Clastres, France 2023: The 2023 Trophée Dragster championship (consisting of three races, the first race in May, one in June, and the last one in July) ended with the final races during the 22nd European Dragster weekend. A year in which the organization celebrates its 20th anniversary and has celebrated this with all participants and family. The championship was full of surprises and possibilities. The absolute winners of this championship are Armandine Arnaud, Peter Soursas, Gerd Habermann, Stephan Blauwitz, and Cheyenne Visser.

Text: Benjamin Wefer
Picture: Benjamin Wefer

Association Trophee Dragster (ATD) was founded in 2004 and has been organizing the championship ever since. It’s a group of volunteers who share the same passion and want to enrich the drag racing culture in France. Many of them have a family member racing or competes themselves in the championship. The central location of Clastres Raceway makes it attractive for racers from all over Europe (Swiss, Belgian, German, Italian, English, Dutch, Spanish, etc.). One of the highlights of this year’s championship was the new track record set by Sebastien Lajoux, who stormed across the finish line in 6.647 seconds at 333 km/hrs (Track record in elapsed time & speed). Let’s recap the winners of this year’s championship for the Categories Super Pro ET, Pro ET, Supercomp, Supergas & Junior dragster.

Sebastien Lajoux Sebastien Lajoux

Armandine Arnoud wins the championship in Super Pro ET. The French female driver won the first round (130 points) and ended up second in the second round (115 points). Arnoud got eliminated in the 2nd elimination round during the last championship race but gained 54 points during the weekend. However, this brought her total to 299 points which was enough to win the championship. The champion runner-up is Christian Schneerbeli, who won the last race and ended up with 238 points. Thierry Senges end up in third place with 227 points.

Left Christian Schneerbeli; Right Armandine Arnoud

In Pro ET, it is Peter Soursas who won the 2023 championship! With a new leader after each race, it was an exciting championship. Laurent Levi, and Peter Soarsas, were close to each other after the second round, but Dirk Kunold joined the battle in the final race of the championship. All this changed in the last race when Dirk & Peter both got eliminated in the sem-finals. As Arnold Hol is the one who won the race, Peter gained enough points to win the championship (251 points). Dirk Kunold is the championship runner-up with 243 points. The third qualifier for Pro ET is Arnold Hol, who gained 215 points. Laurent Levi end up in fourth place with 197 points.

Left to right; Dirk Kunold, Peter Soursas, Arnold Hol

Solid win for Gerd Habermann in Supercomp! Gerd managed to win all three rounds and can call himself the 2023 Supercomp Champion (French championship). The runner-up is Clement Dubios with 131 points (119 points behind Gerd Habermann). The third qualifier is Sam Wayland, who gained 215 points.

Left to right; Clement Dubios¸ Gerd Habermmand, Sam Wayland

Stephan Blauwitz is the 2023 Supergas champion. Stephan won the first round (20th European Dragster in May), did not participate in the second round, and won the final race. With a total of 196 points, he Stayed ahead of Marianne Wisotzke. Marianne is the champion runner-up with 166 points. The third qualifier is Oscar Scappocin, with 134 points.

Left to right Marianne Wisotzke, Stephan Blauwitz, Oscar Scappocin

Cheyenne, the girl from ‘fryslân’ in The Netherlands, wins the championship in Junior Dragster. Cheyenne had a slow start in the first two rounds and was number eight on the standings. But this changed once she won the last race and gained 132 points, on top of the 87 she already had. Liam Mcdonald ends up as runner-up with 208 points. The third qualifier is Max Timmers, with 201 points.

Left to right; Max Timmers, Cheyenne Visser, Liam Mcdonald

The 2023 Trophy Dragster championship and the 20th anniversary of Association Trophee Dragster is a fact. The first round was held under a mild sun, and the second round with much higher temperature. The final round was rainy, but that didn’t stop the teams from mobilizing to Clastres Raceway and giving everything they have, to win the championship!

We from The Chronicles of Boost want to congratulate all winners. We also want to congratulate the organization with their anniversary, and give all the Dutch competitors a special section. Check out the table below with the best picture of the weekend, from all the Dutch Competitors.

 

Steve Okkerman Super Pro ET Arnold Hol Pro ET
Sven Zijlstra Pro ET Robert Vos Pro ET
Luc Thilges Pro ET Richard Pauli  Pro ET
Reerink Willy Pro ET Sam Wayland Super Comp
Cheyenne Visser Jr.Dragster Max Timmers Jr. Dragster
Sam Timmer Jr. Dragster Yannis Wayland Jr.Dragster
Walter Claude RWYB Marck Hartevel RWYB
Siem Andrew RWYB Semih Ekicioglu RWYB
Luke Harteveld RWYB Patrick Honders RWYB
Ed Breedveld Pro ET Nick de Kruif Pro ET