Deane Dominates, Minowa Makes History – Formula DRIFT Rd. 5
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James Deane takes third season win, 14-year-old Minowa lands historic podium spot, while Adam LZ’s E36 is potentially totaled in a dramatic crash.
Round 5 of the 2024 Formula DRIFT PRO Championship at World Wide Technology Raceway in St. Louis, Missouri, delivered an epic showdown.
James Deane clinched his third win of the season in a historic final battle against the youngest podium finisher in FD history, 14-year-old Hiroya Minowa, further extending his championship lead. Fredric Aasbo claimed the final podium spot.
The PRO seeding rounds saw Dmitriy Brutskiy dominate, followed by Daniel Stuke and Mike Power, after a slight hiccup with drying paint in Outer Zone 4 caused a brief delay and some initial spins, leading to a re-run of the first two battles of the evening.
In PROSPEC, Connor O’Sullivan took the win, with Austin Matta and Tommy Lemaire rounding out the podium. The sudden death format in the Seeding Bracket saw standout performances from Faruk Kugay and Margaritis Katsanidis.
The PRO event’s highlight was undoubtedly 14-year-old Hiroya Minowa’s second-place finish, making him the youngest driver to ever feature on a Formula DRIFT podium.
This result not only shot him from seventh to fourth in the overall standings but also solidified his lead in the Rookie title chase against Conor Shanahan, who lost a nail-biting One More Time battle with eventual-winner James Deane in the Top 8.
Adam LZ’s dramatic crash with Minowa in the Top 8 was a significant talking point of the event. During their One More Time (OMT) run, LZ’s LZMFG E36 BMW collided with the rear of Minowa’s Jerry Yang Racing Toyota GT86. The impact caused LZ’s car to climb Minowa’s rear tire and slide along the barrier before being dumped back onto the track.
The crash resulted in substantial chassis damage to the underside of LZ’s E36, potentially rendering the car a total loss and leaving LZ and his team to assess their options for the upcoming season rounds.
Matt Field’s strong showing moved him up to sixth in the championship standings, while Aurimas Bakchis and Simen Olsen of Team Feal faced setbacks. In PROSPEC, rookie Nik Jimenez impressed, finishing 14th and climbing to 16th overall.
Post-Round 5, Deane leads the PRO standings with an impressive 118-point gap over Bakchis, with Aasbo 144 points behind in third. The PROSPEC standings see O’Sullivan in the lead with 242 points, closely followed by Lemaire at 240 and Matta at 168.
With three rounds remaining for the PRO Championship, the drivers now prepare to head to Evergreen Speedway in Monroe, WA, for Round 6 on August 9-10. Meanwhile, there’s just one round of the season left for the PROSPEC drivers, with the final showdown held at Utah Motorsports Campus in Grantsville, UT, on August 29-31, alongside PRO Round 7.
PRO Top 16 battles
PROSPEC Top 16 battles
Photography credits
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Joe is an avid writer and car enthusiast. When he’s not cruising the streets alongside his friends in his Nissan Silvia S15, he’s drifting on his VR racing simulator.
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