In this world, we all need each other. A band without instruments is just a group of people. Drag racing is no different; you have the organization behind the race events, the racers, the family behind these racers, the sponsors, the supporters, and the public. And when all these pieces come together, you have a weekend to remember. This time on, behind the staging lane, we are going behind the scenes with one of the European drag race organizations for sportsman categories: Drag Race Union (D.R.U). D.R.U. is the main drive behind one of Europe’s Super Pro ET and Pro ET competitions. So, how did it all start? How did the team come together? Why these specific sportsman categories? Let us take you behind the curtains and back to the start of D.R.U.
Text: Benjamin Wefer
Pictures: Benjamin Wefer, D.R.U organization
The organization behind these competitions has changed shape over the last few years. For decades, Germany has hosted many drag race events. It hosts one of the European championship rounds (Nitrolympx at Hockenheimring). But with all the racing going on, there was no official German championship. Having experienced the British championship in England and the Dutch championship in Drachten, some German drivers wanted the same for the German-speaking countries.
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| Picture L-R : Frank Romer, Romero Angel, Robert Gasnner 2024 Super Pro ET winners |
The first competition initiated was for Super Pro ET in 2008, and several years later, the challenge for Pro ET started. Different people organized both and were developing next to each other. The Pro ET Drag Racing Europe was founded in Austria around 2012 to expand the Pro ET championships’ horizon and keep everything central, with Jonny Niesner and Oliver Krautberger as the main drivers behind the organization. In 2017, the Pro ET Drag Racing Europe and Super Pro ET joined forces, and the Drag Race Union (D.R.U.) was born. It is a non-profit organization that promotes drag racing all over Europe.
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| Ronnie Mercer [UK] 2024 Winner Pro ET | Nick de Kruif [NL] 2024 3rd Place Pro ET |
There are between 20 and 40 participants each year, and the Drag Racing Union’s season opens in February with a two-month registration period for all competitors. The races are at several European tracks from March/April to the first week of October. D.R.U. It closes the season with its trophy ceremony and end-of-season party in October. This year, 18 competitors have signed up for the Super Pro ET challenge and 22 for Pro ET.
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D.R.U. has approximately 40 members, including five who are part of the core organization. Hans Niesner is the chairman, Oliver Krauberger is the treasurer, and Wolfgang Seppi and Pat Weidman are responsible for social media, organizing stuff, and the trophy ceremony. Lastly, Markus Münch is the secretary, in charge of press releases and keeping track of the points. This passionate team not only encourages racing abroad and is the main drive behind the challenges, but also supports race tracks by volunteering as Pitmarshals or Pitrunners, as seen in Hockenheim, Jade Race, and Zerbst, to mention a few tracks. We reached out to Markus and took the opportunity to ask him a series of direct questions.
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| From Left to Right: Markus Mϋnch, Wolfgang Seppi, Lucas Seppi, Hans Niesner | From Left to Right: Markus Mϋnch, Wolfgang Seppi, Lucas Seppi, Robert Rauch & Hans Niesner |
Why is it called a challenge and not a championship? That’s an easy one, Markus replied. By not calling it a championship, we don’t need to be attached to any more prominent Motorsport organization like the German DMSB. The idea behind the challenges is just fair play. There are some rules the participants need to follow; nobody has an advantage, even if they live next to a track, as all participants must travel a certain amount of time to collect points.
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| Romero Angel (Spain) – 2024 Super Pro ET winner | Frank Romer (Germany) – 2024 Super Pro ET runner-up. |
How does the challenge work? How do competitors know which events they can select from? That also is a simple one, Markus replied. Competitors can race everywhere they are running Pro ET and Super Pro ET. Our main goal is to encourage teams to travel and race away from their home track! Last year, competitors collected points in Germany, Italy, France, England, Sweden, and Norway. Participants register in the pre-season, pay the entry fee of 100 euros, and receive a personalized D.R.U T-shirt. Participants get points for their qualifications and how far they went during elimination, if not for the win. The four best results of each participant will count for the overall points, but only two races on the same track. So, you have to travel to win! Those who win will get some nice trophies and small monetary prizes collected from the entry fees and financial support from our sponsors.
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| Jill Kemp (GER) Pro ET | John Baron (NL) Pro ET |
The world around us is changing. How does an organization like D.R.U. see the future of drag racing? The future of our beloved sport is changing, but we will survive. Drag racing will still exist in the coming twenty years, but in what form? Only time will tell. The question we all have is whether there will still be Top Fuel, Top Methanol, or Pro Modified in the future, or just streetcar racing. But we are sure that if people can drive or ride it, they will race it! So, we want to carry this on for as long as possible for us, D.R.U! The more people travel, the more they connect; this community will strengthen. It is a challenging but fair competition, with the “let’s have a cold one together in the evening” spirit. We are very proud of what we have achieved and will carry this for the next hundred years!
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| Alain Dϋrr (SWI) Super Pro ET | Christian Schneebeli (SWI) Super Pro ET |
Why is it a challenge only for Pro ET, Super Pro ET, and Extreme Outlaw XO? Are there any plans to support the other sportsman classes in the future? Well, to start, we are only a handful of people. Most club members are drivers and crew members who don’t have much time to be part of the organization. We developed bracket classes in the past. Extreme Outlaw also joined us, but it is not progressing as we wanted. We will see what the future will bring. But our goal is not to get as many categories/drivers as possible, but, as mentioned before, to strengthen the drag race community by giving the teams a platform to compete, meet new people, and support your local track and those far away. We also have eyes on Super Gas and Super Comp, but nothing concrete yet (due to a lack of personnel within the D.R.U organization). So, if you know anyone passionate about Drag Racing and has some spare time, come and strengthen our team!
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| Franz Aschenbrenner (GER) Super Pro ET | Harry Kempenaar (NL) Super Pro ET |
So now you know a little more about Drag Racing Union (D.R.U.), why they do what they do, and who’s working behind the scenes. If you hear the calling to strengthen the D.R.U. Team, liaise with one of the members to offer your support to this dynamic team. For more information, visit the Drag Racing Union website at https://www.dragraceunion.eu/.
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| Rilana Dol (GER) Pro ET | Frank Kraus (GER) Pro ET |
This year’s Competitors are;
| Pro – ET | Super Pro ET | |
| Huxley Marc |
Huxley Lee |
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| Alberth Stefan | Aschenbrenner Franz | |
| Bublitz Thomas | Beck Jochen | |
| De Kruif Niek | Dold Gerhard | |
| Dold Rilana | Dürr Alain | |
| Ekerst Sally | Gane Billy | |
| Försch Jürgen | Gassner Robert | |
| Försch Michael | Halter Alex | |
| Kraus Frank | Jenkins Kevin | |
| Kunold Dirk | Kempenaar Harry | |
| Mercer Ronnie | Könnecke Jens | |
| Mohnholz Mario | Nold Johannes | |
| Romero Gerard | Potthoff Lucas | |
| Rosenkötter Bastian | Rechsteiner Beat | |
| Schellhorn Ralf | Romero Angel | |
| Schöninger Til | Scherschinski Anna-Lena | |
| Siefert René | Schneebeli Christoph | |
| Sommer Dirk | Krautberger Oliver | |
| Szczendzina Björn | ||
| Weikum Martin | ||
| Widmann Armin | ||
| Widmann Gabriel |