Speed Run 2006 runs out of steam at onset

Some of the world’s fastest bikes and cars were slated to provide some mind-blowing performance on Sunday at the Speed Run 2006. However, the day saw merely half a dozen bikes performing.

The lacklustre show was attributed to the hawk-like presence of three Department of Revenue Intelligence investigators who were on the scene from Saturday. On day one of the two-day quarter mile drag race the sleuths were seen noting registration numbers of some of the superbikes that stood in the trucks and tempos that had brought them from Bangalore and Mumbai. According to the participants, one Mumbai-owned R1 (1000 cc superbike) was even towed away only to be released later. “The rest of the bike riders simply decided to skip the event on Sunday,” a participant said on condition of anonymity. The problem, another explained, lay with the paper work. “Often these bikesare bought by one person and are sold or loaned to another. But as the rider isn’t the same person who bought the bike, the DRI people make a fuss.”

The fuss ensured that of the 25 entries in the foreign bike category just half a dozen finally performed, said a senior organiser. “The DRI officials must have come, thanks to all the news about Bollywood stars riding foreign bikes without proper paperwork,” said Hormazd Sorabjee, editor, Autocar India, adding that this was the first such occurrence in the event’s four year history.

With a majority of the bikes missing from action, and the foreign car categories reduced to a relative showing off contest between Gautam Singhania and Himanshusinhji of Gondol, spectators too were not impressed. “The Indian bikes and cars that performed on Saturday were definitely a better treat to watch than Sunday’s hyped ‘foreign’ show,” insisted spectator Justin Herbert.

Insisting that the Bangalore racers—the garden city’s racing is extremely professional thanks to TVS and Yamaha running their own teams there—had stayed away because of a change in rules, veteran racer and regular spectator G Subash Chandra Bose insisted the show would have been better had the Southerners turned up.

“The organisers introduced a new rule that separated the NOS (nitrous oxide modified) cars from the regular 1000 cc models. Since the Bangalore drivers mostly drive NOS cars they stayed away,” the Chennai-based R&D Manager with UCAL Mikuni Fuel Systems Ltd said adding, “of course, the DRI presence meant the bikers steered clear of the race too.”