These Hyderabadis dominated round 1 of India Speed Week

Organised

drag racing

may be in its nascent stages in India, but calling the shots on the national scene is Hyderabad’s only drag racing team ‘Team Blaze’.
The team swept a host of prizes at the recently concluded Round 1 of the India Speed Week Cup 2017 at the Amby Valley airstrip in Lonavla held from March 10 to 12. Zipping down the quarter mile (400 metres) on their sports bikes and car at the speed of 200 kmph and above, the seven-member team raked in an impressive haul of 11 trophies.
With five winners’ trophies, two first runners-up trophies and four second runners-up trophies in various drag racing categories against 155 racers from all over the country, the team didn’t just dominate round 1, they also are leading in the points table and have an eye on the overall title of ISW Cup Champion for 2017.
Their exploits on the asphalt came after years of hard work and coordination between the motley crew of racers that they are. “We’ve been drag racing in Hyderabad since 2009, but we never had such a unified national platform where we could compete until the ISW started last year. And although we were never an official team, we were all together and shared our love for drag racing,” says team leader and manager Mandeep Singh, who is joined by Vamshi Kiran (the youngest in the team at 23),

Neerja Sharma

, Amit Sharma,

Vyshnav Reddy

, Sarabjot Singh and Surender Singh Thety (the oldest in the team at 50).
Drag racing sets itself apart from other form of racing because of its allegiance to speed; you blink your eyes and it’s all over.
The team has been practicing intensely for the last three months –– tweaking their mean machines and upping their physical fitness. “We made sure our diet was right; did intense workouts in the gym and regularly had swimming sessions to build our stamina. During races we face an intense amount of heat from the bikes as well as from the track. The wind blast while we are at high speeds is also exhausting as racers participate in multiple races in a day,” says Amit, a resident of Thirumala Hills who stood first in two categories, second in one and third in another. He along with Neeraj are the standout performers in the team.
The very thought of zooming down at hair-rising speeds might leave most shuddering, but these daredevils don’t think twice as the team’s car racer Surender Singh points out. “I used to race when I was younger but then my parents would restrict me and even when I got older, I avoided racing to keep them calm. But once they passed away two years ago, I took up racing and I’m basically releasing 25 years of frustration of having not raced in that period. I can’t be happier. My wife supports me; she has to live with it (laughs).” he says. Surender, a resident of Mehdipatnam, who won the second prize in the O2 car category (4000 cc and above) with a time of 12.3 seconds on his mean looking Audi R8 while Neeraj tok the pole position with the same car. Neeraj also set the fastest time of the Speed Week with a mind-blowing 9.8 seconds on his BMW S1000 RR and eventually racked up first in two categories and third in three categories.
The team have set their sights on greater things to make drag racing a household name in
Hyderabad post their success. “We’re hoping that the authorities would recognise our efforts and set up a special facility in the city for drag racing. The airport runway in Shamshabad was open for a while before it was operational but ever since it’s been closed for racing for obvious reasons. The authorities should recognise that drag racing is the fastest growing motorsport in the country with a 30 % increase in the number of racers from last year,” says Neeraj, a resident of Gachibowli, adding, “We’re looking to develop talent as well and we’ve got 6 or 7 enquiries from young racers to join the team. Of course they need to have the necessary safety gear and skills, but we’re sure that Hyderabad will continue to dominate the sport for a long time."