Hyderabad’s Riyaz is ‘Fastest Rider’ at The Valley Run 2018

Hyderabad-based Mohammed Ryaz scorched the quarter-mile track of the Aamby Valley air strip to finish with the distinction of ‘Fastest Time’ in The Valley Run 2018 held at the picturesque outskirts of Lonavala this weekend.

Apart from the distinction of being fastest, Riyaz had three podium finishes; one top spot and two second-place to cap off a great day individually.

   

Riyaz’s moment of glory came in the M9 Class (881cc to 1050cc – 4-Stroke). Astride a Yamaha YZF-R1 he clocked 9.686 seconds to ensure that Hyderabad for the second consecutive year stamped their mark in the event as fastest two-wheeler. Last year Neeraj Sharma stole the show.

Overall Riyaz’s effort was one of three sub-10 second dashes recorded in the two- wheel section in the final runs of competition held over three days.  Riyaz also earned the ‘Fastest Foreign Bike’ title.

Mumbai’s Zahir Shah (BMW s1000RR) with 10.001s and Alimon of Bengaluru (Kawasaki Ninja) with 10.087s) made up the Top-3 of the class.

Emulating Riyaz with a top podium finish was his twin-city mate Sundeep Singh Sokhi who claimed the  

O2 (Open Class) Foreign (551cc & Above, Unrestricted) by clocking 9.917s. Interestingly, Riyaz was second with a 9.965s effort. Zubair Ali Jung (Bengaluru) completed an all-south India podium running his Suzuki Hayabusa with a 10.048s effort.

While this type of motorsport (drag racing) is all about a test of acceleration over a short distance, the key to being fastest revolves around syncing reaction time from a standing start to attaining top speed until the finish or vice versa.

A total of seven classes (M6 to M10, P, O2) made up the day in the two-wheeler section while six classes (M1 to M5 & O1) were run under the Promotors Classes only.

The event, promoted by Elite Octane Inc., received a whopping 475 entries from Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Kolkata, Gujarat, Surat, Indore, Mumbai and Pune and was supported by Sportscraft, the Race Management Partner with sanctions from the FMSCI, the governing body of motorsport in India.

The event overall had some of the country’s fastest motorcycles and top racers were present at this year’s Valley Run and the energy in the Valley was at full heat as under the scorching sun the riders gave their best to deliver some staggeringly fast drag race times.

This year the event had major presence of various sponsors which included Pirelli (Tyre partner), Motul (Lubricant Partner) and Mercedes-AMG (Official Pace Car) apart from Jeep, Suzuki, Kawasaki, MV Agusta, Norton and Nissan as co-sponsors.

Later the prizes were distributed by Rongom Tagore Mukerji, Director Elite Octane Pvt Ltd.

SPECIAL PRIZES

Fastest Foreign Bike of Event: O2 Class – Mohammed Riyaz (Hyd; Yamaha R1; 9.686s)

Fastest Time of Event: O2 Class – Mohammed Riyaz (Hyd; Yamaha R1; 9.686s)

Fastest Rider of Event – Female: M9 Class Sonia Patel (Guj; Aprilla RSV4; 11.854s)

Fastest Time of Event - Female: M9 Class Sonia Patel (Guj; Aprilla RSV4; 11.854s)