Shanahan Returns to the Top as Finland Delivers a Drift Masters Classic

Round 4 of the 2026 Drift Masters season will be remembered as the weekend Jack Shanahan finall returned to the top step.

Drift Masters arrived at Ahvenisto Race Circuit for the first time with a sold-out Finnish crowd, a brand-new layout and a championship fight already balanced on tiny margins. By Sunday evening, the new venue had delivered shock exits, major contact, home-soil heartbreak and one of the most unpredictable Final 4 line-ups of the season.

At the centre of it all was Shanahan. Driving with the pressure lifted and the aggression turned all the way up, the Irishman survived contact, defeated James Deane in one of the battles of the weekend and overcame Benediktas Čirba in the final to claim his first Drift Masters victory since Riga in 2023. The wait lasted 1,077 days. In Finland, it finally ended.

Finland has always delivered one of the strongest atmospheres on the Drift Masters calendar, and the championship’s first visit to Ahvenisto was no exception. The grandstands were full before the main battles began, while fans packed the natural banks around the circuit and stayed on their feet as the bracket narrowed.

The venue gave them plenty to react to. Designed for the event by Finnish driver Juha Rintanen, the layout combined blind elevation changes, a steep uphill section, speeds approaching 150 km/h, aggressive transitions and a downhill wall run that demanded complete commitment.

Qualifying had shown how quickly the grid could adapt, but battles introduced a completely different problem. Lead drivers had to stay predictable through the blind sections, while chase drivers needed enough patience to avoid being trapped on the wrong line. At this speed, one early transition or brief deceleration could decide an entire battle.

The biggest championship shock came before Conor Shanahan could even begin his opening battle. A bolt securing the tie rod to the hub failed in the tyre-warming area, leaving the two-time champion unable to take the start and handing Čirba a bye-run into the Top 16.

It was a brutal result for Shanahan after his early exit in Ireland, and it immediately opened the door for the drivers around him in the standings. Conor Falvey, Duane McKeever, Mika Keski-Korpi and Nikolass Bertans also fell in the Top 32, ensuring several major names would play no further part in the first Ahvenisto bracket.

The home crowd still had history to celebrate. Krisse Aalto became the first female driver to compete in a Drift Masters Top 32, although her run ended against fellow Finn Jarkko Jylhä. Nasser Alharbali’s opening battle produced a different kind of drama. Heavy contact against Teemu Asunmaa left the 400Z badly damaged, but Nasser was awarded the win and returned to a paddock where several rival teams joined the repair effort. The car was rebuilt in time for the Top 16, a reminder that even in the middle of a championship fight, the paddock remains one of drifting’s strongest communities.

Piotr Więcek opened the Top 16 against Kevin Pesur in a battle decided by cause and effect. Pesur slowed on the climb towards Zone 3 during his lead run, interrupting Więcek’s chase and forcing the Polish driver to cut the course while trying to recover proximity. The judges placed the decisive error on Pesur, sending the top qualifier into the Great 8.

Čirba then produced his first major statement of the afternoon against Simen Olsen. The Lithuanian stayed composed as small errors crept into Olsen’s runs and moved through to face Więcek. Kevin Piskolty continued a remarkable recovery after an engine failure in practice had forced his team into an overnight swap. He defeated Itay Sadeh before Juha Rintanen ended Jarkko Jylhä’s weekend, making the track designer the last Finnish driver left in competition. 

Pawel Korpulinski kept his championship push alive against Alan Hynes, while Oliver Randalu overcame Jakub Przygoński with the aggressive chase driving that would soon define his afternoon. Jack Shanahan’s route became far more physical. Jason Banet made heavy contact with the rear of Shanahan’s car in the first exchange, spinning the GT86 and debeading a tyre at the same time. With Banet deemed at fault, the Shanahan crew jumped  to check the alignment, replace the wheel and send Jack back to the line. He completed the job in the second run and advanced.

