Drag Racing events in India are gaining popularity in the car community. It is a great test bed for tuners to look at their work first-hand and for amateur racers to get a taste of the pressure and intensity that motorsport requires. We had the privilege of attending one of the most prestigious drag racing events India has to offer; Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles Present the 7th edition of Vroom Drag Meet Co-Sponsored by Hero Xtreme 160R.
This format of racing is one of the most popular and simplest formats of motorsport across the globe. Drag racing is a type of motorsport which is a race against time and the results are decided on how quickly you can reach the finish line. The race is usually done on a straight strip of land, the quarter mile (402m) is pretty much the universal standard. The purpose of drag racing is for each driver to see who can go the fastest over a given distance. The cars are timed and ranked by their elapsed time, with the lowest time winning the race.
The Vroom drag meet was a huge success, with more than 600 competitors participating. The event was organised by Vroom Motorsports, owned by Tariq Mohsin, a multiple award-winning rider in the two-stroke and four-stroke across many FMSCI events. The event had a very good turnout, and it was a great opportunity for all car enthusiasts to come and see their favourite car models in one place. Rehz Technologies played a key role behind the scenes, their marketing support as well as software and data management expertise allowed the most seamless way to handle over 600 entries with different modes of payments while also allowing the organisers with great data accessibility. Which made the process of identifying multiple entries registered by the participants and allotting the correct participation numbers according to the category as well as recording the timings in an extremely efficient manner. which results in a seamless experience from registration to your final run. Outstation participants reported finding the application process to be simple and straightforward. Alongside the data support, Rehz Technologies also headed the marketing and design campaigns leading to the 7th edition Vroom Drag Meet.
The Vroom Drag Meet is an annual event. This year’s event was hosted by Taneja aerospace and aviation limited (TAAL) in Hosur, 40 kilometres southeast of Bengaluru, toward Chennai. The event saw more than 600 cars and bikes from all over India participating, including many rare models that are not usually seen ripping the tarmac, like a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ. The event is open to anyone who wants to compete as long as the cars and bikes are in the correct category and the rider/driver complies with all the rules of racing, safety protocols, and scrutiny checks.
At the 7th edition Vroom Drag Meet, the track was laid out with fire extinguishers every 10 metres by the TAAL officials, these extinguishers were rated to put out electrical fires as well as combustible liquid fires, ensuring the safety of the competitors and spectators in case of a fire emergency. An ambulance was also on standby to provide immediate assistance in the event of an accident.
Before the racing could begin, all participants and their steeds of choice had to pass mandatory scrutiny by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), the motorsport body authorising the event. On the day of the event, they had a booth set up with a few branded banners and giveaways. The booth was manned by the marshals.
Everything from body panels to brake lights was put under the microscope to ensure that racing would be safe and clean when the action finally hit the drag strip. The safety gear of the riders and drivers, from the helmets to the race suits and footwear, was examined with a gimlet eye to ensure safe racing over the weekend.Once the hundreds of participants were cleared for racing, the drag strip at TAAL was opened for paid practice runs, which a few competitors took full advantage of.
From superbikes like the Suzuki Hayabusa to supercars like the R35 Nissan GT-R, all were in attendance for the 7th edition of the Vroom drag meet. The Hosur aerodrome boasts a 2.25-kilometre-long runway, perfect for drag racing. Competitors were given two runs to complete the quarter- mile (402m) drag race down the airstrip, from which the quickest time was considered. According to the guidelines put in place by the Federation of Motorsports Club of India (FMSCI), a quarter- mile drag strip should have an 800-meter (half-mile) braking zone to be deemed fit for racing. This is done to maintain a large margin of safety in the case of brake failure.
Day 1 of the competition saw a plethora of two-stroke bikes take to the tarmac. The clouds of smoke pouring from the exhausts induced nostalgia among many. The fastest two-stroke rider of the day was Aiyaz with a time of 13.403secs, beating Shah Rukh Khan and Ashok S just by 0.100sec, who finished 2nd in the category. The four-stroke Indian 350cc to 551cc categories also showcased some stiff competition, with Anish Shetty emerging victorious, completing the quarter mile in 12.624sec. Aiyaz finished in 2nd position with a time of 12.798sec.
The second day of the Vroom drag meet was met with a thicker air of excitement around the event as the superbikes and cars got ready to take the runway. The line-up for the day included jaw-drop- ping superbikes like the BMW S1000RRs, a turbocharged ZX-14R (yeah, that!s right) and Ducati Panigale Aniversario to souped-up everyday cars like engine-swapped Honda Citys, stage 2 VW Polos and NoS tanks inside Maruti Zens all taking part. In the unrestricted two-wheelers class, Sundeep Singh clocked the fastest time of the event with a blistering time of 9.731 seconds. To keep all of the participants, organisers, marshals and audience hydrated and focused on the action, Monster Energy was the official beverage partner for Vroom’s 2022 event.
Out of the multiple sub-classes in the four-wheeler category, Vivek Ramachander driving a ballistic Stage 3 Audi RS6 Avant posted the quickest time of 10.407 smashing Ganesh R’s time by 0.725 seconds in the Nissan R35 GT-R. The third fastest four-wheeler was driven by Akshay Purushottam who was piloting a gorgeous Audi R8 V10 Plus and completed the quarter mile just a tenth of a second slower than 2nd.
Vroom had also invited some very special cars to be a part of the Drag Carnival as a treat for the hundreds of spectators. Club Octane, a supercar club in Bangalore, conducted exhibition runs with their fantastic machines, There were multiple Nissan GT-Rs, Porsche Boxters and G wagons in attendance flanking the pièce de résistance – a Lamborghini Aventador SVJ – The SVJ’s 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 produced a mind-boggling 770 horsepower and 720 nm of torque as it flew across the drag strip, leaving the audience stunned by the symphony of the 12 cylinders roaring at 8500 rpm. Though it wasn’t the fastest steed of the stable, the reaction of the crowd made the SVJ the highlight of Sunday.
6th Mile Customs assisted the event by becoming the awards partner and Speedway Motorsports was the race partner which helped the officials and organisers run the event smoothly and brought out some amazing-looking trophies for all of the class winners!
Jawa Yezdi Motorcycles’ 7th edition Vroom Drag Meet Co-Sponsored by Hero Xtreme 160R was a roaring success. The layout of the event was seamless, and The Driver’s Hub thoroughly enjoyed the experience. We look forward to seeing the drag racing culture grow in India, and the 7th edition of Vroom Drag Meet is proof that the future for racing fanatics looks very bright.
follow vroom on Instagram: @vroomdragmeet
