The 2025 Royal Enfield GT Cup, promoted by Royal Enfield and JK Tyres, is a one-make motorcycle racing series to promote the Royal Enfield’s halo product the Continental GT 650’s race prowess and also to open the gateway for budding amateur and professional riders to showcase their talents at the grassroots level of motorsports in India.
The Inaugural season of the Royal Enfield GT Cup was held in 2021 in affiliation with the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI), where 18 professional and amateur riders took to the grid on board the Royal Enfield Continental GT 650R- the season ended with four rounds at renowed race tracks across India with the final round held at The Buddh International Circuit where the premiere global championships from four wheels and two wheels made their grand visits – namely Formula 1 and Moto GP.
Now, five years later, the Royal Enfield GT Cup is in its fifth season with a fresh new class introduced and an expanded field of 24 riders – 12 professional riders and 12 amateur riders going head to head in a newly introduced Pro- Am class.
The Royal Enfield GT Cup fields the race-prepped version of the Continental GT 650 – or as Royal Enfield has promptly named it, the Continental GT 650R. The Continental GT 650R uses the same 650cc engine as the road-going version, but naturally, Royal Enfield engineers made some tweaks to the final performance of the engine by designing a Bespoke performance exhaust, which resulted in a 12% increase in overall performance. And as it goes on with such things, the Continental GT 650R is stiffer, 24 kg lighter and aerodynamically more efficient than the road-going version, all thanks to the reinforced plastic half fairing and lighter clip-on handlebars.
The Road version of the Continental GT 650 produces 47 bhp at 7250 rpm and 52.3 Nm of torque at 5150 rpm from a 647cc parallel twin engine mated to a 6-speed manual transmission, allowig the Continental GT 650 is able to reach top speed of 170 kph, considering the 650R is prepped for the race track, it probably packs more punch.
Now, about the championship – From the 2024 season onwards, the Championship’s promoters and organisers came up with a new “Team” category: dubbed the “Twin Power Trophy”, where a team consisting of one professional and one amateur rider is paired to work together to challenge other Pro-Am teams for the top spot. Along with creating a new intrigue and excitement to the championship – the other wisdom the promoters sees with this type of partnership is the amateur rider gets to hone and finesse thier craft by learning the ropes from the professional rider and learn to refine the finer technical details that makes the difference in the world of motorsports; and also providing a chance for amateur rider to make his way up the motorsports ladder with a manageable and accesible entry point i.e the Royal Enfield GT Cup.
The other two categories/classes are a straight forward single entry classes – an Amateur Class and a Professional Class.The championship is divided into 8 different zonal selection rounds(already begun in selected cities in India) and one final selection round, which is followed by a three-round GT race situated in three different cities where the grid of 24 selected riders will go head to head to chase the final glory.
The only prerequisite to get a chance to join the series is that you have a valid driving licence, and you must be at least 18 years old, which is the same in India if you have a valid driving licence, will get a chance to try your hand at a chance to get selected even if its your first time out on the track. Once you register yourselves for the series youll be called upon for trials at the zonal level later proceeding towards the final selection round barring if youcve cleared allthe trial rounds and selection rounds youll get the chance to race in the series’s final major rounds where you and 23 other riders will be gunning for the victory. The Zonal selection rounds have already begun from 10th May. Visit the Royal Enfield website for further details. The actual championship rounds are set to begin in August and end in early September, covering three rounds at the Kari speedway, Coimbatore, India.
The Royal Enfield GT Cup, since its inaugural season, has given numerous aspiring and professional riders a chance to compete and showcase their talent at a relatively small upfront cost, allowing riders from all types of economic backgrounds to take part, without shredding their wallets. And, as is standard with these one-make series where all the participants share the same machinery, it makes for an equal playing field and the only thing that’ll distinguish the best from the rest is ‘Talent’.
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