drifting scene, Deane told us how he got into drifting, honing his skills on Gran Turismo on the PlayStation as he saved up for his first car. He reveals how all his dreams came true when he raced at a legendary US race in Long Beach and he also has some top tips for anyone looking to get into the sport.
It’s a really cool event and I’m absolutely honoured to be a part of it, I can’t wait for it!
Red Bull: Hey James, we're excited to have you taking part in Red Bull Drift Shifters – did you ever get to compete in the New Zealand Drift Shifters?
James: No! I’ve known Mad Mike for around ten years, and I absolutely love what he has been doing with these Red Bull Drift Shifters events. When it was brought to Europe, I 100% wanted to get involved. I think it’s going to be one of the most exciting and unique drift events to hit European shores.
Who are you looking forward to competing against?
There’s a lot of talent at this event and people who I haven’t competed against before. So, obviously the guys in Formula Drift – I know how amazing they are. I haven’t had a chance to drive with Mike except at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, but that wasn’t a competition situation, so it’ll be great to compete with him. Also, the guys from New Zealand like Gaz Whiter – I know they’re awesome drivers but I’ve never actually seen them drive in person, so it’ll be great to have a chance to battle a lot of good drivers.
Not forgetting (Masato) Kawabata from Japan, it’s also the first time I’ll be at a competition event with him. I remember watching Kawabata and being blown away by his skill in Silverstone back in 2005 or 2006. I wasn’t even competing at the time so it’s really cool to have the chance to battle him while we’re both at the top of our game.
It’s a really cool event and I’m absolutely honoured to be a part of it, I can’t wait for it!
How did you get started in drifting?
My family has been involved in motorsport, mostly rally. When I was 10 I watched my brother enter his first drifting event, and from then on I was obsessed. Between the ages of 10-15 I went to every single event in Ireland and a lot in England, as well as watching it grow online and practising on the PlayStation. When I was 15 I entered my first competition and all that research I had done in the previous years made it really easy to translate my skills to drifting a real car in real life. I was blown away by how quick it came to me. From then on it progressed really quick.
I won my first Irish competition when I was 15 years-old and when I was 16 I managed to win the Irish and European Championships. Over the years I’ve been lucky enough to build a great team around me and sponsors. I’ve been doing this full-time and I’ve absolutely been living my childhood dream.
James Deane signing autographs for the drift fans
© Jordan Butters
When did you realise you could make a career out of drifting?
When I was younger it was my ultimate dream but there weren't many people doing it full-time back then. My dream was to compete in the Formula Drift series in the United States. It’s the pinnacle of drift competitions.
So, I concentrated on drifting in the European championships between 2014 and 2016 and managed to win it three years in a row. Last year, in 2017, I got the opportunity to compete in the full Formula Drift Championship in the USA with a great friend of mine Piotr Więcek for the Worthouse Drift team. I won the US championship last year and that was seriously the biggest thing ticked of my bucket list. It was a dream come true!
Drifting is unlike any other motorsport...It takes one small mistake and your weekend is over.
And you're currently leading the 2018 series?
Yeah, we’re doing it again this year and currently leading in the points, so it’s going well. But drifting is unlike any other motorsport. For instance, in track racing if you make a small mistake you have a lot of time to correct it. In drifting if you make a mistake it’s usually against your opponent and if your opponent does not make a mistake then you are packing up and going home. It takes one small mistake and your weekend is over. It’s an unpredictable motorsport and you never know what is going to happen until it’s happened.
James Deane at Goodwood FOS 2018
© Jordan Butters
In your opinion, why is there such a large pool of Irish drifting talent?
Yeah, it’s quite incredible, Irish drivers have had a lot of success across the world. I think it’s a number of factors. In Irish motorsport you have quite close-knit friends and family helping you out, and that really puts together a tight team even before it starts getting to a professional level. You have great support and that’s really the way it is for Irish drivers. People are always helping you and pushing you forward.
