While cities like Delhi, Chennai and Coimbatore see a fair share of motorsport, even in these trying times, Mumbai’s petrolheads have been left wanting. The 2021 Valley Run – the 9th running of the event – however, ended the drought for Mumbai’s speed freaks, as about 500 participants gathered at the Aamby Valley airstrip for a weekend of high-octane drag racing.
- 2021 Valley run saw over 500 participants with a wide cross section of vehicles
- Some of India’s fastest cars and bikes were present at the event
- Fastest time was set by a tuned BMW S1000 RR at 9.522sec
Setting the fastest outright time of the weekend, at a blistering 9.522sec, was a tuned BMW S1000RR, while the fastest car of the weekend was set by a tuned Nissan GT-R that clocked an impressive 10.432sec, making it one of the fastest times ever set at the Valley Run.
In the Indian categories, the fastest overall time set by a two-wheeler went to a modified Yamaha RD 350 that clocked a 11.951sec quarter-mile run – impressive, considering the fact that the RD 350 is a genuine classic in its stock form.
In the four-wheeler category, the fastest time set by an Indian car was a tuned Skoda Octavia RS 230 that clocked in at 13.075sec, which is particularly quick, considering the fact that it is a front-wheel-drive car. The fastest diesel car of the day award went to a tuned BMW 530D that clocked a very impressive 12.886sec quarter-mile time.
As always, the Valley Run also awarded special separate prizes to female drivers and riders. The fastest female rider of the day was Samantha D’Souza, who clocked a 13.880sec quarter-mile time on a modified KTM 390 Duke. The honour for the fastest female driver went to Divya Debi Prasad Das, who set a time of 14.211sec in a tuned Skoda Octavia RS 230.
Apart from thee drag strip, this year’s Valley Run also saw action in the paddock area, with Throttle 97 and the Supercar Club of India setting up a special drift area that enthralled onlookers. Throttle 97 also organised a supercar parade, which saw participation from over 30 supercars and sportscars that came in from as far as Vishakhapatnam for the event.
While the Valley Run is usually held once a year, this year, due to the special circumstances that 2020 brought upon us, there will most likely be a second round of the Valley Run later – most likely in December. Rongom Mukerji, founder of Elite Octane Inc. also mentioned how there might be more motorsport action – and in particular, drag racing action – that Mumbai might see later in the year within city limits. Certainly, something to look forward to.
| Fastest Times: Motorcycles | ||||
| Class | Category | Name | Vehicle | Time (seconds) |
| M1 | Upto 165cc (2 stroke) | Mohammed Rafiq | Yamaha RX 135 | 12.755 |
| M2 | 350cc and above (2 stroke) | Attaulla Baig | Yamaha RD350 | 11.86 |
| M3 | Up to 165cc (4 stroke) | Mustafa Siraj Khan | Yamaha R15 | 14.495 |
| M4 | 166cc to 225cc (4 stroke) | Mustafa Siraj Khan | Yamaha R15 | 13.582 |
| M5 | 226cc to 360cc (4 stroke) | Ashish Kurup | Bajaj Pulsar NS | 12.956 |
| M6 | 361cc to 550cc (4 stroke) | Ayaz | KTM 390 | 12.703 |
| M7 | 551cc to 850cc (Sport) | Siddharth Parmar | Triumph Daytona | 10.981 |
| M8 | 649cc to 850cc (Single/Twin) | Rustom K Patel | Ducati 848 | 11.787 |
| M9 | 851cc to 1050cc | Satyanarayan Raju | BMW S1000RR | 9.522 |
| M10 | 1051cc & above | Hemanth Muddappa | Suzuki Hayabusa | 9.683 |
| O1 | Upto 550cc Indian Bikes | Attaulla Baig | Yamaha RD350 | 11.951 |
| O2 | 551cc and above | Hemanth Muddappa | Suzuki Hayabusa | 9.677 |
