The Masters of Drifting: Is This The Greatest Drift Event in The World?

Fifty-thousand people. That’s how many individuals showed up to Warsaw, Poland’s PGE Narodowy Stadium for the 2025 Driftmasters season finale just a few days ago. It is currently the largest drifting event held anywhere in the world, but how did this come to be? 

I’ve been shooting professional drifting since 2011, when I used to borrow my dad’s cameras (without his knowledge) to use at Formula Drift events back home in Los Angeles. The sport and I have grown in the last 14 years, with drifting now fully mainstream, both stateside and in Europe. The two biggest professional drifting series are Formula Drift (in the states) and Driftmasters (across Europe). 

Being that I shoot Formula Drift as one of their official photographers, alongside Larry, I’m definitely biased with some of my opinions about each series. While I live and breathe FD, I also enjoy the events held over in Europe as well.

The stories of Riga echoed across the Formula Drift paddock. Videos didn’t do it justice, from what our European friends were stating.

I started to take more notice of the series after 2019 when Piotr Weicek and his Worthouse team focused heavily on Driftmasters competition after 3 seasons in Formula Drift. In 2023, Driftmasters hosted their finale at the famous Warsaw football stadium and, from my point of view, it was spectacular. Fifty-thousand people, a sold out crowd, pyrotechnics…it had just the right amount of vibes. All of them.. 

While I’ve always wanted to go to Riga, Warsaw 2023 felt like I was missing out on something truly grand in the sport of professional drifting. I wanted to experience it first hand. 

The stars didn’t align in 2024, but they did this year. Larry and I conveniently had a job in Germany, just two days after the season finale event. One thing led to another and we found ourselves at a coffee shop in Warsaw, ordering macchiatos and planning our weekend of shooting at the Driftmasters finale. 

While both Larry and I were shooting, I was more heavily focused on video, while Larry was on photos, which is why the photos you’re browsing through are Larry’s. You can look forward to a YouTube video on our end, covering the event, in the near future. 

Driftmasters runs across two action-packed days. The first consists of practice, qualifying, and a handful of tandem battles to round out the night. Because of the unique way the track is laid out, drivers were lucky to get more than a handful of practice laps before qualifying. Day Two is pretty conventional to most drift events: practice, followed by the battles. 

What made the second day feel different from Formula Drift was the grand-ness of the arena. The sheer size of it, packed with fans all around, gave me goosebumps. It’s hard to put it into words; even photos don’t do it justice. 

Chants for the local Polish drivers, the cheering for the underdogs and the absolute roars from the fans from all the ‘One More Time’ calls… thinking about it now still gives me the chills. It almost felt like a major football match with how loud the fans were. 

The enthusiasm from the announcers, paired with the pyrotechnics, essentially made every battle in the Top 16 feel like the final battle.

A 2025 season champion was crowned that night, paired with a ton of fireworks, and lots of champagne. 

I’m now left with this need to visit Riga next year. Interestingly enough, I was chatting with the local media guys who follow the series, and their dream is to shoot at Formula Drift Long Beach for its unique characteristics as well.

Very much a ‘grass is always greener on the other side’ situation…