Drift Masters Final: Warsaw, Poland – Preview & Livestream

The 2024 Drift Masters championship concludes in an epic showdown at Warsaw’s 58,500-seater stadium track as the top drivers fight for the title.

Over 50,000 drift fans head to the iconic PGE Narodowy stadium in Warsaw, Poland, to determine the champion of Europe’s premier drifting series, which celebrates its 10th year.

The stadium, typically home to Poland’s national football team, will be transformed into a unique drifting arena for just a weekend, creating what will undoubtedly be an insane atmosphere for drivers and spectators.

Event Schedule / How To Watch

The Qualifying sessions are available on the official Drift Masters YouTube channel. Red Bull has official rights for the battles, so they’re only available via their website.

All of the times below are displayed in Poland’s local time, along with the ET time zone for US viewers.

September 13 (Friday)

15:50 – 19:30 (9:50 AM – 1:30 PM ET) – QUALIFYING (LIVE)

19:30 – 20:15 (1:30 PM – 2:15 PM ET) – QUALIFYING CHALLENGE (LIVE)

September 14 (Saturday)

Unlike the qualifying, which is available on YouTube, the battles are exclusively shown on the Red Bull website from the following links:

14:45 – 17:00 (8:45 AM – 11:00 AM ET) – TOP 32 BATTLES (LIVE)

18:50 – 21:00 (12:50 PM – 3:00 PM ET) – TOP 16 BATTLES (LIVE)

Who’s In The Fight For The Title?

Three drivers can clinch the 2024 title going into the final round. Let’s break down the contenders and their potential paths to glory:

Current standings

• Lauri Heinonen (387 points)
• James Deane (312 points)
• Duane McKeever (300 points)

It’s important to note that the DMGP scoring system allows for a maximum of 112 points in a single event, combining top performances in qualifying (8 points), qualifying showdown (4 points), and winning the main competition (100 points).

Heinonen and his Nissan S13 lead the pack with a 75-point advantage over three-time champion James Deane. However, with a maximum of 112 points up for grabs in a single round, the title race remains open, albeit with Heinonen firmly in the driver’s seat.

Lauri Heinonen

The Finnish driver has been the revelation of the 2024 season, leading since Round 3, and hasn’t finished below 4th place all year. Known for his smooth, consistent style, Heinonen has demonstrated an ability to perform under pressure.

Having narrowly missed the title to Conor Shanahan last year, he’ll be fighting harder than ever to ensure another title doesn’t slip from his grasp.

To secure the title, Heinonen must score at least 26 points, which equates to reaching the Top 16 in the main competition. If he achieves this, the lead will be too substantial for the others to catch up, and he’ll be crowned champion regardless of other results.

However, he can still lose the title if he scores less than 26 points, AND James Deane wins with the maximum 112 points up for grabs. Or, if McKeever pulls off an incredible shock.

Heinonen’s approach in the final will likely be conservative, aiming to secure the points needed for the title rather than pushing for outright victory.

James Deane

A legend of European drifting and three-time DMGP and Formula DRIFT champion, Deane faces an uphill battle but remains in contention. If there’s a driver we’d expect to pull this out of the bag, it’s Deane. But, to steal the win from Heinonen, he’ll need to outscore him by at least 76 points.

Realistically, this means winning the event (100 points) and performing exceptionally well in qualifying and the showdown. He’ll need to hope Heinonen finishes outside the Top 16 or fails to qualify.

Although Heinonen’s consistency makes these scenarios unlikely, you never know what drifting has in store, especially at a track as challenging as this one, combined with the added pressure of the Championship on the line. Deane is unquestionably the more experienced when it comes to knowing how this feels.

His 2024 DMGP campaign has been a rollercoaster. He missed out on Round 1 entirely since his main focus is Formula DRIFT for the 2024 season, where he’s set to land his fourth title next month. However, he bounced back with a perfect 112-point performance in Round 2 – the only maximum score achieved all season. However, the last round went far from ideal for the Irishman.

Deane’s experience in high-pressure situations will be his greatest asset for the final. Expect an all-or-nothing approach as he seeks to overturn Heinonen’s lead.

Duane McKeever

Fellow Irish driver McKeever has delivered no shortage of upsets over the years, and while his path to the title is extremely unlikely, it’s not impossible.

To cause the unlikely shock in the final, he’ll need to win the event while outscoring Heinonen by 88 points and Deane by 13 points.

If Heinonen were to win the qualifying and showdown alone, his overall tally would become 415 points, which would be enough to ensure that McKeever was no longer a threat.

As the dark horse of the trio, McKeever has shown flashes of brilliance throughout the season, including a strong 91-point performance in Round 2 and consistent top-5 finishes in most rounds. He’s known for his aggressive, crowd-pleasing style, and we should expect nothing less from him this weekend.

While his title chances are slim, McKeever’s driving style makes him a real threat to take the event win, potentially playing spoiler in the Heinonen-Deane battle.

Beyond the Title Fight

While the spotlight will be on the championship contenders, several other storylines add depth to the finale:

The Battle For Top 5

2023 Champion Conor Shanahan (245 points), Pawel Korpulinski (233 points), and Kevin Pesur (228 points) are locked in a tight battle for 4th place in the championship. Strong performances could see significant shifts in the final standings.

Local Heroes

Polish drivers like Pawel Korpulinski will have a home advantage and huge crowd support as he fights for the top spots.

He’s joined by fellow countrymen such as Adam Zalewski, who has a fresh new look for the final, Piotr Wiecek, and Jakub Przygonski.

Mad Mike Joins The Party

Mad Mike Whiddett‘s addition as a wild card entry to the Finale adds an exciting twist to the championship showdown.

Bringing his iconic FD RX7, MADBUL, Mad Mike’s presence promises to shake up the competition with his aggressive driving style and crowd-pleasing antics. The thunderous roar of MADBUL’s 4-rotor 26B engine echoing through the PGE Narodowy stadium will undoubtedly create a unique atmosphere that’ll hype up the fans even more.

As a wild card, Mad Mike has nothing to lose and everything to gain, potentially causing upsets in the championship standings. This is an incredible opportunity to see one of the drifting world’s most iconic driver-car combinations compete on European soil.

The last time we saw Mad Mike in Europe, he shredded tires in his crazy drift McLaren build at Goodwood!

The Venue – PGE Narodowy

PGE Narodowy hosting the finale is insanely impressive and shows the growth of the Drift Masters series. Many believe it’ll soon topple Formula DRIFT as the world’s premier drifting championship, and it’s easy to see why. While FD feels somewhat stagnant, DMGP is bringing a new level of craziness to drifting on a huge scale.

The 58,500-capacity stadium, typically home to Poland’s national football team, will transform into a custom-built drifting arena with a figure-of-eight-style layout providing insanely intense battles.

The custom-built track will challenge drivers, with the endless walls surrounding the layout and the potentially slippery fresh surface. This wildcard factor could lead to unexpected results, adding to the drama of the title fight.

In case you missed it, here’s a preview of what went down in last year’s final between Heinonen and the 2023 Champion Conor Shanahan:

Photography credits

We thank the following entities for the use of their photography:

• Drift Masters

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