Drift Masters Announces Insane Wildcard Driver List For Upcoming Stadium Finale

By Bill Jefferies
August 22, 2025
Reading time: 3 minutes

Drift Masters just announced the wildcard list for the 2025 final, and it has us even more excited for the upcoming European drifting final.

The 2025 Drift Masters Grand Prix series will once again conclude on a custom-made layout at the incredible 55,000 seater PGE Narodowy stadium in Warsaw, Poland, home of the national soccer team.

Drift Masters Announces Insane Wildcard Driver List For Upcoming Stadium Finale - Image 4
An incredible sight – the sold-out 55,000 seater stadium in Warsaw, Poland, provides the ultimate showdown for the season finale.
Image credit: Drift Masters

Here’s who will be looking to cause an upset against the likes of current Formula DRIFT leader James Deane, ‘The Shanahans’, Piotr Więcek, and reigning DMGP champion Lauri Heinonen in the grand finale:

Adam LZ will be the most familiar name on the list for many, returning for the first time after making Drift Masters history during his last appearance. He became the first American to clinch a podium spot in DMGP, which happened to be at the 2024 Polish final.

After doing (almost) the entire 2024 DMGP series, LZ opted to go “all-in on Formula DRIFT”,  where he’s currently in 4th place in the rankings.

LZ finds himself level on points with Matt Field, currently occupying the 3rd spot in the FD rankings, who joins LZ on the wildcard list, making his debut in the European series.

Drift Masters Announces Insane Wildcard Driver List For Upcoming Stadium Finale - Image 6
Matt Field confirms on Instagram that he’ll be piloting one of Yves Meyer’s ‘Drift Force’ cars.
Image credit: Matt Field - Instagram

Field will be piloting a car from Yves Meyer’s ‘Drift Force’ team, expected to be a GR Supra.

Another Formula DRIFT driver, Japanese young gun Hiroya Minowa, who has caused a huge upset in FD over the past couple of years, will join them. Hiro, son of the legendary drifters Shinji and Masayo, became FD’s youngest winner in the series’ 22-year history this year.

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Hiroya Minowa will be competing in James Deane’s legendary Nissan Silvia S14.9.
Image credit: Hiroya Minowa - Instagram

He currently occupies 5th place in the FD rankings behind LZ and Field, and has consistently delivered despite being just 16 years old. Hiro will be piloting James Deane’s Nissan S14.9 for the final, with Deane opting for his European Mustang RTR.

Including James Deane, who already participates in DMGP, that means four of the top five drivers in the current FD PRO series rankings will be there.

Rounding out the Formula DRIFT drivers making their Drift Masters debuts will be PROSPEC driver Amanda Sorensen.

Joao Barion, the Brazilian ‘Sheriff’ who competed in FD and also appeared on the Netflix series ‘Hyperdrive’ in recent years, also joins the lineup.

YouTube video

Polish driver Bartosz Ostalowski will be representing on home turf, bringing his crazy ability to drift using his feet (you read that right!)

The additional wildcards are as follows:

  • Edward Alexander Husa (Norway)
  • Lukasz Tasiemski (Poland)
  • Oleksii Holovnia (Ukraine)
  • Konstantyn Shchurenko (Ukraine)
  • Alan Hynes (Ireland)
  • Teemu Asunmaa (Finland)

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Published on:

August 22, 2025

Bill is a writer and photographer who has been part of the Drifted team since 2015. His work extends to various print and online publications, including Wangan Warriors.

As part of the King of Nations team, he traveled extensively for several years, capturing top-tier international drift events worldwide. His hands-on experience, including rebuilding his own Nissan Silvia S15 drift car, gives him unique insights into drift car building and global drift culture.

When not behind the lens or keyboard, Bill can be found browsing classifieds for his next JDM project or shredding virtual tires on popular simulators like Assetto Corsa, CarX, and Forza.

You can learn more about Bill’s story here or follow his socials on X (formerly Twitter), Flickr, Facebook, and Instagram.