The 2023 edition of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship (JK NRC) got underway, with Round 1 held at the Kari Motor Speedway.
Tijil Rao started the season on a strong note, securing two wins in the headlining LGB Formula 4 category. Arjun S Nair was another driver to score double wins, with a strong showing in the JK Tyre Novice Cup. Read on for the full results.
LGB Formula 4
The LGB Formula 4 category features made-in-India single seaters, powered by a 1,298cc Suzuki engine. Rao pulled off a last lap overtake to win the opening race, with his Dark Don Racing teammates, Arya Singh and Diljith TS, completing the podium. Race 2 saw the team take a 1-2 finish, this time with Singh defeating Rao.
Singh led most of Race 3, but MSport driver Ruhaan Alva gained ground quickly and passed him on the final lap to take victory. Alva looked set to win the reverse grid Race 4 as well, but spun out of the race. Rao ended up overtaking Diljith TS to score his second win of the weekend.
Results
Race 1
1. Tijil Rao (Dark Don Racing) – 23mins 21:171secs
2. Arya singh (Dark Don Racing) – 23mins 21:369secs
3. Diljith TS (Dark Don Racing) – 23mins 21:586secs
Race 2
1. Arya Singh (Dark Don Racing) – 22mins 28.087secs
2. Tijil Rao (Dark Don Racing) – 22mins 28.370secs
3. Viswas Vijayaraj (Ahura Racing) – 22mins 31.297secs
Race 3
1. Ruhaan Alva (MSport) – 22mins 09.037secs
2. Arya Singh (Dark Don Racing) – 22mins 09.084secs
3. Tijil Rao (Dark Don Racing) – 22mins 10.131secs
Race 4
1. Tijil Rao (Dark Don Racing) – 27mins 51.142secs
2. Diljith TS (Dark Don Racing) – 27mins 51.822secs
3.Saran Vikram Tmars (Mars Racing) – 28mins 05.523secs
JK Tyre Novice Cup
The Novice Cup is for amateurs taking their first steps into the world of formula car racing. Momentum Motorsports’ Arjun S Nair won both races on Saturday. But he failed to repeat this feat on Sunday, with his teammate Neythan McPherson and DTS Racing’s Joel Joseph winning a race each.
Results
Race 1
1. Arjun S Nair (Momentum Motorsports) – 13mins 23:275secs
2. Neythan McPherson (Momentum Motorsports) – 13mins 24:517secs
3. Joel Josheph (DTS Racing) – 13mins 27:272secs
Race 2
1. Arjun S Nair (Momentum Motorsports) – 13mins 41.982secs
2. Saishiva Sankaran (MSport) – 13mins 47.537secs
3. Abhay M (Msport) – 13mins 48.318secs
Race 3
1. Neythan McPherson (Momentum Motorsports) – 14mins 28.205secs
2. Aman Nagdev (MSport) – 14mins 28.801secs
3. Arjun S Nair (Momentum Motorsports) – 14mins 29.264secs
Race 4
1. Joel Joseph (DTS Racing) – 16mins 20.908secs
2. Arjun S Nair (Momentum Motorsports) – 16mins 21.077secs
3. Neythan McPherson (Momentum Motorsports) - 16mins 21.077secs
Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup
The JK NRC also hosts the Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup, where amateur and professional riders compete together on the same grid astride identical, race-prepped Continental GT-R650s.
Anand R survived an incident-packed race and fended off Md. Samrul Zubair to win Race 1. The next race was won by Abhishek Vasudev, but Zubair made another podium appearance, this time in third place.
Results
Race 1
1. Anand R – 14mins 53.242secs
2. Md. Samrul Zubair – 14mins 53.806secs
3. Abhishek Vasudev - 14mins 54.196secs
Race 2
1. Abhishek Vasudev – 13mins 53.248secs
2. Ullass Nanda – 13mins 53.651secs
3. Md. Samrul Zubair – 13mins 57.403secs
JK Tyre 250 Cup
The JK Tyre 250 Cup race, featuring the Suzuki Gixxer 250cc bikes, was won by Sarvesh Balappa. Polesitter G. Abhinav maintained a good pace, and even set the fastest lap — 1min 25.00secs — but that wasn’t enough to defeat Balappa, who started from P2 on the grid.
Results
1. Sarvesh Balappa – 15mins 16.345secs
2. Abhinav G – 15mins 19.623secs
3. Rohit Lad – 15mins 27.436secs
Dipan Sur
