James Deane wins the Swedish Drift GP

6 July, 2015

Eskilstuna, Stockholm, Sweden

Defending European champion James Deane pilots his 700bhp Falken Tyre Nissan Silvia into top position at the second round of the Extreme Drift Allstars European Championship against Europe’s best drifters and a host of local Swedish talent. This past weekend the Extreme Drift Allstars series landed in Eskilstuna, near Stockholm, Sweden, for the second round of the 2015 championship. Following his third place finish at round one in London last month, and running on Falken tyres, James was able to place his car with pinpoint accuracy, navigating the tight and technical course during Saturday’s qualifying event and securing top qualifying position going into Sunday’s head-to-head finale. James’s route to the top would be anything but simple, first defeating Latvian Gatis Babris in the Top 16, before facing local Swedish driver Pelle Eriksson in the Top 8. In the Semi Finals, he would come up against local Swedish driver David Skogsby, who had also been on fine form all weekend. Ultimately, Skogsby was no match for James’s pace, aggression and grip, but it would be the final battle of the day that would really test the current champion. James’s final opponent would be fellow Irishman Nigel Colfer. The two drivers are good friends and a close, clean head-to-head ensued, with just inches between the two powerful cars as they navigated the twisting course. James would have the edge after performing a near flawless chase run, securing him victory in the competition and propelling him to the top of the points table going into round three. “I didn’t know what to expect going into Drift Allstars Sweden as it was a new track with a really strong driver lineup,” commented James. “My Falken Motorsports S14 ran flawlessly all weekend and the tyres gave me the confidence to really push the car hard, initially taking first place in qualifying and then going on to win the event!” From here, James heads to Riga, Latvia for the third round of the 2015 championship on 31st July-1st August. The event is likely to be his toughest competition to date as drivers from all of Europe descend upon Bikernieki Circuit for the Latvian Drift GP. Keep up to date with James Deane on Facebook, at: facebook.com/JamesDeaneDrifting