India, Dec. 28 -- Bengaluru's Hemanth Muddappa strengthened his grip on the title race with two victories and a podium finish in the third and penultimate round of the MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Drag Racing Championship here on Saturday. Riding for Mantra Racing, Muddappa stormed to victory in the Unrestricted Super Sport 4-stroke class with 8.269 seconds, edging out Hanuman Pawshe of Fast Track Racing India, who clocked 8.301s.

Muddappa also closed the gap with Pawshe as they both are now on 55 championship points each while Alimon Sai Dalvi is on 53. Muddappa won in the 1051-1650cc category with a timing of 8.542s, ahead of Mujahid Pasha (8.629s) and Alimon Sai Dalvi (8.694s).

Muddappa now has one hand on the trophy as he l...