CHENNAI: Ten-time Indian National drag racing champion Hemanth Muddappa from Mantra Racing became the most-decorated motorsports athlete with an unprecedented dozen National titles as he remained unbeaten in the top two classes and emerged a double champion in the MMSC fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship which concluded at the Madras International Circuit (MIC) in Irungattukottai, near here, on Sunday.
He made it a sweet double as he emerged triumphant in both the Unrestricted class and the 1051 to 1650cc class in the fourth and final round. He won the Unrestricted class and the 1051 to 1650cc categories despite suffering a wheelie at the start in the later race and annexed the top place in both Round 3 and Round 4 races held today to bring his tally of National titles to a grand dozen. He remained unbeaten in these top two classes in all the four rounds, throughout the year.
Earlier in the morning, he won the 4-stroke Unrestricted category astride the Suzuki Hayabusa, beating arch-rival and Bengaluru mate Alimon Saidalvi, clocking a blistering 07.746 and went on to claim another first place in the 4S 1051 to 1650cc class beating another stalwart Mohammed Riyaz of Hyderabad with a time of 7.779sec. Riyaz, who came third in the Unrestricted class had the consolation winning the 551 to 850cc Super Sport class, where Muddappa could only finish third behind another Hyderabad rider Mirza Jahangir, who took second.
“It is a grand dozen and I am proud of the long and strong relationship with Mantra Racing that has brought a lot of happiness, not to talk about the hard work and struggles we underwent throughout the year. It is an amazing journey and I am glad we got a double. My thanks to all the boys, my family and my supporters, ” said Muddappa, who is nicknamed as ‘LightningR1’ for his brute speed.
“Both Hemanth Muddappa and Mantra Racing have began the journey at the hallowed track of MIC and have dominated the National Drag scene like no other team at all circuits in the country and have produced great results and records culminating into 12 National titles, a record in the Indian drag racing history, ” said Sharan Pratap, who tunes the champion’s bikes.