Drift Masters Announces 2025 Driver Lineup

Drift Masters reveals its 2025 driver lineup, with some unexpected surprises, as Europe’s top series expands to seven rounds for the first time.

Lauri Heinonen enters as the defending champion after clinching the 2024 title in nail-biting fashion. He leads a stacked Finnish lineup, including Juha Rintanen, Mika Keski-Korpi, Juha Pöytälaakso, Teemu Peltola, and Jarkko Jylhä.

With his eye on the crown, Duane McKeever returns hungry for revenge after narrowly missing out on the championship last season. He leads the ever-strong Irish lineup, including another name you might recognize…

James Deane returns after making history last year, securing his fourth Formula DRIFT championship in 2024, breaking the all-time record for the most FD titles.

After missing the opening round of last season, which severely impacted his DMGP chances, he is (hopefully) now committed to a full European campaign. We have no doubt he’ll be looking to clinch both the American and European titles this year.

Deane isn’t the only one determined to cause an upset on both sides of the pond. The Shanahans (Conor and Jack) are also expected to make a full run in both DMGP and Formula DRIFT for 2025.

The biggest surprise to the lineup is Dave Egan, who switches things up by making a controversial move, trading his DMGP role for a competition seat for the first time.

Meanwhile, another surprise is that legendary Japanese driver Naoki Nakamura returns for another shot at European glory, looking to improve on his previous appearance in 2023. Despite some epic moments, we’re still yet to see him unleash his full potential in Europe.

Notable absences include Adam LZ, who’s going all-in on his Formula DRIFT campaign but has already announced plans to show up for the Polish finale as a wildcard.

After months of speculation about other Formula DRIFT drivers potentially joining the Drift Masters grid for 2025, the initial lineup leaves them yet to be seen. Hopefully, we’ll be treated to more shocking wildcards along the way.

Everything kicks off at Italy’s new-to-the-series Vallelunga track before wrapping up at Warsaw’s stadium, where they’ll once again battle for the final rankings on the figure-eight layout inside the 55,000-seat venue.

It’s sure to be another epic year for Drift Masters, and we can’t wait to see the action unfold!

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Photography credits

Thanks to Red Bull Content Pool for the use of their photography.

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