US wins unique tank drag race at Estonia's Tapa base
Tapa base in Estonia was the scene of what is thought to be the first-ever drag race involving tanks, Virumaa Teataja reported.
The wacky races pitted the U.S., represented by the M1A2 Abrams tank and its crew, against the British Army with its Challenger 2 and the French Army with the AMX-10 RC armored reconnaissance vehicle.
Meanwhile in Estonia
— Tom Antonov (@Tom_Antonov) March 6, 2026
Drag race between a M1A2SEPv3 and a AMX-10RCR pic.twitter.com/ChCUMmfVwt
The rules involved two rounds; in the first of these, the crews had to enter their vehicles and not only get the engines started but also activate the weapons systems and rotate turrets 360 degrees—all before screaming off to the end of the track and back, on a first-past-the-post-is-the-winner basis.
The French won round one, but Virumaa Teataja reported that the British team protested that result and declared the Americans the winner instead, on the grounds that the AMX-10 does not meet the definition of a tank, being a wheeled, and not tracked, vehicle.
Round two took the form of a traditional drag race, again to the end of the track and back, and while the competition was close, the Americans of Dakota Company, in the Abrams, won out over the French crew.
To respond to the general request, here is the second part of the race... pic.twitter.com/Qwn9F3fqmQ
— Tom Antonov (@Tom_Antonov) March 6, 2026
The event was also picked up by youtuber and influencer Zachariah "Zack" Hoyt, also known as Asmongold, who boasts 4.5 million subscribers.
@katrinaclipsx #asmongold ♬ original sound - Katrina Clips
"Estonia—they're having drag races for tanks?" Hoyt said in a TikTok short.
"Our tank won, right? … I'm like 90 percent sure this is our tank," he went on, adding: "Yeh, of course we did," on receiving confirmation that it was indeed the Abrams that finished in first place.
"F*ckin' based. This is an appropriate use of our tax dollars? This, but unironically, ok?" Hoyt added.
While the oldest of the models, the AMX-10 is considerably lighter—at less than 20 tonnes—than the Abrams and Challenger, which are in the 60–65-tonne range. The AMX-10 has a stated top road speed of 85 km/h, compared with 67 km/h for the M1A2 Abrams and 59 km/h for the Challenger 2.
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Editor: Andrew Whyte
Source: Postimees
