On the side of a rural road in Co Cork lies a very unassuming agricultural outbuilding. However, looks can be deceiving. This shed is the workshop for the reigning world drift champion, James Deane. More recently, it has also become the headquarters for motoring vlogger Becky Evans.
James and Becky are both forging their respective careers on the international drift scene. James is an Irish talent and has won the Formula Drift championship for the last three years running. Becky, also known as the Drift Queen, started out vlogging about cars. She released her second Red Bull series on learning how to drift last year and is also a presenter. She moved from London to Ireland at the start of lockdown and has adapted surprisingly well to life in the country.
Becky Evans, also known as the drift queen, started out vlogging about cars. \ Donal O’Leary
So, what is drifting? The sport itself is relatively new, having started in the early 2000s. There are a series of three to four corners laid down with “clipping points”. One of the main things drivers are scored on is to drift through those clipping points as fast and as sideways as you can. Judging is based on the speed, style, line and angle.
“As a judged sport, there’s quite a lot of personality and some people might have one way of initiating in to a drift than another. People have different styles of driving,” says Becky.
“An aggressive or exciting style usually scores higher if you can pull off the run. If you can flick in really fast – really aggressively – and get all your clipping points; that would score higher than someone that’s just being careful but still getting all the clips,” James adds.
Rallying background
James grew up watching his older brothers take part in rallying and drifting. He’s not from a farm, but he did try his hand at baling work with the local agricultural contractor for a while.
“I was hugely interested in machinery, farming and everything like that as you would be as a country boy. My dad and my uncle used to rally back in their day. My brothers got in to rallying when I was just seven or eight,” says James. “When we used to watch rallies as kids, we went to the tightest corner and hoped to see cars going sideways. That was exciting to watch. When they made a sport for cars just going sideways it ticked every box. Back in 2002, my brother entered the first drift competition in Ireland and he managed to win it. I was a 10-year-old spectator and just fell in love with the sport instantly.”
James Deane has won the Formula Drift championship for the last three years running. \ Donal O’Leary
Meanwhile Becky was a city girl and grew up in Coventry before moving to London. It seems a far cry from rallying around fields, but thanks to her dad she was around motorsport from a young age.
“I was never able to put a car on the track myself for a long, long time because of budget and things like that. I did go-karting when I was younger from eight to 13 and then did junior dragsters,” Becky says. Three years ago she left her job in PR and marketing to go full time in to vlogging.
“My first real experience with drifting was when I started to work with Red Bull. There’s a lot of barriers to entry into motorsports, especially in the higher ranks, it’s very expensive to get into. But drifting is reasonably easy to enter. You need a particular set up and that’s what the first series of Drift Queen was all about; it was the theory about the sport and what it is, who are its characters? The second series was the practice, that’s when I entered my first competition.”
At a grassroots level you can buy a cheap car and make a few modifications such as a welded diff and a hydro handbrake in order to get in to drifting. Track days and drift schools are available for people to try out.
“To be honest, it’s a great skill to have for any person who drives a car,” says James. “If you’re ever in a weird situation, you automatically have a skill to counteract an accident from happening. When I was starting, no one really knew the best way to get involved. But now there are games online, drift simulators, academies and loads of different ways to get into it.”
Safety regulations
A professional drift car would be anything from 600-1,000hp. A crash can be serious, but James says the safety element is well regulated. The cars are built around Federation Internationale De L’automobile (FIA) regulations, which is the governing body of Formula 1 (F1).
“The cars are built to a very high level with roll cages and the seat harnesses, everything is at a high grade. It’s the same for us; we all have the fireproof resistant race wear and devices that prevent your head from moving if you crash. It’s very rare you see someone injured. The worst that could happen is break a wrist or an ankle or something,” he says.
Champion pro drifter James Deane, Castletownroche, Co Cork and motoring vlogger Becky Evans. \ Donal O’Leary
One of the things they have both noticed is how inclusive and friendly people in the drifting community are. If someone’s car has a breakdown, rival teams will help each other get the car going again so that they can do battle, rather than winning on a technical issue.
“Everyone’s just chasing a dream and trying their best,” says James.
For James, that dream became a reality. He’s been competing since he was 15 and turned pro at the age of 21. When he first travelled to America to compete, his aim was to get on the podium. But he has smashed all his own expectations and won Formula Drift three times in a row, the only driver to ever do so.
“It was crazy because the pinnacle of the sport was the US championships. And that’s where all the national champions from all across the world are aiming to get. So you had the best of the Japanese, Europeans, Americans,” he says. James and his Worthouse (his drift team) teammate Piotr Wiecek from Poland went to America as a two car team.
