“Always full action” is his motto - professionally and privately.
He has been giving full throttle for many years, especially when it comes to sport.
Franz Aschenbrenner has loved speed since his early childhood - first on two, then on four wheels.
The big goal of the now 35-year-old was motorcycle world championship races.
And he came so close to his big dream.
Eichenried
- Shortly before he completely retired from motorcycle racing in 2008, he had a number of outings in MotoGP as a substitute for Dirk Heidorf. “It actually went really well in the 250 cc World Championship at the time,” says Aschenbrenner. "In Spain I was well on the way to the top 15 when a crash catapulted me out of the race." In Donningtonpark in England - again in a promising position - an engine failure slowed him down. What was unusual in the Eichenrieder's career, however, was that he had already competed in the World Cup before he had even contested his first European Championship race. But let's go back a lot further:
At the age of six he was already racing over the area of the MSC Eichenried on a small all-terrain machine.
"Motocross is a good start," says Aschenbrenner, "but I lacked the kick of speed".
So he switched to road racing, where he was soon able to celebrate his first successes.
The only flaw: "I did win races, but no championship titles."
His greatest success is third place in the overall ranking of the Red Bull Rookie Cup, a junior class sponsored by the Austrian shower maker and Honda.
In 2003 he was at the top of the podium at the 2003 race at the Salzburgring after leaving the competition behind by a margin of seven seconds.
Since it is impossible for Aschenbrenner to find a place in a works team without sponsors, he competes in the races for the German championship as driver and head of his own private team on an Aprilia in the 125 cc class. "This was financially feasible at the national level," explains Aschenbrenner, "in the EM it was much more difficult". So he only competes in races on the continent when he's not in the saddle for one of his few World Championship appearances. “I even got an offer to be a regular driver in a works team.” The catch: He would have had to buy in with around 250,000 euros. "Financially absolutely impossible for me."
Motorsport in Germany, especially in two-wheel racing, "is very difficult in Germany," regrets the Eichenrieder. There is hardly any interest in business, which makes it difficult to find financially strong sponsors. "It's better abroad, especially in the southern countries." Here motorcycle racing has a much greater, sporting significance. In the Grand Prix races, there would often only be two or three German drivers, but over 50 from Spain or Italy. Although there was local interest during his active time, there were no financially strong supporters. "This sport cannot be mastered only with helmet or engine oil sponsors."
Aschenbrenner can still look forward to a lucrative race.
At the 2008 Le Mans 24-hour race, he was signed by BMW as a works substitute driver.
Despite good training runs and results, he only has the role of the spectator, because no pilot is canceled.
"Even though I didn't drive a meter, I made good money."
Eichenrieder, whose great idol is the multiple world champion Valentino Rossi, got off lightly in various falls.
“Except for a few breaks, I actually got by quite well.
With their racing suits and back protectors, the drivers are well protected, ”he says, listing his fractures on his collarbone, metatarsus and thumb.
Most of the time it was just slip-ups, the more harmless ones often at high speeds.
Twice, however, he's really lucky.
At a race in Brno (Czech Republic) he was involved in a pile-up immediately after the start.
Lying on the ground, he is run over by a subsequent competitor.
The leather racing suit is torn to pieces and the back protector is torn out.
However, he “only” breaks the metatarsal bone.
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Right at the top: The motorcycle ace was also named Sportsman of the Year in the local newspaper several times.
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Just two weeks later, Aschenbrenner is back in his racing saddle - with special shoes and painkillers. And it's worth it, because he ranks in the points. He is “blue all over” after a fall in Rijeka, Croatia, when he was pushed into the gravel bed in the narrow starting field on the first lap. Aschenbrenner: "If you slow down from over 210 km / h to zero, you have no chance." The first fall, usually with smaller machines, is always the worst. "But if you have survived this mentally well, you better put away all of the following."
In 2007, Aschenbrenner put an end to motorcycle racing.
