Hemanth Muddappa

Hemanth Muddappa (born 1990)[1] is an Indian motorsports athlete from Bengaluru.[2] He competes in Indian National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship and is a 17-time National champion in different classes.[3][4] He is from Mantra Racing team, Bengaluru.[5]

Background

Muddappa is from Bengaluru, Karnataka. He is from Kodava community.[2][6]

Career

In 2025, Muddappa won the FMSCI National Drag Championship titles in two classes taking his career total number of Indian National Motorcycle Drag Championship titles to 17.[7] On 28 December 2025, he finished fourth in the Super Sport 4-Stroke 1051-1650cc class, and the 14 points he got were enough for winning the National title in the fourth and final round at the Madras International Circuit in Chennai. He also won a second place behind Hanuman Pawshe in the Super Sport (4-Stroke) 851-1050cc class that got him his 16th National crown.[8] In the third round of the championship on 27 December 2025, he won a double to lead two classes and equalled the leader Pawshe in the Unrestricted class at 55 points to keep himself in race for three titles. However, an alleged jump start saw him relinquish the unrestricted class crown.[9]

Earlier in 2024, he won the National crown in three classes and ended the year with 15 national titles.[10] He is the first Indian motorsports athlete to win 15 national titles in any of the motorsports disciplines. In the 2024 season, he won the 4-stroke unrestricted class, 4-stroke 851 to 1050cc class and super sport 1051 to 1650cc class.[11]

He started his racing career in 2017 at the Madras Motor Racing Track, which is renamed as the Madras International Circuit. He first won the national title in the unrestricted class in 2017. He retained the unrestricted class in 2018 and won two more titles in the 851 to 1050cc class and 1050cc and above class.[1] In 2019, he won his fifth National championship crown winning the unrestricted class for the third straight time.[12] In 2020, he won two more titles in the 8051 to 1050cc class and 1051cc and above class. The unrestricted class was withdrawn from the National Championship status in 2020.[1] In 2021[13] and 2022, he retained the 1051cc and above class. In 2023, he won both the Unrestricted class and 1050cc and above class to become the only Indian athlete to have a dozen championship titles in the fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship.[1]

On 13 April 2025, Muddappa defeated world champion Ricky Gadson of the United States at the Valley Run summer edition.[14] Riding a Mantra Racing tuned BMW S1000RR, he clocked a 9.477 to beat the 13 time world champion in the quarter mile race.[15]

Records

In 2019, he equalled the course record at MMRT in the fourth and final round of the championship. He also won a hat-trick, winning for the third year in one category.[16][17]

In October 2021, he set a record in the "Super Sport 1051cc and above class" clocking 07,913seconds over the 302-metre Madras Motor Sports Club drag strip. He broke the record again in 27 February 2022, with a time of 07.749 seconds astride a black Suzuki Hayabusa.[18]

On 27 February 2022, he also broke his own record in the Super Sport 851 to 1050cc class.[18]

17 national titles

Source:[1]

  • Unrestricted Super Sport class: Five titles;
  • Super Sport 1051cc and above class: Seven titles in 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 and 2025.[18][9]
  • Super Sport 851 to 1050cc class: Five titles.[9]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "With unparallel 15th National title Hemanth Muddappa cements his place in Indian motorsports". ANI News. 29 December 2024. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  2. ^ a b ANI (1 May 2023). "Ten-time national drag champion Hemanth Muddappa begins 2023 in style with a double". ThePrint. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Sports SnippetsThe Shillong Times". 29 December 2025. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  4. ^ PTI (24 December 2023). "'LightningR1' Hemanth Muddappa Wins 12th National Title, Becomes Most-Decorated Indian Motorsports Athlete". www.outlookindia.com. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  5. ^ "Hemanth Muddappa becomes most-decorated motorsports athlete". Telangana Today. 24 December 2023. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
  6. ^ "Nine-time drag champ Hemanth Muddappa gunning for more National titles". The Times of India. 21 July 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  7. ^ Today, Telangana (27 December 2025). "Hemanth Muddappa wins double at Indian Drag Nationals in Chennai". Telangana Today. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  8. ^ "National Drag Racing C'ship: Pawshe edges past Muddappa to win title in Unrestricted class -Agencies | Sports - Dailyworld.in". Dailyworld Newspaper. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Admin (28 December 2025). "Hanuman Pawshe supreme in Unrestricted class || Hemanth Muddappa bags two more National titles || Lapis Lazuli tops in Girls category". MOTORSPORTINGLY. Retrieved 31 December 2025.
  10. ^ "Press Trust Of India". www.ptinews.com. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  11. ^ "MOTORSPORTS | Hemanth Muddappa clinches three National titles, takes his overall tally to 15". The Hindu. 29 December 2024. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  12. ^ "Hemanth Muddappa dominates motorcycle drag racing championship". The Hindu. 30 December 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  13. ^ "Nine-time drag champ Hemanth Muddappa gunning for more National titles". The Times of India. 21 July 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  14. ^ Davare, Gaurav (15 April 2025). "Hemanth Muddappa Triumphant At The Valley Run 2025 Summer Edition". Bike India. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  15. ^ Sukumaran, Anand (15 April 2025). "Hemanth Muddappa beats world champion Ricky Gadson at The Valley Run drag race". Indulgexpress. Retrieved 16 April 2025.
  16. ^ "Hemanth Muddappa tops Drag race in record time". www.dtnext.in. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
  17. ^ "Hat-trick for Hemant Mudappa at Round 1 of National Drag Racing Championship". Overdrive. Retrieved 14 April 2024.
  18. ^ a b c "Muddappa sets national record in third and final round of Motorcycle Drag Racing". The Times of India. 27 February 2022. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 28 September 2025.
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