Drag racing is one of the most competitive (and yet, most inclusive) forms of motorsport in the world. The annual Valley Run, now in its seventh year, has been a bastion of drag racing in the Mumbai area. This year, with over 600 participants, the event saw action down the quarter mile for three consecutive days, giving racers and spectators alike a thrill of a lifetime.
The FMSCI-sanctioned race was held at Aamby Valley City’s private airstrip, which was converted into a two-lane dragstrip for the weekend. Keeping tradition, the quarter-mile (or 402m) dragstrip saw both, two-wheelers and cars flying down this runway, clocking up some pretty impressive times.
With hundreds of competitors, the 2019 Valley Run saw stiff competition between participants turn into rivalries to be settled on the blacktop. The fastest car of the weekend was a modified current-gen BMW M5 tuned by Evolve Automotive and piloted by Uzair Ansari from Mumbai. The car clocked a breakneck 10.352sec, beating other tuned BMWs, the Nissan GT-R, and even a handful of Lamborghinis.
This year, car owners – of machines that are already fast to begin with – have begun to make an impressive effort to make their vehicles considerably faster, in order to bag top honours.
One of the most impressive runs of the day included a modified Volkswagen Polo GTI (tuned by ETuners Motorsports India). The car managed a 12.4sec time leaving much larger and more powerful cars in the dust; simultaneously making it the fastest Volkswagen Polo in the country today. Also amongst cars of Indian make, some of the faster times were set by the likes of a tuned turbocharged first-gen Honda City, that clocked a quarter-mile time of 14.7sec.
There was also an ETuners-tuned BMW M5 that came all the way from Hyderabad and set the second-fastest overall time of the day – 10.411sec – a fraction slower than the fastest time.
It wasn’t just people from Mumbai and Pune who took part in the 2019 Valley Run, the drag race saw participation from across the length and breadth of the country. Drivers and riders from Bengaluru, Surat and Hyderabad showed up in good numbers and set some absolutely fantastic times in both, the car and two-wheeler, categories. The furthest a car travelled to participate in the Valley Run was a Lamborghini Aventador S belonging the founder of Club GT in Kolkata – thus showcasing how important an event the Valley Run is on the Indian motorsport calendar. There were also a fair number of cars from Kerala that showcased dominion in their respective categories – especially in the diesel classes.
And it wasn’t just the cars burning up the tarmac. The fastest time in the made-in-India bike under 165cc category was set by a drag-spec Yamaha RX135, with a blistering time of 12.83sec; while the 350cc and above two-stroke category saw a modified RD350 set an outstanding 11.486sec time. Although the fastest time of the day set by a bike went to Mohammad Riyaz’s drag-spec Yamaha R1 that clocked an unbeatable 9.5sec down the dragstrip. Other notable runs included the fastest 402m-long wheelie, a bonkers 10.2sec clocked by a Kawasaki ZX-10R!
The Valley Run 2019 also saw a sharp increase in the number of women participants this year, on two and four wheels, alike. The fastest time set at the drag race event by a woman rider this year went to Samantha D’Souza, who clocked 13.211sec on her KTM 390 Duke. Meanwhile the fastest
female driver on four wheels was Jhanvi Bhavsar in a Mini Cooper, clocking 15.563sec.
All in all, with participation in the Valley Run growing by the year, and speeds and machines getting even more serious, there’s no denying that drag racing is here to stay. After all, the bragging rights are well worth the time, money and sheer energy the competitors put into their well-oiled machines.