His dream of being a driver in a World Championship works team cannot be achieved financially.
In addition, he has now married and has two children.
The family is now the focus in the life of the project manager in plant engineering (dosing technology).
Nevertheless, he still needs "action".
So he got hired as a football player with the Erding Bulls and later with the Munich Cowboys.
And if he is enthusiastic about something, then really.
While he weighed only 65 to 70 kilos as a motorcycle pilot, he trained himself as a footballer ten more kilos.
He chased the egg for two years, then knee problems also ended this sport episode.
Why did he play football?
“Because I'm America-savvy,” explains Aschenbrenner.
He has already traveled to the USA more than 15 times.
However, he was less interested in motorsport and preferred to go to ice hockey, basketball, baseball or football matches.
“There are around ten sports there that you can make a living off of as a player.
That fascinates me. ”And yet he ended up back in motorsport himself - with a typically American variant, of course: drag racing.
“I'm used to people saying you're crazy,” says Aschenbrenner with a mischievous smile.
Classic American cars have always fascinated him on his trips to America.
Finally he buys a Ford Mustang, built in 1969. “Blind”, because he only knows the classic car from photos.
In addition, the dollar rate was just cheap.
When the car arrives in Eichenried, there is initially a lot of work waiting for Aschenbrenner.
“I completely restored it in my spare time for two years,” he says.
Moving the 650 hp car only on Sunday trips was not enough for him.
So he signs up for dragster races.
But his oldie was only suitable to a limited extent for this.
“It was a street and fun car, but not a racing car.
I wanted to achieve more in terms of sport. "
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Mobile workshop: Eichenrieder also wants to go on tour with this bus in 2022.
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Again he buys a Ford Mustang, but this time in a dragster version. But at first his wife doesn't like it at all. Again there is screwing and tuning. “Although the dragster was a finished racing car, there is always something to improve and change.” This is what Aschenbrenner and his three mechanics, father, brother and specialty Wolfgang, who support him “on a voluntary basis” and with whom he lives in the large living room, do -, transport and workshop bus tours through Europe, the Donnervogel in the Super Pro ET class is around a second faster and therefore competitive.
This private racing series, an "unofficial European championship", is held across Europe, explains Aschenbrenner. In his first season in 2016, he took second place at Nitrolympx in Hockenheim, the largest race on the European continent, in front of around 60,000 spectators. At the end of the season in which the four best results are counted, he can be celebrated as “Rookie of the Year 2016” and third overall. After another year with good results, but also some lows and canceled races, he really accelerates again in 2018. With top placements in France (1st), Hockenheim and Italy (2nd each), he was named "Super Pro ET Champion 2018".In the decisive race for the title, he beats his toughest competitor by two hundredths of a second - the blink of an eye on the race distance of only a quarter mile.
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Aschenbrenner accelerates up to 280 km / h on the quarter mile.
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Aschenbrenner's Ford Mustang Mach 1 brings 1350 hp to the track prepared with rubber and glue.
The tires would spin on normal road surfaces.
A race lasts an average of six to nine seconds.
Aschenbrenner's record time is 7.9 seconds (280 km / h) on the quarter mile.
The most important thing is the reaction time at the start.
“From the outside, it looks a lot simpler than it is.
It's not just 400 meters straight ahead, ”says Aschenbrenner.
In France it almost crashes into a wall because it is a few centimeters off the racing line at the start.
In the winter months leading up to the 2019 season, Aschenbrenner completely overhauled its dragster.
It turns out that the engine block has a crack.
It is completely dismantled and prepared.
That costs the full-time project manager a lot of time and money.
Because of the high costs (one liter of the specialty fuel costs around nine euros), he only competes in four races in which he finishes on the podium three times.
Then Corona slows down motorsport.
For two years there were only smaller races, but no championship races.
"Now I hope that it will start again in 2022," says Aschenbrenner.
Then he really wants to ignite the turbo again.
