Royal Enfield Continental GT cup makes debut at 2021 JK NRC

The 2021 edition of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship kicked off at the Kari Motor Speedway. The first round hosted the traditional LGB Formula 4 and Novice Cup classes, but it also marked the debut of the all-new Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup.

Sohil Shah, Ruhaan Alva and Anish Damodara Shetty shone in their respective classes. Read on to find out how all the races panned out.

• Anish Damodara Shetty dominates Continental GT Cup
• Sohil Shah, Vishnu Prasad win LGB F4 races
• Ruhaan Alva wins all Novice Cup races

Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup

Royal Enfield’s new retro motorcycle racing series, featuring the Continental GT-R 650, aims to make track racing more accessible to new as well as experienced racers. You can head here for more details on the race-prepped version of the Continental GT 650.

Anish Damodara Shetty dominated the maiden round of the series, beating Allwin Xavier to win both the races over the weekend. The second race, in particular, saw Shetty streak clear from the rest of the field. "I hammered it down after the first lap. I was shaving off almost half a second in each lap,” he said.

Allwin, however, admitted that he was happy with his second place finish after running into issues with his bike’s front brake.

Results

Race 1

1. Anish Damodara Shetty – 14:07.754 

2. Allwin Xavier – 14.07.859 

3. Jayanth Prathipati – 14:08.859 

Race 2

1. Anish Damodara Shetty (Hubli) – 13:57.731

2. Allwin Xavier (Thrissur) – 14:06.374

3. Anfal Akdhar (Thrissur) – 14:08.009

LGB Formula 4

Seasoned racers Sohil Shah and Vishnu Prasad picked up wins in the LGB Formula 4 class. Shah won the opening race, edging Arya Singh by just 0.165 secs. He followed that up with another win in Race 3 the next day.

Prasad, meanwhile, took full advantage of the reverse grid format for Race 2. He was locked in battle with Amir Syed, who has graduated from the Novice Cup to LGB Formula 4 this year. Even though Syed had overtaken Prasad twice early on, Prasad’s experience ultimately paid off and he won the race.

Prasad bagged another podium finish, with a second-place result in Race 3.

Results

Race 1

1. Sohil Shah (MSport) – 23:26.923 

2. Arya Singh (Dark Don Racing) – 23:27.088 

3. Diljith TS (Dark Don Racing) – 23:27.186 

Race 2

1. Vishnu Prasad (MSport) – 22:45.828

2. Amir Syed (Ahura Racing) – 22:49.736

3. Chirag Ghorpade (Momentum Motorsports) – 22:53.650

Race 3

1. Sohil Shah (MSport) – 19:01.088

2. Vishnu Prasad (MSport) – 19:02.222

3. Sandeep Kumar (Dark Don Racing) – 19:03.875

Novice Cup

Races in the Novice Cup class saw plenty of drama, with a red flag stoppage and multiple Safety Car periods. Ruhaan Alva, racing for MSport, kept his cool throughout and asserted his dominance in the category, winning all three races in Round 1.

Results

Race 1

1. Ruhaan Alva (MSport) – 14:22.061 

2. Aadithya Parasuram (Hasten Performance) – 14:25.202 

3. Gaurav Kochar (Momentum Motorsports) – 14:34.275 

Race 2: 

1. Ruhaan Alva (MSport) – 15:06.124 

2. Jaden R Pariat (MSport) – 15:07.429 

3. Aasthiya Parasuram – 15:09.109 

Race 3

1. Ruhaan Alva (MSport) – 21:48.110

2. Chetan Surineni (Quest Motorsports) – 21:48.714

3. Jaden R Pariat (MSport) – 21:48.985