Drift Masters published the highly anticipated list of its full-season drivers for the 2025 season. Unsurprisingly, the list includes some of the best drivers of the European continent – with fewer overseas pilots compared to 2024.
The number of participants has been reduced to 36, and some drivers from the bottom end of last year’s rankings will not be part of the entire Drift Masters 2025 season.
“We’ve got champions from across the years returning with Lauri Heinonen, Conor Shanahan, Adam Zalewski, Piotr Wiecek and James Deane who will be looking to leave their mark on the 2025 season again.
Alongside champions, we’ve plenty more fan favourites making a comeback with the likes of Naoki Nakamura. You will see McKeever, Kvia, Peltola and many many more drivers you’ve grown to love jumping back behind the wheel in 2025”
Drift Masters
Rookies and come backs
Indeed, you can find most of the former Drift Masters champions and vice-champions on the list, but let’s look at the newcomers. Compared to last season, five new drivers have had the chance to join the prime drifting series in Europe: Naoki Nakamura, Jarko Jylhä, Jason Banet, Espen Rohde, and George Christoforou.
The Japanese drift legend Naoki has been a returning driver on the grid since he debuted in the 2023 Drift Masters, finishing within the Top 10 drivers in the general rankings. Besides Nakamura, Drift Masters has got richer with multiple-time champions in their national series: Jarko Jylhä two-times Finnish Champion, George Christoforou seven-times Cypriot Champion, Jason Banet two-times French Champion and Espen Rohde Norwegian Pro 2 drift Champion.
All of the newbies – except Rohde – got the opportunity as wildcards in 2024 to prove their skills at some stages, but this year, they will fight throughout the whole season of the series.
Rome
Who’s going to become victorious in the 2025 Drift Masters championship? All roads lead to Rome – at least for the first round of Drift Masters this year, which will happen in Rome in April. Read our article if you are looking forward to learning more about the anticipated opening race.
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