| P1 | Muscle Bikes – Open | Ankit Hazare | Ducati 1260 | 11.117 |
| P2 | Naked Bikes – Open | Zuber Ali Jung | Suzuki B-King | 10.189 |
| W1 | Indian Bike Wheelie | Arbaz Shaikh | KTM Duke | 14.801 |
| W2 | Foreign Bike Wheelie | Mohd. Azar Uddin | BMW S1000RR | 10.604 |
| Fastest Foreign Bike | Satyanarayan Raju | BMW S1000RR | 9.522 | |
| Best Tuner – Foreign Bike | Sean Rogers | BMW S1000RR | 9.522 | |
| Fastest Rider – Female | Samantha D’souza | KTM 390 | 13.88 | |
| Fastest Bike – Indian | Attaulla Baig | Yamaha RD350 | 11.951 | |
| Best Tuner – Indian Bike | Attaulla Baig | Yamaha RD350 | 11.951 | |
| Fastest Times: Cars | ||||
| Class | Category | Name | Car | Time (seconds) |
| A1 | Indian Petrol Cars- Upto 1150cc | Nishant Naik | Maruti Zen | 19.154 |
| A2 | Indian Petrol Cars- 1151cc to 1450cc | Mehul Mistry | Maruti Baleno | 18.626 |
| A3 | Indian Petrol Cars- 1451cc to 1650cc | Yash Pawar | Honda City | 17.072 |
| A4 | Indian Petrol Cars – 1651cc to 2050cc | Soham Surendra Saraf | VW Polo | 17.69 |
| A5 | Indian Petrol Cars – 2051cc to 2550cc | Sagar C Dangat | Honda Accord | 16.933 |
| A6 | Indian Petrol Cars – 20551cc to 3060cc | Muhammad Umar | Skoda Octavia | 14.244 |
| A7 | Indian Petrol Cars – 3061cc and above | Vikram Walia | BMW X3 | 13.415 |
| B3 | Indian Pro Stock – 1451cc to 1650cc | Tejas Gaikwad | Honda City | 16.265 |
| B4 | Indian Pro Stock – 1651cc to 2050cc | Saurabh Kajale | VW Polo | 16.763 |
| B5 | Indian Pro Stock – 2051cc to 2550cc | MD Fahad Kutty | Honda Brio | 14.72 |
| B6 | Indian Pro Stock – 2551cc to 3060cc | Mihir Prabhu | Skoda Laura | 13.27 |
| B7 | Indian Pro Stock – 3061cc and above | Vikram Walia | Skoda VRS | 12.851 |
| F | Indian Cars with Foreign Engines (Petrol) | Mohammad Fahad Kutty | Honda Brio | 16.45 |
| G1 | Indian Open (Stock Body) | Vikram Walia | Skoda VRS 230 | 13.075 |
| H1 | Foreign Petrol Cars – Upto 2499cc | Alok Khandelwal | Audi TT | 12.698 |
| H2 | Foreign Petrol Cars – 2500cc to 3499cc | Shiven Arora | Porsche Carrera | 11.346 |
| H3 | Foreign Petrol Cars – 3500cc to 4499cc | Uzair Ansari | Audi RS7 | 10.761 |
| H4 | Foreign Petrol Cars – 4500cc and above | Vishnu Vijay Kumar | Lamborghini Huracan | 12.287 |
| I1 | Foreign Pro Stock – Upto 2499cc | Alok Khandelwal | Audi TT | 11.536 |
| I2 | Foreign Pro Stock – 2500cc to 3499cc | Sahil Contractor | BMW M3 | 11.816 |
| I3 | Foreign Pro Stock – 3500cc to 4499cc | Biren Pithwalla | Nissan GTR | 10.587 |
| I4 | Foreign Pro Stock – 4500cc and above | Vishnu Vijay Kumar | Lamborghini Huracan | 11.292 |
| J | Unristricted | Biren Pithwalla | Nissan GTR | 10.432 |
| K2 | Diesel Open – 1151cc to 1450cc | Sahil Tyagi | Maruti Suzuki Swift | 17.815 |
| K3 | Diesel Open – 1451cc to | Niranjan Bharat Tdkari | Skoda Rapid | 17.954 |
| K4 | Diesel Open – 1651cc to 2050cc | Bhavneet Vaswani | Audi Q3 | 15.549 |
| K5 | Diesel Open – 2051cc to 2550cc | D Ashwin | VW Ameo 1.5 TDI | 15.434 |
| K6 | Diesel Open – 2551cc to 3060cc | M Peterson Luke | BMW 530D | 14.275 |
| K7 | Diesel Open – 3061cc and above | Vivek Ramchander | BMW 530D | 12.886 |
| Fastest Indian Car | Vikram Walia | Skoda VRS 230 | 13.075 | |
| Best Tuner – Indian Car | E Tuners | Skoda VRS 230 | 13.075 | |
| Fastest Foreign Car | Biren Pithwalla | Nissan GTR | 10.432 | |
| Fastest Time – Cars | Biren Pithwalla | Nissan GTR | 10.432 | |
| Best Tuner – Foreign Car | N1 Racing | Nissan GTR | 10.432 | |
| Fastest Car – Diesel | Vivek Ramchander | BMW 530D | 12.886 | |
| Best Tuner – Diesel | Tune O Tronics | BMW 530D | 12.886 | |