By RACER Staff - Jun 21, 2026, 3:19 PM ET

Deane wins Formula DRIFT Round 4 at Stafford

James Deane claimed his first Formula DRIFT PRO win of the season and stood atop an all-Irish podium flanked by the Shanahan brothers, Jack and Conor, at Stafford Motor Speedway.

The new venue for Round 4 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, Andy Hateley and Ryan Tuerck in an intense Top 8 battle, and RTR teammate Ben Hobson 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. However, 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 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.

Hobson 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 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 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 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 who failed to qualify for Round 4, Cody Buchanan was the leading rookie. He placed 12th in the Life Wide Open / Reboot Energy 350Z. However, in 21st position, he still trails 10th-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