Top gear

Gaurav Kanthwal

Lamborghinis, Porsches, Mustangs, Ferraris, Nissan GTRs — all lined up for one-on-one racing duels at weekends. Often, Hollywood movies gave a peek into the world of drag racing, where maverick drivers in flashy cars gave cops a chase in the dead of night. The Fast and the Furious series brought with it the ultimate spectacle in the world of motorsport racing.

Drag racing, often depicted as an illegal activity on the silver screen, has been picking up in India. And it is perfectly legal to burn some asphalt and get the adrenaline rushing. Though not as popular as in the US or Australia, the sport has been finding takers in big cities here. Pune, Mumbai and Bengaluru have taken the lead. 

The  sixth edition of the Valley Run Drag Race was held recently at the  Aamby Valley airstrip on the outskirts of Lonavala. The event, with sanction from the FMSCI, the governing body of motorsport in India, saw 475 entries from Delhi, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Gujarat, Surat, Indore, Mumbai and Pune.

According to Valley Run-promoter Rongom Tagore Mukerji, “Some of the biggest brands came on board for the event. The race brought together the best of participants, manufacturers and sponsors.”

At the event, Mumbai’s Rishad Dadachanji pushed his Lamborghini Huracan to clock 10.849s and ran away with the Fastest Foreign Car title. Vizag-based Stephen Panchigalla clocked 13.366s in his Skoda Octavia to win the Fastest Indian Car title. Mumbai’s Jhanvi Bhavsar, in her BMW 525D, clocked 14.892s (K7 Class) to bag the Fastest Female Driver. 

“This sport is all about passion and challenging your limits. Some may see it as a risky sport, but for me, it is about achieving harmony between man and the machine,” said Jhanvi.

In a 25 race-order day, the Mumbai drivers were unstoppable, winning in 18 categories. Mumbai riders again ruled the roost in the two-wheeler category, winning six of the nine titles. But it was Hyderabad-based biker Mohammed Ryaz (9.686s) who stole the thunder on the track with his Yamaha YZF-R1.

Besides clocking bizarre race timings, grabbing eyeballs was the second topmost thing on the mind of drivers. The supercar owners, who have spent a fortune on their mean machines, did not let this opportunity go so easily. A supercar owners’ lounge was set up where all gorgeous four-wheeled beauties were parked for a visual delight for the onlookers. 

Not to be left behind, bikers also strutted their stuff, doing wheelies and donuts. This was the zone for Ducatis, KTMs, Yamahas and Kawasakis. Then there was something called spectacular fastest wheelie class racing where riders raced their super-fast motorbikes only on the rear wheel till the finish line.

Chandigarh-based SPS Ghai, a motorsport enthusiast and the Clerk of Course of St John’s Old Boys Association (SJOBA) rally, said, “It is a new sport in India and is yet come to the northern region. There are many off-road activities for motorsport in this region but hopefully someone will take up the lead in drag racing in the coming years.” 

Motorsports fanatics in and around Ludhiana hold drag races, but they do it clandestinely, at deserted stretches and away from the eyes of cops.

Driving force

Drag racing is a simple sport. All you need to do is push your vehicle as fast as you can on a straight stretch of 400m. The fastest to cross the finish line in a one-on-one race is the winner. The key, however, lies in syncing your reaction time from a standing start to attaining top speed in the final stretch (60m). On the day of the race, the venue, invariably an airstrip, is crammed with supercars cars and superbikes. There are as many as 25 to 100 one-on-one race duels in different rounds, where some staggeringly fast race times are delivered in front of thousand of petrol junkies. The drag race officials, meanwhile, are tasked with ensuring the rules and regulations. Their most important responsibility is to make sure that the event passes off without any injury.