Results: Motorcycles | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Code | Category | Name | Vehicle | Time (seconds) |
M1 | Upto 165cc (2-stroke) | Iqbal Shaikh | Yamaha RX135 | 12.833 |
M2 | Above 350cc (2-stroke) | Mubarak Pasha | Yamaha RD350 | 11.486 |
M3 | Upto 165cc (4-stroke) | Mustafa Siraj Khan | Yamaha R15 | 14.911 |
M4 | 165cc-225cc (4-stroke) | Mujahid Pasha | TVS Apache RTR 165 | 13.482 |
M5 | 226cc-360cc (4-stroke) | Mustafa Siraj Khan | Yamaha R15 | 12.916 |
M6 | 361cc-500cc (4-stroke) | Iqbal Shaikh | KTM 390 Duke | 12.560 |
M7 | 551cc-850cc (Inlline 3/4) | Prathamesh Bolinjkar | Triumph Daytona 675R | 10.781 |
M8 | 649cc-850cc (single/twin) | Junaid Ansari | Ducati | 10.993 |
M9 | 851cc-1050cc (4-stroke) | Mohd. Riyaz | Yamaha R1 | 9.555 |
M10 | 1051cc and Above | Hafizulla Khan | Suzuki Hayabusa | 9.650 |
O1 | Indian Open 0-550cc (Indian Bikes) | Mubarak Pasha | Yamaha RD350 | 11.996 |
O2 | 551cc & Above Unrestricted | Mohd. Riyaz | Yamaha R1 | 9.646 |
P1 | Muscle Bike Open | Imran Majid | Indian FTR | 11.991 |
P2 | Naked Bike Open | Zubair Ali Jung | Suzuki B-King | 10.857 |
W1 | Fastest Wheelie (Indian Bikes) | Deepak Franklin | KTM 390 duke | 15.082 |
W2 | Fastest Wheelie (Foreign) | Deepak Franklin | Kawasaki ZX10R | 10.272 |
Fastest Female | Samantha D'Souza | KTM 390 Duke | 13.211 | |
Best Tuner (Indian) | Mubarak Pasha | Yamaha RD350 | 11.996 |
Results: Cars | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Code | Category | Name | Vehicle | Time (seconds) |
A1 | Upto 1150cc | Sarang Borkkar | Maruti Suzuki Zen | 18.289 |
A2 | 1151cc-1450cc | Biten Jagasia | Maruti Suzuki Esteem | 17.957 |
A3 | 1451cc-1650cc | Arpit Praful Mason | Honda City | 16.595 |
A4 | 1651cc-2050cc | Jamshir Parikh | Volkswagen Polo GT | 16.576 |
A5 | 2051cc-2550cc | Abubark Artani | Abarth Punto | 15.589 |
A6 | 2551cc-3060cc | Chetan Shetty | Skoda Octavia | 14.344 |
A7 | 3061cc and Above | Niranjan Todkari | Skoda Octavia | 14.764 |
B2 | 1151cc-1450cc | Anant Pithawalla | Maruti Suzuki Esteem | 16.586 |
B3 | 1451cc-1650cc | Tejas Gaikwad | Honda City | 16.095 |
B4 | 1650cc-2050cc | Mohammad Saad Ansari | Honda Brio | 16.643 |
B5 | 2051cc-2550cc | Kamlesh Parmar | Honda City | 14.723 |
B6 | 2551cc-3060cc | Tarun Manchanda | Skoda Laura | 12.925 |
B7 | 3061cc and Above | Mithun M | Skoda Octavia RS | 12.490 |
G1 | Indian Open (Stock Body) | Tarun Manchanda | Skoda Laura | 12.999 |
G2 | Indian Open (Altered Body) | Mithun M | Skoda Octava RS | 12.454 |
F | Indian Cars with Foreign Engine | Hamza Alimahomed | Mitsubishi Lancer Evo | 13.233 |
K2 | 1151cc-1450cc (Diesel) | Shrikant Kandare | Maruti Suzuki Ciaz | 17.501 |
K4 | 1652cc-2050cc (Diesel) | Kejas Shah | BMW 320D | 14.566 |
K5 | 2051cc-2550cc (Diesel) | Venugopal N | Volkswagen Polo GT TDI | 14.659 |
K7 | 3061cc and Above (Diesel) | Tune O Tronics | BMW 530D | 12.600 |
H1 | Upto 2499cc (Foreign Cars) | Antony John | Mercedes-Amg CLA45 | 12.206 |
H2 | 2500cc-3499cc (Foreign Cars) | Abhishek Nigam | Audi RS5 | 11.972 |
H3 | 3500cc-4499cc (Foreign Cars) | Vishwajit Reddy | BMW M5 | 10.411 |
H4 | Above 4500cc (Foreign Cars) | Ganesh | Lamborghini Huracan | 11.090 |
I1 | Upto 2499cc (Foreign Cars) | Diven Batra | Mercedes-Amg CLA45 | 12.157 |
I2 | 2500cc-3499cc (Foreign Cars) | Vivek Ramchander | BMW 530d | 12.687 |
I3 | 3500cc-4499cc (Foreign Cars) | Uzair Ansari | BMW M5 | 10.401 |
I4 | Above 4500cc (Foreign Cars) | Dhwanil Patel | Lamborghini Huracan | 11.195 |
J | 4 Wheelers Unrestricted | Uzair Ansari | BMW M5 | 10.352 |
Fastest Female Driver | Jhanvi Bhavsar | Mini Cooper | 15.563 | |
Best Indian Tuner | Tune O Tronics | Skoda Octavia RS | 12.454 | |
Best Indian Tuner (Diesel) | Tune O Tronics | BMW 530D | 12.600 | |
Fastest Indian Car | Mithun M. | Skoda Octavia RS | 12.454 | |
Fastest Foreign Car | Uzair Ansari | BMW M5 | 10.352 |
Also see:
Comments
Member Login
Personal Details
No comments yet. Be the first to comment.