Kick the tyres, light the fires

The Valley Run, India’s largest drag racing event, comes to an end with over 750 participants across 72 classes

THE EVENT PLAYED HOST TO THE FINAL EDITION OF THE ELITE CUP

THE HILLS ARE ALIVE WITH the sound of tyre squeal! The 11th edition of the Valley Run drag racing event has come to an end with over 750 participants in 72 classes. Over December 8-10, hot-rodded speed machines from all over the country descended upon the lonely Aamby Valley airstrip otherwise accustomed to puttering Cessnas and unpowered gliders. From souped-up GTRs to stripped down KTMs, the Valley Run hosted all flavours of automobile. There was something there for everyone, including a 118NE for the classically inclined.

The Valley Run, since 2013, has been giving professional and hobbyist motorsport enthusiasts a safe platform to prove their mettle and that of their machines. Given the mind-bending diversity of the contending machines this year, races were divided by class including Indian Car, Indian Car with Engine Swap, Foreign Car, Indian Bike, Foreign Bike, Diesel Car, even separate categories for female drivers/riders. These were straight line drag races down the runway, but accompanying them was an enclosure for cars and bikes that couldn’t (or wouldn’t) go straight. Drift and stunt performances were presented by the likes of Gautam Singhania, Bad Boi Drifts and the JK Tyre stunt team. The first day saw two-wheeled action including your usual superbike suspects, some scooters and even a few twostrokes! Day 2 brought out the bulk of the competition, including clapped-out Swifts, Zens, Esteems, Polos, Ventos, Citys, Octavias, Accords, Civics and other cars that you might expect to see on the road, although in a more discreet avatar. The final day brought out the big guns, including the Lamborghini Huracan, Audi R8, Nissan GT-R, McLaren 720S, among others. The outright fastest time of 9.359sec was set by Faheem Zahran astride a (surprise, surprise) Suzuki Hayabusa, with the fastest 4-wheeled time of 9.971sec coming from Vicky Sawant in a blue BMW M5. The fastest female rider time of 9.904sec was clocked on yet another Hayabusa by rider Shweta Chithrode, who also won this title last year. The fastest female driver was Shreya Singh in her McLaren 720S with a 10.897sec time.

A fezza in attendance. Gautam Singhania’s drift cars. Stunt events between the races. This M5 set the fastest time. A sick race-spec ’busa. Another ’busa, one of the fastest bikes of the event

The Valley Run also played host to the final edition of the Elite Cup, a three-round drag racing competition with the first two rounds held in Hosur and Hyderabad. The unrestricted four-wheeler class was won by Vivek Ramchander in his Audi RS6, and the Indian Open Class was won by Mithun M in his Skoda Octavia vRS. On top of the two-wheeled class was, once again, Faheem Zahran on his Hayabusa followed by Saurabh Parab on his GSX-R1000, Prashanth on his Yamaha RXG, and Shahrukh Khan on his Kawasaki Ninja 400.

The day’s racing was followed by an evening’s entertainment including karting and hummerchute flights. The midday sun beating down on metal flake paint and burnished exhausts gave way to dusk, when these battle-hardened steeds adjourned to their paddocks. Their drivers refuelled at the sundowner as the wind blew away the smell of burning rubber. Every now and then, a helicopter would fly over the dragstrip as if to remind these local heroes that there was still a frontier left for them to conquer. That may be true but we’d like to see a helicopter do a 10-second quarter mile. ⌧