When it comes to sports activities, India has made its place as one of the most profound countries. Among a variety of sports activities, motorsport has gained immense momentum here. Among many names, Madras Motor Sports Club has built its reputation for all racing lovers. Founded in 1953, MMSC’s racing activities have moved from Sholavaram to the Madras Motor Racing Track (MMRT) circuit in Sriperumbudur. And when we say motorsport, Hemanth Muddappa is the name who has often proved his prowess on the racing track.
In the recent first round of the MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship which was held at the MMRT on August 8, Hemanth Muddappa emerged as the reigning champion. Following all the COVID-19 safety protocols, the racing event turned out to be a mega success. 31-year old Hemanth rode his Suzuki Hayabusa by clocking the fastest time among other riders. In just 07.882 seconds over 302-metres, the rider won the Super Sport above 1051 CC category. The key highlight to note from the event was that other Bengaluru riders Hafizullah Khan and Harish Naik were behind Muddappa in the race.
Interestingly, Hemanth is in competition with himself. He currently holds the National Drag record at 07.783 seconds which was set by him on October 10 last year. While speaking about his victory this year, Hemanth revealed that due to the high track temperature the timing was slower than what he expected. However, his winning streak remained intact, and the rider once again proved why he is the best among the rest.
Furthermore, Muddappa said, “The track temperature affected all the riders, and we all posted slower timings. We were much quicker in January during the final round of the 2020 championship.” Apart from this, in the Super Sport category from 851-1050 CC class, Bengalurean Mohd Riyaz completed the race quickly with a time record of 08.026 seconds followed by Hemanth Muddappa (08.116 seconds) and Hyderabad’s debutant NV Satyanarayana Raju (08.191 seconds).
The championship this year saw Bengaluru dominating the race in varied categories. In the Super Sport Indian 361-550 CC class, Bengaluru’s Aiyaz Rem was victorious who finished the race in 12.568 seconds followed by Zuheeb Ahmed (12.860 seconds) and D Annish Samson (12.942 seconds). All in all, the championship was one massive event with Hemanth Muddappa taking away the spotlight as one of the most sought names throughout the tournament.