James Deane brought Nasser’s extraordinary recovery story to an end, but the repaired 400Z completed both runs and left the weekend with a result that had looked impossible only hours earlier.

The Great 8 began with the upset that transformed Čirba’s weekend from a strong result into a career-defining run. 

Więcek entered as the number-one qualifier and one of the championship’s most decorated drivers, but a major line error in his opening lead run left Čirba with no realistic opportunity to maintain the chase. Their second exchange was exceptional, with Więcek producing a superb chase behind a fast and committed Čirba lead, but the damage had already been done. The judges awarded the battle to Čirba, sending the 24th qualifier into the Final 4 and removing another leading title contender from the bracket.

Rintanen followed by defeating Piskolty after the Hungarian made a costly transition error. The decision sent the only remaining Finn into the Final 4 on the circuit he had helped create, triggering one of the loudest reactions of the weekend.

On the other side of the bracket, Oliver Randalu produced one of the finest chase performances of the season against championship leader Korpulinski.

The Estonian attacked from the moment the cars left the line, not leaving the current championship leader any breathing room. When the positions switched, Randalu delivered a smooth, accurate lead while Korpulinski ran wide and struck the wall heavily enough to disrupt his chase. The decision sent Randalu into the Final 4 and limited Korpulinski’s opportunity to extend his championship lead.

Then came Jack Shanahan against James Deane. Two neighbours, two drivers with complete trust in each other and two cars operating at the limit of the circuit. 

The margins were tiny, but the judges found enough in Shanahan’s runs to send him into the Final 4. With the pressure off and his focus firmly on enjoying the drive, Jack had become one of the most dangerous drivers left in the bracket.

The first semi-final saw Čirba face home hero Rintanen with a place in the final on the line. Contact on initiation in the second exchange forced a lengthy review, with replays showing mistakes from both drivers. Čirba entered on a tighter chase line, but Rintanen slowed earlier than expected. The judges placed greater responsibility on Rintanen and sent Čirba into his first Drift Masters final since 2021.

In the second semi-final, Randalu pushed Shanahan hard, but small chase errors and a heavy wall strike in his lead handed Jack the advantage. Shanahan advanced to his first final since 2023, while Randalu moved into the third-place playoff.

The playoff matched Randalu against the final Finnish hope. Rintanen had carried the home crowd deep into the bracket, but Randalu had looked increasingly fearless with every battle. 

After repairing damage from his semi-final wall contact, the Estonian delivered once more and secured third place. The result marked a major return to form and his first Drift Masters podium since his previous breakthrough at the front of the field.

For Rintanen, fourth place was still an extraordinary result. He had designed the layout, adapted to the pressure of competing on his home circuit and carried Finland further than any other local driver in the bracket.

The final brought together two drivers ending long waits. Čirba was contesting his first Drift Masters final in five years, while Shanahan was chasing his first win since Riga in 2023.

With Jack leading, Čirba made a costly mistake in the chase near the penultimate corner, handing Shanahan the decisive advantage.

After 1,077 days, Jack Shanahan was a Drift Masters winner again. Third in qualifying, five battle victories and a 106-point weekend completed a full return to form.

Finland changed the shape of the championship without removing any of its leading contenders from the fight. Korpulinski leaves Round 4 still in first on 278 points, but James Deane remains only 12 points behind. Więcek sits third on 258, meaning just 20 points separate the leading three drivers.

Conor Shanahan’s mechanical exit drops him to fourth on 235. Jack’s victory launches him from 11th to fifth on 228, only seven points behind his brother and 50 away from the championship lead.

Behind them, Čirba’s 88-point weekend moves him to eighth overall, Rintanen rises to ninth and Randalu climbs to 14th after collecting 76 points in Finland. Four rounds have now produced four different winners. The championship has three events remaining, and the next one arrives quickly.

Next stop: Riga in less than 2 weeks time.