National Racing Championship gets underway in Coimbatore

NEW DELHI: Sunny weather with a hint of wind welcomed the drivers and riders on the inaugural day of Round 1 of the 25th JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship 2022 at the Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore.

Some terrific performances by the participants across LGB Formula 4, JK Tyre Novice Cup and JK Tyre presents Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup marked Day 1 of the season opener round.

The day started with the engines roaring in the first race of the 2022 of Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup but was soon followed by a few tumbles on the track. It was, however, Thrissur-lad Allwin Xavier, who got the better of defending champion Anish Damodara Shetty of Hubli at the final laps. Out of the ten laps, Anish was leading in most, until Allwin zoomed past him at the penultimate lap to emerge a winner.

The Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup this time introduced the Pro-Am Series format with 10 professional and 15 amateur riders competing together on the same grid.

Chennai-lad Soorya P.M came as a surprise to finish 3rd overall, although he is from the Amateur category. In the Pro-category, Allwin and Anish was followed by Joseph Mathew as the 2nd runner-up; while in the Amateur category, Soorya P.M from Chennai was followed by Naresh Kaname from Latur, and Varun Gowda from Mysore, in 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

Next up was the JK Tyre Novice Cup with youngsters battling it out for a taste of glory. After a neck-and-neck battle, Chennai-lad Kyle Kumaran emerged champion, followed by DTS Racing's Joel Joseph, and MSport's Dhruvh Goswami, in the 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

Last edition's podium finisher Aadithya Parasuram was following up Kyle Kumaran closely in the second spot but lost it due to a wheel spin with only a few laps left.

The LGB Formula 4 started with 25 seasoned race drivers from across cities namely Patiala, Nellore, Dehradun, Panchkula, Kottayam, and Vadodara, battling for the top glory. It was Team Dark Don all the way leading the top positions.

After a powerful show by the top contenders, it was Kolkata lad Arya Singh from Dark Don Racing, who made the last laugh. He was followed by his teammates Tijil Rao from Bangalore in the 2nd and Ashwin Datta from Chennai in the 3rd place, respectively.

Ahura Racing's Amir Sayed came a little short of a podium finish, while MSport's Ruhaan Alva, the defending Novice Cup champion, who upgraded to the LGB Formula 4 this year, gave an impressive performance as he finished among the Top 7.

Race 2 of the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup saw Anish D Shetty reclaiming the top spot as Race 1 topper Allwin Xavier slightly hit the back of Anish's bike and slipped on the track, midway into the race.

Joseph Mathew defended his 2nd runner-up spot in Race 2 as well, with Ullas S Nanda finishing 1st runner-up, in the Professional category. In the Amateur category, Soorya PM defended his position from Race 1 and was followed by Varun Gowda in the 2nd, and Raj Kumar in the 3rd place, respectively.

Young Chennai-lad Kyle Kumaran was spectacular throughout the day as he defended his position in Race 2 of the JK Tyre Novice Cup. Coming 2nd in Race 2 was DTS Racing's Vinith Kumar, while Hasten Performance's Aadithya Parasuram who lost out unfortunately in the first race, finished 3rd.

Overall, it was a power-packed and surprise-filled Day 1 of the 25th JK Tyre FMSCI National Racing Championship -- 2022.

With two races of LGB Formula 4 and JK Tyre Novice Cup, 1 race of Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup, and the endurance race of 60 mins of JK Tyre presents Endurance League, Day 2 of Round 1 is going to be more exciting.