Clastres Raceway, Clastres, France, 23rd June 2024: After a day delay due to rain, the races continued today during the second day of the 24th European Dragster weekend. The weather gods blessed us this Sunday with perfect sunny weather above twenty degrees, and all present forgot yesterday’s rain. The track was good enough for some close races. Junior Dragster & Street Run got up to four qualification rounds, and Supercomp and Super Gas got five. Pro ET and Super Pro ET competitors got only two as they had the most entries (27 cars for Super Pro ET and 39 vehicles for Pro ET). The winners of the 24th European Dragster are Lucas Potthoff (SPET), Gerd Habermann (PET), Gerd Habermann (SC), Oscar Scappocin (SG), David Thiges (SR) and Yannis Weyland (JrD).

Text: Benjamin Wefer
Pictures: Benjamin Wefer

Lucas Potthoff, a rising star, defied expectations and claimed his first victory in Super Pro ET (SPET)! Despite qualifying in the tenth position, Potthoff’s performance on the ladder was exceptional. The number one qualifier, Fabien Dubois, who had set the bar high with a 7.213-second run at 301 km/hrs on a 7.21 dial-in, was unexpectedly eliminated in the quarterfinal by Frank Romer. Potthoff and Romer then faced off in the semifinals, delivering a thrilling side-by-side finish. Potthoff’s 7.668-second run at 281 km/hrs (7.65-second dial-in) outpaced Romer’s 8.577-second run at 256 km/hrs (8.55-second dial-in). The final race was a nail-biting showdown between Potthoff and Alain Dürr. Both had a strong start (0.072 reaction time for PottHoff against 0.052 seconds for Dürr), but it was Potthoff who emerged as the victor, crossing the finish line with a time of 7.685 seconds (7.65 dail in) at 281 km/hr, leaving Dürr behind with a time of 8.831 seconds (8.76 dail in) at 250 km/hrs.

Gerd Habermann maintains the lead by winning in Pro ET. Habermann qualified in tenth position with a 10.340-second run at 196 km/hrs on a 10.28 dial-in, but once again, he was the one to beat on the elimination ladder. Top Qualifier Niek de Kruif, who qualified first with a 10.755-second run on a 10.75 dial-in, got eliminated in the second elimination round. On the other hand, Habermann beat the competition by running consistently and close to his dial-in. Gerd Habermann raced Cedric Limasett and won the race with a 10.30-second run at 211 km/hr on a 10.30 dial-in! It would have been an exciting race, but Limasett left the tree earlier and gave the race away. The final race was between Habermann and Rene Schindler in his Chevrolet S10 pickup. Unfortunately, Rene left the tree too early and gave the race away to Habermman, who ran a 10.42-second run at 202 km/hr.

Gerd Habermann has a double win: He also won Supercomp! Habermann qualified in fourth position, just 0.04 seconds behind third qualifier Kenneth Celestin, and won from Arndt Putzmann in the quarterfinals. On the other side of the ladder, top qualifier Clement Dubois won from Clarissa Czekalla and Kenneth Celestin in the quarterfinal and semifinals. The final race went between Gerd Habermann and Clement Dubois, but Habermann won with a 9.125-second run at 202 km/hr against a 9.362-second run at 218 for Dubois.

Oscar Scappocin, a dominant force in Supergas (SG), continues to lead. However, the super gas category is experiencing a decline in participation here in Europe, a trend that was also evident at Clastres Raceway. Despite the decreasing competition, Scappocin maintained his form and ended up racing against the clock during the 24th European Dragster weekend (only participant). After struggling the weekend to get the car into the nine seconds, it was in the last race that the team from Gemelli Racing managed to get the right combination. Scappocin drove to the finish line in 9.985 seconds at 204 km/hr.

David Thiges from the Netherlands won the Street Run (ST). After qualifying in eighth place, Thiges eliminated top qualifier Miguel Azevedo from Portugal during the first elimination round. Thiges also eliminated third qualifier Samantha Fermond in the semifinals by running a 12.009-second run at 171 km/hr against Fermond, who ran a 14.60-second run at 149 km/hr. The final race went between Thiges and Geoffrey Stegienko in his Mazda RX-8. Thiges won the race with a 12.12-second run at 152 km/hr against a 14.963-second run at 146 km/hr for Stegienko.

Yannis Weyland takes the win in Junior Dragster (JrD)! After four qualification rounds, Emely Kuno took the lead in Junior Dragster with a 0.0065 reaction time but was eliminated by Weyland in the semifinals. There were many close races among the juniors, and Weyland, who qualified in sixth position, met second qualifier Marie Camilleri in the final round. Wayland crossed the finish line in 8.18 seconds at 127 km/hr. Camilleri unfortunately ran 0.03 seconds faster than her dial-in (8.27 seconds vs 8.30 dial-in) and gave the race away to Wayland.

The 24th European Dragster here in Clastres is a fact! The weekend started with much rain, but the sun has risen, providing some summer temperatures. With much progress from rookie drivers, first-time winners, and veterans of the sport leaving the ladder earlier, we from The Chronicles of Boost want to congratulate all winners. To the rest of the racers, keep a positive mindset. Every journey is learning, and come back next time stronger to beat the competition! Enjoy the photo gallery!