The deaths of two young men in a road accident on Sofia’s ring road on May 31 forced illegal drag racing – and the lack of proper police action against it – back into the spotlight.

In the late hours of May 31, news agencies said that two people had died in a road accident in Sofia. This would have been just yet another news item on the latest victims of the "war on Bulgaria’s roads" were it not for the interesting detail that more than 200 people had witnessed the deadly incident in which a motorcyclist, said to have been travelling at more than 200 km/h on one wheel, collided with a pedestrian, killing him.

It did not need an expert to conclude that the large crowd had been there for the illegal drag racing that takes place every couple of nights on the section of Sofia’s ring road close to Boyana neighbourhood where there are a few kilometres of straight, wide and narrow highway suitable for such stunts.

But as before, the follow-up added up to nothing more than a formal police report of the incident, and journalists gathering complaints from people who live near the unofficial drag racing strip.

As it is, police are under pressure to act against routine reckless driving, and are losing the battle against illegal drag racing, which is not confined to Sofia. Current law says that all police can do is fine racers for speeding and reckless driving, and formally warn them against repeat offences.

Illegal racers usually organise their events online, which allows them to be highly flexible and avoid police ambushes, although police say that they have started monitoring online forums.

In an interview with Bulgarian-language mass-circulation daily 24 Chassa, Sofia Traffic Police head Vanyo Stoevski said that soon six unmarked police cars with hidden cameras would be sent out to film illegal racing so that participants could be sanctioned, but only for specific offences under the Traffic Act. "We can’t fine them for the fact that they have gathered," he said.

Illegal racing has been around for a number of years, but it got a boost after the launch of the 2001 Hollywood action film Fast and Furious, that had illegal racing as its main theme.

Up until now, there has been little media and other public attention in Bulgaria towards illegal drag racing, because before the end of May, no lives had been lost and the events had been seen as a pursuit for people with enough money to blow on putting their vehicles to the test.

This has allowed illegal drag racing to flourish, first in Sofia and later in other cities and towns, most notably Varna and Pleven.

Given the substantial interest in amateur racing, and in an attempt to have some control, the Bulgarian Drag Racing Federation started organising races on Bozhourishte track near Sofia. However, last year the land was bought by a private company and races were put on hold only to continue in the form of illegal events with no formal control or medical teams.