You need to have an incredible amount of passion and be willing to work and fail, it’s a testing journey
“We built these two cars and shipped them over to the US. We had no idea how we’re going to get on because it was totally different to Europe; different rules, different drivers. I managed to win the first event in Long Beach, Los Angeles four or five weeks after this car left Cork. It was just insane.”
But he says getting to that stage required working around the clock to make it happen.
“You need to have an incredible amount of passion and be willing to work and fail, it’s a testing journey.”
From Becky’s perspective, she finds it strange that the Irish media doesn’t do more to celebrate their motoring heroes. Outside of the motorsports community, not many people seem to be aware of James’ success despite the fact that he is flying the flag for Ireland abroad. Becky has also noted that quite a few of the big names on the international drift scene have come from Ireland.
“Ireland and Poland are now recognised as the hub of where the best drivers are coming from. But particularly here because there’s so many people that are very good that are from here,” she says. One of James’s neighbours is Conor Shanahan; the youngest driver to win Irish, British and European pro-drifting events.
Future events
For a couple that racked up 152 flights between them last year, 2020 has not turned out quite the way they expected. The pro-drift championship is getting back underway now and it’s something they are both excited for.
Becky says at the start it was quite stressful and it’s been a case of taking things one day at a time. She’s been editing videos for James and he’s been helping her with cars.
“We can’t control it. You have to wait and see and just take it as it comes,” says James. “And we’ve taken advantage of the time to make content. I’ve restarted a YouTube channel and we’ve been working on the cars, getting ready for it all to kick off soon hopefully.”
Becky
1 Favourite car: 911 964 Turbo Porsche
2 Personal hero: My dad, he is the reason and the beginning of all of this for me.
3 Person who taught you how to drive: My dad in a knackered old VW transporter. It was at the racetrack when everyone had left.
4 Favourite place to drive: Watergrasshill in competition or Austria for the scenery.
5 Best driving song: Golden Brown by The Stranglers.
James
1 Favourite car: Ferrari F40.
2 Personal hero: My dad, seeing and hearing his stories from his motorsport background and what he sacrificed. There are so many things in our careers that just relate, he’s an inspirational person for sure.
3 Person who taught you how to drive: My two brothers Ken and Mike.
4 Favourite place to drive: Long Beach in California in competition and the mountains above Los Angeles for the scenery.
5 Best driving song: Any Johnny Cash song.
Read more
First gear: an introduction to motorsports in Ireland
On the side of a rural road in Co Cork lies a very unassuming agricultural outbuilding. However, looks can be deceiving. This shed is the workshop for the reigning world drift champion, James Deane. More recently, it has also become the headquarters for motoring vlogger Becky Evans.
James and Becky are both forging their respective careers on the international drift scene. James is an Irish talent and has won the Formula Drift championship for the last three years running. Becky, also known as the Drift Queen, started out vlogging about cars. She released her second Red Bull series on learning how to drift last year and is also a presenter. She moved from London to Ireland at the start of lockdown and has adapted surprisingly well to life in the country.
Becky Evans, also known as the drift queen, started out vlogging about cars. \ Donal O’Leary
So, what is drifting? The sport itself is relatively new, having started in the early 2000s. There are a series of three to four corners laid down with “clipping points”. One of the main things drivers are scored on is to drift through those clipping points as fast and as sideways as you can. Judging is based on the speed, style, line and angle.
“As a judged sport, there’s quite a lot of personality and some people might have one way of initiating in to a drift than another. People have different styles of driving,” says Becky.
“An aggressive or exciting style usually scores higher if you can pull off the run. If you can flick in really fast – really aggressively – and get all your clipping points; that would score higher than someone that’s just being careful but still getting all the clips,” James adds.
Rallying background
James grew up watching his older brothers take part in rallying and drifting. He’s not from a farm, but he did try his hand at baling work with the local agricultural contractor for a while.
“I was hugely interested in machinery, farming and everything like that as you would be as a country boy. My dad and my uncle used to rally back in their day. My brothers got in to rallying when I was just seven or eight,” says James. “When we used to watch rallies as kids, we went to the tightest corner and hoped to see cars going sideways. That was exciting to watch. When they made a sport for cars just going sideways it ticked every box. Back in 2002, my brother entered the first drift competition in Ireland and he managed to win it. I was a 10-year-old spectator and just fell in love with the sport instantly.”
James Deane has won the Formula Drift championship for the last three years running. \ Donal O’Leary
Meanwhile Becky was a city girl and grew up in Coventry before moving to London. It seems a far cry from rallying around fields, but thanks to her dad she was around motorsport from a young age.
“I was never able to put a car on the track myself for a long, long time because of budget and things like that. I did go-karting when I was younger from eight to 13 and then did junior dragsters,” Becky says. Three years ago she left her job in PR and marketing to go full time in to vlogging.
