James Deane Clinches Third Victory At Formula DRIFT New Jersey 2024

Published: Monday, June 24, 2024, 15:06 [IST]

The Formula DRIFT PRO Championship Round 4 took place on Saturday, June 22, 2024, at the Old Bridge Township Raceway in Englishtown, NJ. The event, known as Type S The Gauntlet Presented by AutoZone, saw intense competition among top drivers.

James Deane from Ireland secured his third victory in four rounds, driving the AutoZone Ford Mustang RTR Spec 5-FD. This win extended his lead from 44 to 74 points over second place. Aurimas Bakchis from Lithuania finished second in the Feal Suspension / GT Radial Nissan S15, moving up to second in the championship standings.

Adam LZ from the USA took third place in the LZMFG E36 BMW. Despite not being scheduled to compete, his performance moved him from 13th to ninth overall. Dylan Hughes finished fourth in the Royal Purple E46 BMW 2JZ, advancing from 14th to tenth overall.

Notable Incidents

Simen Olsen from Norway was unable to compete due to an engine fault diagnosed before his Top 32 heat. This precautionary withdrawal dropped him from second to fourth in the standings. Conor Shanahan from Ireland was knocked out of the Top 16 by Fredric Aasbo from the USA after a closely contested battle.

Aasbo reached the Top 8 but was eliminated by Adam LZ after his third One More Time (OMT) contest of the night. Aasbo's performance moved him from fourth to third in the standings.

Rookie Highlights

Fourteen-year-old Hiroya Minowa from Japan continued to impress in the Enjuku Racing / Cusco / Jerry Yang Racing Toyota GT86. He defeated Joao Barion from Brazil in the Top 32 but was beaten by Ken Gushi from Japan in the Top 16. Minowa remains the leading FD PRO Championship Rookie, sitting seventh in the points table.

Manufacturer and Tire Standings

Toyota continues to lead the 2024 Auto Cup with 478 points, followed by Ford with 424 points. In the Tire Cup standings, Nitto leads with 636 points, followed by GT Radial with 588 points.

Upcoming Events

The next round of Formula DRIFT PRO will take place at World Wide Technology Raceway on July 18-20. This event will also feature Link ECU PROSPEC Championship Round 3. Fans can watch the action live at youtube.com/Formuladrift.