Family Affair in Finland as Cork Drifter Conor Shanahan secures top spot at Round Three of Drift Masters European Championship

On Sunday, Irish driver and Red Bull athlete Conor Shanahan claimed top spot on the podium for the first time this season at Round 3 of the 2023 Drift Masters European Championship (DMEC), which took place at PowerPark in Finland. The win placed Shanahan into top spot in the overall standings as attention turns to the second half of the season.
Having finished first in Friday’s qualifying session, Shanahan continued on with his impressive vein of form to deliver an imperious performance over the weekend, getting the better of an extremely competitive grid, including his brother Jack in the final, to take the overall event win.

Conor Shanahan of Ireland seen during the third stop of the Drift Masters European Championship at the Mika Salo Circuit in Alahaermae, Finland on July 8, 2023. // Joerg Mitter / Red Bull Content Pool

The Shanahan brothers battled their way through an incredible field of drivers including reigning FIA World Rally champion Kalle Rovanperä, Juha Rintanen, Benediktas Cirba and Lauri Heinonen. Claiming the second spot on the podium just behind his brother, another fine display resulted in Jack ending the weekend in third place in the championship overall. The final podium spot went to Portuguese man Diogo Correia.

After another weekend of dramatic Drift Masters action, many Irish eyes will be on Riga, Latvia on the weekend of the July 29th and 30th, as the the second half of the season gets underway with the fourth round of six. The season will conclude on September 16th in Warsaw, Poland.

In the final three rounds, Conor and Jack can expect to come up against Co. Tyrone man Duane McKeever, who came into the weekend in top spot, but was ultimately edged out by Polish driver Pawel Korpulinski in the Top 32 stage.