Team India Reaches New High At World Drag Racing Finals

Most of us have either seen or heard of drag racing thanks to Elite Octane, an organisation that conducts the annual Valley Run in Aamby Valley, Lonavala. What you probably don’t know is the fact that Elite Octane also promotes talented Indian racers to help them compete on a global platform. Its efforts have borne fruit with two Indian riders, Sonu Sundeep Singh Sokhi and Amit Sharma, who in a first, battled at the World Finals of Motorcycle Drag-Racing in the US. Sonu, who qualified with the third fastest time, managed to finish in the top eight out a total of 31 entries in the “Street Fighter Class”. Amit, on the other hand, made it to the top 16 in the "Seasoned Racers Class” out of a total of 64 entries.

The premiere drag event saw Amit Sharma, who clocked 8.87sec on the time-slip, earn the title of “Fastest Indian Rider” in the country. It goes without saying that the Indian riders really proved themselves considering it was their very first time competing on foreign soil. In fact, 11-time world drag racing champion Rickey Gadson himself selected the duo after their impressive performance at the Valley Run in Aamby Valley, Maharashtra.

Moreover, the duo had never raced on a Drag Prepped Surface. What’s a ‘Drag Prepped Surface’, you ask? Essentially, the entire track surface is sprayed with a custom formulated resin called PJ1 TrackBite. This black colour resin acts as glue for tyres and offers exceptional grip and safety for dragsters. Sonu and Amit only received two days of training before battling it out at the finals against seasoned riders with over 20 years of experience.

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The bikes used to compete at the world finals for the Street Fighter Class were two tricked-out 2015 Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14Rs. Considered to be the entry point into the world of two-wheeler drag racing, these bikes can run either naturally aspirated engines with NOS or turbocharged motors with stickier compound tyres. Furthermore, the two ZX-14Rs could do without the aid of wheelie bars as they aren’t Pro Stock Motorcycles which clock 313kmph in under 6.8 seconds.

We hope Sonu and Amit’s successful run at the World Finals of Motorcycle Drag-Racing encourages other budding riders to take up the sport of drag racing in the country. For more updates from the world of motorsports, stay tuned to Zigwheels!