The Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup is India’s first retro-racing format that is aimed at building accessible entry into track racing for new entrants as well as experienced racers. Launched in partnership with JK Motorsports, the first edition of the Continental GT Cup will be featured at the JK National Racing Championship starting October 2021. Online registrations are now open.
The Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup sits at the intersection of increasing interest in motorcycle track racing, and the need for accessible forms of racing and training in India. Post the Continental GT Cup 2021 finale, Royal Enfield will also introduce track schools in India with an intent to provide easy and professional training access to eager enthusiasts who wish to learn motorcycle racing or simply want to improve their overall riding skills.
Presented by JK Tyre Motorsports and organized under the aegis of the Federation of Motorsports Club of India (FMSCI), the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup will debut at the JK National Racing Championship 2021 and will be conducted in accordance with the regulations of the FMSCI. It will have four rounds starting in October 2021, culminating in January 2022.
As for the racing machines, the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650 models have been tinkered to give them a retro-racing avatar and they have been named the GT-R650. The track-spec Continental GT-R650 has minimalistic, yet purpose-built performance modifications which offer an un-intimidating, agile and spirited performance on the track. Furthermore, the simple, old-school build of the motorcycle makes it delightfully easier in terms of maintenance and repair, making it an ideal track tool that is easy for novices to learn on and an equally capable machine in the hands of experienced racers.
Commenting on the launch of the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup, and speaking about Royal Enfield’s motivation to foray into motorsports, Adrian Sellers - Custom Programme Lead & Manager, Product Strategy & Industrial Design at Royal Enfield, said, “In 2019, we developed two race-ready Continental GT 650 motorcycles with Harris Performance, leveraging their 40 years of racing experience to make the most track-worthy GTs we could, all without fundamentally changing the base motorcycles. The result exceeded our expectations, and so we are excited to continue that story and launch the Continental GT Cup, an exciting and engaging entry into retro track-racing and motorsports.”