Also, Ireland is very lucky to have a great drifting championship. It really is one of the leaders of national championships in the world. It really pushes the drivers on technical lines and usually we’re not afraid to risk it all, because that’s just the general attitude of drivers in Ireland. Go-karting is a big thing and it’s easily accessible in Ireland. Now you have drift schools in Ireland so it’s easier for people to learn how to drift and get advice on getting into the sport. It’s definitely a lot easier to get involved than it was back when I started.
In Irish motorsport you have quite close-knit friends and family helping you out, and that really puts together a tight team.
On the flip side of that, my first car was a Ford Sierra worth €200, whereas now if you want to win an event you need something that’s worth a lot more than that. So, it’s definitely more expensive to get involved nowadays but the stepping stones are in place to make it happen if you’re willing to be passionate enough to put everything towards the sport.
You can see Deane and his s14 at Red Bull Drift Shifters in Liverpool
© Jordan Butters
What advice would you give to young kids looking to get into the sport?
You need to be so passionate about this to make it work. I sacrificed everything and more to give this a shot and I don’t regret anything that I did sacrifice over the years. I worked around the clock to make it happen. I was working every job so I could afford it before I got great sponsors onboard. Looking back at it I wouldn’t change a single thing.
For someone starting though, there’s definitely better stepping stones. I would try and go to a drift school near you and try it out for yourself, see how you pick it up and see if you want to progress further. Any drift school across the world will give you advice on the different options of getting involved and that’s the best starting point. Find someone already involved in the sport that you can talk to and get to know your options.
The next step is getting a car and building up the money to see what budget you have available to get involved. Then it just keeps on going, that’s only the start!
Where is your favourite place to compete?
I’ve been lucky enough to travel across the world, competing all over Europe, the United States, the Middle East – I’ve been to Scandinavia, am potentially going to South Africa and that’s just this year.
For me though, it’s always been a dream of mine to compete in the US. I had a chance back in 2010 to do four events and my first event was in Long Beach, Los Angeles, and I absolutely fell in love with the city, the atmosphere, just the general vibe of Long Beach. Last year I went back for the first event for Formula Drift and I managed to win it. It’s definitely my favourite place to compete.
What is the one skill you need to nail drift competitions?
I think a huge part of drifting is the mind – it’s a mental game. You might have four weeks building up to an event, and you’re working every night in the workshop, the team is also working. Then you have to travel to the event and have practice, then qualifying.
The amount of pressure you have on your shoulders for these 30 seconds after a month’s worth of preparation is immense and if you make one mistake your event is over.
For example, in qualifying you have two laps at 30 seconds each and the first lap gets scrapped. Then you have only one lap to get it right and get into the main event. The amount of pressure you have on your shoulders for these 30 seconds after a month’s worth of preparation is immense and if you make one mistake your event is over. So, I honestly think the right mindset and being able to keep and focused is extremely important to be a competitive drifter. It only gets worse – the better you become the more pressure there is on your shoulders.
Obviously, driver skill is the other side of it; you need to have a combination of both. You could have one of the best-looking drivers on track, but they can’t keep their mind focused when it comes down to it. They could never be good in competition.
How do keep focused during a competition?
I think it comes back to my young days when I used to play a lot of PlayStation. I would put so much pressure on myself – I would challenge myself to do a full lap and if I spun out I would say “if you do it again you’ll never become a professional drifter”. I did these small things as child and when it translated to real life I’ve been really lucky to keep a strong mind and keep calm when the pressure is on. It seems like the more pressure on me, the better I perform. So, take it one step at a time, take it as it comes. Deal with whatever situation as it comes.
I still get an enormous injection of adrenaline as soon as I start rolling off the start line, it’s like everything is gone and I’m in my own world, my own zone and that’s where I’m happiest. Anything that’s going outside of that, to me, doesn’t matter.
Favourite drifting games to play?
Before I started drifting in real life I was absolutely addicted to the PlayStation, and back then it was Gran Turismo. I would play hours per day! Then real-life drifting took over and the PlayStation was put under the stairs. As I’m travelling a lot I play on phone. One of the best games for mobile is probably CarX Drift Racing. It’s pretty realistic for the phone.
For off season I’m looking at building a simulator at home, so I can stay sharp when I’m not competing!