We rode down to the Aamby Valley airstrip, near Lonavala, to witness the popular Valley Run held there. This was the 11th edition of the drag-racing competition spanning three days
India has been a growing stage for drag racing for quite a few years now. The Valley Run furthers this culture considerably and helps provide a platform both for aspirants and enthusiasts. It has become one of the biggest events in the country attracting a large gathering of participants, racing community and automobile enthusiasts alike.
At this year’s Valley Run, we had a variety ranging from wheelie races to stunt shows. Coming to the important part of the event, it was a very cool fly-by for the pink Suzuki Hayabusa, in the “Unrestricted Open Class”, piloted by Fahim Zahran that clocked a blisteringly quick 9.359-second quarter-mile time. It was closely followed by the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14R of Mantra Racing, ridden by Sundiip Sokhi, coming in at 9.676 seconds. In third was another Hayabusa with a time of 9.679 seconds.
The fastest Indian bike at the event was a Kawasaki Ninja 400 tuned by Mantra Racing that set a time of 11.622 seconds with Shahrukh Khan riding it. Also part of the proceedings was the “Foreign Bike Wheelie” category that saw Ajit Suvarna of Team Flying Pistonss set a 10.693-second quarter-mile on a Honda CBR1000RR while popping a wheelie. In the “Indian Bike Wheelie” category, KTM motorcycles were dominant, the fastest time being 13.152 seconds set by Mayoor Rajesh Bharghavan on his KTM Duke.
With a growing number of women contenders at every single race event, this year saw Shweta Chithrode racing her Suzuki Hayabusa to a 9.904-second time in the “Foreign Bike” category, while Samantha D’Souza and her Kawasaki Ninja 400 claimed the title of the fastest Indian bike with 13.185 seconds.
As mentioned earlier, the event also comprised a stunt show display by stunt rider Sachin, stall displays by Ducati, Monster Energy, JK Tyre, and a lot more.
Story: Charan Karthik
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