Hemanth Muddappa Wins His Fifth Consecutive Drag Racing Championship Title: Sets Two New Records

Yet again the times crumbled as the combination of Hemanth Muddappa and Sharan Pratap (tuner) demolished the drag strip by setting National records in both the premier Super Sport 1051cc and above class, and 851cc to 1050cc class.

These record-breaking runs helped Muddappa clinch double gold and seal the 2021 Drag National title. This makes Hemanth Muddappa a nine-time Indian National Drag Champion and his fifth consecutive win at the premier Super Sport 1051cc and above class. In addition to these, Hemanth Muddappa set newer records in every round he participated.

"I am on cloud nine. Behind my performance is a dedicated Mantra Racing who have worked day and night tirelessly. A lot of testing and development based on the collected data is a testimony to the commitment to every member of my team. Clipping two-tenths is a very, very big achievement in drag. I have worked on my fitness very hard and the visualisation I do before the race also helped me a lot. I am thrilled to have won this championship as we were tied and the competition was tough," said Muddappa after setting two new records at the MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship 2021.

In terms of the numbers set on Sunday, Muddappa trimmed one-tenth of a second to his previous runs and clocked a record-breaking 7.749 seconds in his black Suzuki Hayabusa. The black Hayabusa of Muddappa clocked 239.58km/h at the end of the 302-metre Madras Motor Race Circuit.

Other riders such as Hafizullah Khan and Harish Naik also put up a good fight with a time of 8.031 seconds and 8.315 seconds, respectively, but the Suzuki Hayabusa tuned by Mantra Racing was in a class of its own.

The competition in the Super Sport 851cc to 1050cc was much closer as Tajamul Husain clocked 7.966 seconds and Mohammed Riyaz clocked 8.135 seconds. However, Hemanth Muddappa and Mantra Racing comfortably clinched the title and set yet another record with a time of 7.755 seconds.

"Yes, both are National records today and they are also the best circuit records at MMRT. The Hayabusa is the faster bike and this is an all-time record. It is an absolutely fantastic to do such records. Consistently, he has improved the timings this year and it is admirable,'' said Pratap Jayaram, the Drag Commission Chairman of FMSCI.

Thoughts About Hemanth Muddappa's Record-Breaking Runs At The MMRT

Winning the Indian Drag Nationals is an achievement on its own, however, repeating the achievement consistently for five years in a row with record-breaking runs shows the determination and strong technical advancement bu Mantra Racing.

Image Courtesy: Praveen Jayakaran