Hyderabad: Hyderabad’s Mohammed Riyaz recently hogged the limelight in the 851-1050cc section in the first round of the MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship in Chennai. The city bike racer clocked 7.922, beating the likes of Hemant Mudappa (08.162); 3. Sugan Prasad (Bengaluru) (08.382).
“It was a big one as it was my 100th career title,’’ said the 31-year-old. The event was conducted in a secure bio-bubble environment at the MMRT circuit in Chennai.
Racing is in his blood as his father Mohd Yousuf was also a bike racer. “I learnt the basics from him. He pushed me into the racing career. Thanks to his encouragement I have achieved many victories in the national circuit,’’ he said.
Riaz participates in drag and circuit racing. While he uses BMW s1000RR (pro) for circuit racing, he rides the Yamaha YZF R1. “I bought the BMW in 2017 the Yamaha is dated back to 2008. It has given me good results.’’
Known for his passion for racing, Riaz said speed thrills him. “It needs a lot of skill to race at high speed. I take a lot of care of my bikes. I have the fastest time of 9.55 seconds in a normal quarter-mile course of 402 metres. I have the honour to do the fastest timing for the last three years. Of course, there is an element of risk. So it all depends how you handle your bike,’’ added Riaz, who is regarded as the best fine tuner of the bikes in the country. He even got the best tuners title too. “Other racers have extra horsepower with new bikes, I continue with my old one and race with it.’’
The city racer has participated in international racing in Malaysia once. “There is a lot of difference from countries like Malaysia or Italy. We hardly have any race circuit in the country. In fact, we don’t have any place to practice. We have a lot of talented racers in the city,’’ he said.
Riaz idolises Valentino Rossi, an Italian professional motorcycle racer and multiple MotoGP World Champion. “He is a God in racing and greatest motorcycle racers of all time.’’
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