Muddappa blazes to double at Indian Drag Nationals

Bengaluru’s Hemanth Muddappa strengthened his grip on the title race with two victories and a podium finish in the third and penultimate round of the MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship here on Saturday. Riding for Mantra Racing, Muddappa stormed to victory in the Unrestricted Super Sport 4-stroke class with 8.269 seconds, edging out Hanuman Pawshe of Fast Track Racing India, who clocked 8.301s.

Muddappa also closed the gap with Pawshe as they both are now on 55 championship points each while Alimon Sai Dalvi is on 53. Muddappa won in the 1051-1650cc category with a timing of 8.542s, ahead of Mujahid Pasha (8.629s) and Alimon Sai Dalvi (8.694s).

Muddappa now has one hand on the trophy as he leads the standings on 75 points ahead of Pasha on 54 and Dalvi on 38 points. In the 851-1050cc class, Mumbai’s Pawshe clocked 8.338s to chalk out a narrow win, piping Muddappa (8.367s). But the 15-time National Drag Champion still leads the title hunt with 68 points, while Pawshe has only 53.

In the girls’ class, C2 Racing took the podium with Lapis Lazuli of Nagercoil beating Shanti Chandra of Hyderabad.  In the supporting classes, Bengaluru’s Syed Imran of Fast Track Racing India enjoyed a successful outing with two victories and a podium, winning the 361-550cc Twin Cylinder class and the Super Sport 2-stroke up to 130cc category, besides finishing second in the 2-stroke 131-165cc race.

Mumbai’s Madhan Kumar took top honours in the Super Sport Indian 165cc class, while Pasha clinched the 361-550cc Single Cylinder title ahead of teammate Sarah Hayat Khan. The Super Sport 2-stroke 131-165cc crown went to Prashanth S of Bengaluru, and in the Super Sport 4-stroke 166-225cc class, Ali Hussain topped the charts with Syed Muheed second and Govardhan R third.