It will be another two years before James Deane is legally allowed to drive on the roads. What he will have achieved in drifting by then is anyone’s guess, but judging by his form at the second round of the Prodrift Irish Series at Rosegreen, it could be quite a lot. The 15-year-old pro class rookie stunned the crowds as he took on some of Irish drifting’s biggest names, as well as the highly changeable Tipperary weather, on the way to a fairytale maiden victory. Meanwhile, Dublin’s Eric O’Sullivan retained his championship lead after an incident-filled run to third place that was marked by crashes, passes and a spectacular moment with a flaming exhaust.
Top 16
Such is the depth of talent competing in Prodrift this year that it’s almost inevitable there will be at least one big name missing from the Top 16 at every meeting. This time it was former double champion Damien Mulvey, whose engine had let go in a big way on Saturday. He was still struggling with the replacement on the Sunday and failed to make the cut. Also absent from the twin battle stage was Team Hankook’s Alan Lenihan and both of the popular McDonagh brothers.
Martin Ffrench went from non-qualifier in Mondello to first-place qualifier here in Rosegreen and despite losing a rear bumper, got the Top 16 battles off to a fine start by dispatching Team Hankook’s Shane Healy, who spun on their first run.
Eric O’Sullivan and Declan Thornhill were both on fine form, though O’Sullivan was struggling as he reckoned his Corolla’s final drive was too long for the circuit, making gear selections difficult to judge. The pair could not be separated after two runs, but just as the call to ‘run ‘em again’ went out, the heavens opened, presenting a totally different set of conditions for their second pair of runs. Both drivers lost bumpers on the first run, while on the second Thornhill spun in front of O’Sullivan, leading to contact between the two. With a slightly battered car, O’Sullivan was through nonetheless.
The rain was really pouring down for Jonathan Murphy and Billy O’Callaghan’s encounter, and it was the BMW driver who judged the conditions better, with Murphy spinning out twice. The wet conditions and tight track did not favour Dean Kearney’s turbocharged S13 and he was beaten by round 1 podium finisher Declan Munnelly. Rare errors from Johnny Power saw him lose out to Mike Deane, while Declan Quigley beat promoted semi-pro Shane O’Grady and James Deane overcame Nigel Colfer to complete the top eight.
Top 8
The highlight of the top eight battles was Eric O’Sullivan’s masterful passing manoeuvre on Billy O’Callaghan. Eric had threatened to pass Declan Thornhill in their earlier battle, but managed to pull it off this time, going down the inside around turn two of the oval and into the top four, to the great delight of the crowd.
Although the rain had stopped by this stage, a damp patch remained in the shade of the grandstand. Declan Munnelly was caught out by this while warming up for his battle with David Quigley, smacking the wall hard with the boot of his Escort. Both drivers spun first time around, but Quigley managed to keep it together on the second run and progressed to the semi-finals.
In the other top eight encounters James Deane defeated his older brother Mike and a determined Martin Ffrench despatched with Gavin Lenihan.
Final 4
Before the semi-finals took place, the four defeated drivers from the top eight were given the opportunity to let out their frustration and entertain the crowds. A five-minute orgy of burnouts, powerslides and donuts ensued, smothering the Tipperary venue in a thick cloud of smoke and filling the air with the screams of abused engines.
Once it had all died down, it was time to get down to the business of deciding who would meet in the final. It was a close run thing between Eric O’Sullivan and Martin Ffrench, marked by a dramatic moment for O’Sullivan when his car shot a tongue of flame from the exhaust. A slight mistake on his first run was all that separated them and so Ffrench became the first confirmed finalist.
David Quigley and James Deane started off with good clean runs in their first battle. Quigley was glued to Deane’s rear bumper second time around and it appeared to be anyone’s game once again, but the judges seemed to side with the crowd and so the 15-year-old prodigy was through to the final.
Final
The final was a hotly anticipated contest that saw one of the country’s best and most experienced drifters take on the surprise young pretender. Ffrench led away in the first battle and looked extremely strong all the way around, but Deane was well able to keep up and even managed to avoid Ffrench’s rear bumper, which became detached towards the end of the run. At the start of the second run, the judges felt Ffrench had pulled away from Deane too early and so asked for the pair to run again. That was when Ffrench’s problems started, as one of his rear tyres delaminated and began slapping against the wheelarch. A tense wait ensued as he disappeared into the paddock to change the offending rubber. Re-emerging just in time, the next run saw him gain a 6-4 advantage over Deane. But there was more drama still to come as his other rear tyre began to fail. Showing great sportsmanship, Ffrench admitted it wouldn’t have been fair to have two fresh tyres and so he soldiered on and heroically kept his crippled car going for most of the second run, but at the transition to the inner circuit, the tyre finally gave up and the car spun out. It was all over and James Deane had secured his place in the drifting history books. “No way did I expect to win coming here this morning,� he said afterwards. “When I saw that the weather was dry I didn’t think I’d have enough power.� Although Ffrench was clearly furious at being let down by his tyres, he was gracious in defeat and admitted that ‘the best man won.’ The big crowd went home happy after witnessing yet another tense and electrifying final battle.
Results:
1st James Deane / Nissan Silvia S14A
2nd Martin Ffrench / Nissan 180SX
3rd Eric O’Sullivan / Toyota Corolla AE86
More photos here.