For connoisseurs of motorsport, the Kari Motor Speedway on the outskirts of Coimbatore, the thrill and speed of cars and bikes pushing the limits was on full view as the Royal Enfield Continental Cup presented by JK Tyre and JK Tyre Novice Cup brought nail-biting action to life.
Part of the 28th JK Tyre Racing Championship, the weekend saw exciting races in its two categories as Anish Shetty and Bhuvan Bonu came out all guns blazing in Round 1 which concluded over the weekend.
Anish dominated the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup. To win a hat-trick of races spread over Saturday and Sunday was a sight to watch. If competition in the two-wheeler category was made to look woefully one-sided by Anish, born in Hubli and settled in Bengaluru, he had slogged hard for it.
These bikes, weighing close to 200 kg are not easy to tease on the track. Anish showcased fitness and form and above all speed to catch the attention of one and all. The weather pattern over two days was different.
Saturday was sunny and bright where Anish showed that the rich field belonged to him. He has been racing bikes since age 15. Now, at 30, he is the seasoned master who is reaping the rewards for working hard and pushing his bike.
The GT Cup grid is a mix between the seasoned riders and novices who have emerged from a trial of sorts from the street to circuit. Perhaps, one more boy who could match Anish in terms of challenge was Kayan Zubin Patel from Mumbai.
Kayan was not as fast as Anish, but the third race of the weekend saw defending champion Navaneeth Kumar from the previous season bouncing back to second place. Overall, in the standings, Anish Shetty is way ahead with 30 points.
Kayan is at 19 points and Navaneeth at 12 points. “It has been a fruitful weekend and all the hard work paid off,” said Anish Shetty. For the young drivers who were also part of the grid as novices, watching Anish was a learning experience.
He showcased speed and style with his bike. Among the amateurs, Bryan Nicholas from Pondicherry was just too good as he won all three races (36 points). Behind him was Johring Warisa (27 points) from Umrangso.
Kabir Sahoch from Vadodara was third in overall standing with 18 points. In the JK Tyre Novice Cup, Bhuvan Bonu was too fast for the rest of the field. The 15-year-old from Bengaluru, who trains in the United States of America was pushing his car effortlessly.
At some stages, it looked as if he was in a different car altogether. Indeed, to be getting the racing juices flowing all through two days, Bonu was confident. “I kept getting better and better. I enjoyed the weekend,” said the lad.
As for the rest of the field comprising Ojas Surve and Abhijit Vadavalli, it was more of watching Bonu tease his car on two days in succession. He did not want to say much on how faster his car was on an incident-filled last race on Sunday.
Provisional Race results:
Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup
Race 1:
Professionals:
Anish Shetty: 13:46.628
Kayan Zubin Patel: 13:52. 702
Ashish Patel: 14:01.852
Amateurs:
Bryan Nicholas: 14:08.432
Johring Warisa: 14:08.629
Saran Kumar: 14:25.828
Race 2:
Professionals:
Anish Shetty: 13:39.635
Kayan Zubin Patel: 13:42.676
Navaneeth Kumar: 13:49.416
Amateurs:
Bryan Nicholas: 14:02.450
Johring Warisa: 14:07.477
Kabir Sahoch: 14:15.237
Race 3:
Professionals:
Anish Shetty: 13:28.442
Navaneeth Kumar: 13:31.330
Kayan Zubin Patel: 13:31.493
Amateurs:
Bryan Nicholas: 13.44.805
Johring Warisa: 13.48.084
Saran Kumar: 14.07.926
JK TYRE NOVICE CUP:
Race 1
Bhuvan Bonu (Team MSport):13:59.719
Abhijit Vadavalli (Team Momentum): 14:10.391
Ojas Surve (Team DTS Racing): 14:26.937
Race 2:
Bhuvan Bonu (Team MSport):14:14.815
Ojas Surve (Team DTS Racing): 14:27.489
Parthik Ashok (Team DTS Racing): 14.28.154
Race 3:
Bhuvan Bonu (Team MSport):14:54.313
Parthik Ashok (Team DTS Racing): 15:16.183
Lokithingeash Ravi (Team DTS Racing): 15:16.263