“My first real experience with drifting was when I started to work with Red Bull. There’s a lot of barriers to entry into motorsports, especially in the higher ranks, it’s very expensive to get into. But drifting is reasonably easy to enter. You need a particular set up and that’s what the first series of Drift Queen was all about; it was the theory about the sport and what it is, who are its characters? The second series was the practice, that’s when I entered my first competition.”
At a grassroots level you can buy a cheap car and make a few modifications such as a welded diff and a hydro handbrake in order to get in to drifting. Track days and drift schools are available for people to try out.
“To be honest, it’s a great skill to have for any person who drives a car,” says James. “If you’re ever in a weird situation, you automatically have a skill to counteract an accident from happening. When I was starting, no one really knew the best way to get involved. But now there are games online, drift simulators, academies and loads of different ways to get into it.”
Safety regulations
A professional drift car would be anything from 600-1,000hp. A crash can be serious, but James says the safety element is well regulated. The cars are built around Federation Internationale De L’automobile (FIA) regulations, which is the governing body of Formula 1 (F1).
“The cars are built to a very high level with roll cages and the seat harnesses, everything is at a high grade. It’s the same for us; we all have the fireproof resistant race wear and devices that prevent your head from moving if you crash. It’s very rare you see someone injured. The worst that could happen is break a wrist or an ankle or something,” he says.
Champion pro drifter James Deane, Castletownroche, Co Cork and motoring vlogger Becky Evans. \ Donal O’Leary
One of the things they have both noticed is how inclusive and friendly people in the drifting community are. If someone’s car has a breakdown, rival teams will help each other get the car going again so that they can do battle, rather than winning on a technical issue.
“Everyone’s just chasing a dream and trying their best,” says James.
For James, that dream became a reality. He’s been competing since he was 15 and turned pro at the age of 21. When he first travelled to America to compete, his aim was to get on the podium. But he has smashed all his own expectations and won Formula Drift three times in a row, the only driver to ever do so.
“It was crazy because the pinnacle of the sport was the US championships. And that’s where all the national champions from all across the world are aiming to get. So you had the best of the Japanese, Europeans, Americans,” he says. James and his Worthouse (his drift team) teammate Piotr Wiecek from Poland went to America as a two car team.
You need to have an incredible amount of passion and be willing to work and fail, it’s a testing journey
“We built these two cars and shipped them over to the US. We had no idea how we’re going to get on because it was totally different to Europe; different rules, different drivers. I managed to win the first event in Long Beach, Los Angeles four or five weeks after this car left Cork. It was just insane.”
But he says getting to that stage required working around the clock to make it happen.
“You need to have an incredible amount of passion and be willing to work and fail, it’s a testing journey.”
From Becky’s perspective, she finds it strange that the Irish media doesn’t do more to celebrate their motoring heroes. Outside of the motorsports community, not many people seem to be aware of James’ success despite the fact that he is flying the flag for Ireland abroad. Becky has also noted that quite a few of the big names on the international drift scene have come from Ireland.
“Ireland and Poland are now recognised as the hub of where the best drivers are coming from. But particularly here because there’s so many people that are very good that are from here,” she says. One of James’s neighbours is Conor Shanahan; the youngest driver to win Irish, British and European pro-drifting events.
Future events
For a couple that racked up 152 flights between them last year, 2020 has not turned out quite the way they expected. The pro-drift championship is getting back underway now and it’s something they are both excited for.
Becky says at the start it was quite stressful and it’s been a case of taking things one day at a time. She’s been editing videos for James and he’s been helping her with cars.
“We can’t control it. You have to wait and see and just take it as it comes,” says James. “And we’ve taken advantage of the time to make content. I’ve restarted a YouTube channel and we’ve been working on the cars, getting ready for it all to kick off soon hopefully.”
Becky
1 Favourite car: 911 964 Turbo Porsche
2 Personal hero: My dad, he is the reason and the beginning of all of this for me.
3 Person who taught you how to drive: My dad in a knackered old VW transporter. It was at the racetrack when everyone had left.
4 Favourite place to drive: Watergrasshill in competition or Austria for the scenery.
5 Best driving song: Golden Brown by The Stranglers.
James
1 Favourite car: Ferrari F40.
2 Personal hero: My dad, seeing and hearing his stories from his motorsport background and what he sacrificed. There are so many things in our careers that just relate, he’s an inspirational person for sure.
3 Person who taught you how to drive: My two brothers Ken and Mike.
4 Favourite place to drive: Long Beach in California in competition and the mountains above Los Angeles for the scenery.
5 Best driving song: Any Johnny Cash song.
Read more
First gear: an introduction to motorsports in Ireland
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