Hemanth Muddappa clinches double gold at 8th Valley Run
By Sanjay Jadhav
February 16, 2021
National Drag Champion Hemanth Muddappa hogged the limelight winning two gold and a bronze at the 8th edition of The Valley Run, a mega FMSCI licensed Drag event for two-wheelers and four-wheelers that attracted over 400 participants at the Ambi Valley airstrip in Lonavala on Saturday and Sunday.
In the two-wheeler section which received an overwhelming response of over 250 participants in over 14 different classes, the top three classes saw some stunning machines thrill the crowds. The event was run by Elite Octane Inc, a Mumbai-based Motorsports Club affiliated to FMSCI for the 8th successful edition.
Bengaluru rider Hemanth Muddappa of Mantra Racing won the Ribbon Event the Foreign Open Unrestricted class for bikes above 600cc, zooming to the gold in 9.677seconds astride his race-built black Suzuki Hayabusa beating compatriot Alimon to second in a tough race. Alimon, clocking 9.683, on a Kawasaki was a bit faster to react but lost by a whisker as Muddappa clinched the issue in a thriller towards the close. Visakhapatnam’s (Andhra) star Satyanarayana Raju, despite having the best reaction time among the three, had to settle for third place astride his BMW S1K. Raju timed 9.703.
Muddappa, who became the 2020 National Drag Champion for the fourth successive year in the top two classes last month, displayed his skill and ran away with a second gold in the 1050cc and above class, the M10. He pushed his Green Hayabusa to the top clocking a stunning 9.683seconds to beat his fighting opponent Zubair Ali Jung, also from Bengaluru, astride a Hayabusa to second place. Jung clocked 10.113seconds. Another Bengaluru rider Hafizulla Khan came third in 10.146sec in a field of 14 riders.
However, it was Satyanarayana Raju of Hyderabad who salvaged a gold in the upto 1050cc class, the M9, clocking 9.522sec astride his BMW and Alimon came second in 9.619. Hemanth Muddappa, who had suffered a wheelie had to be content with the third place in 9.760seconds. The class saw a good response with 31 bikes from all over the country taking part.
Eleven other classes were also held for bikes and prizes were given away after every four classes.
