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A few weeks back, Royal Enfield had announced the Continental GT Cup for India and with this, the company officially entered the world of track racing. As the name suggests, the retro-inspired racing series aims at making track racing accessible to new as well as experienced racers. The Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup has already made its debut at the 2021 JK National Racing Championship last month.
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Now, to the most interesting part, the GT Cup features track-focussed version of the company’s supremely capable Continental GT 650. Needless to say, GT 650 race bike, or the GT-R 650, as RE has named it officially isn’t road legal and it has been prepped especially for the track and in order to do that, it has undergone some significant changes.
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Speaking of which, the track-spec Royal Enfield Continental GT-R 650 features a new bespoke stainless steel exhaust, thanks to which Royal Enfield is claiming a 12 percent more power output for the motorcycle. For reference, the standard model is good for producing a maximum power output of 47 hp. That said, the GT-R 650 manages to cross the 50 hp mark in terms of power.
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Apart from the increased power output, the GT-R 650 also has stiffer race-tuned suspension at both ends. The said suspension aims at offering better riding dynamics and more confidence to the rider, especially while riding around corners at high speeds. We clearly felt the difference when we were invited to try the GT-R 650 at Kari Motor Speedway in Coimbatore a few days back.
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Apart from these changes, the race-spec Royal Enfield GT-R 650 also features bits like lowered race clip-on handlebars, specially designed fairing and belly pan for improved aerodynamics, rear-set footpegs, and also, grippier JK race tyres. All these changes come together and make the GT-R 650 a really sweet track bike, ensuring faster lap times and more importantly, a lot of fun!
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Thanks to the aforementioned changes, the Royal Enfield GT-R 650 race bike weighs a full 24 kg lighter compared to its road-legal counterpart. The reason behind this is the fact that the GT-R only keeps the racing essentials while stripping everything else out.
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Now coming back to the Royal Enfield GT cup, 100 eligible riders made it to the Rider Selection Programme at Kari Motor Speedway, Coimbatore from October 18 to 19, 2021, where the 18 fastest riders got shortlisted. The selected riders will now fight it out for the Continental GT Cup for a total of 4 rounds at the JK NRC, with the first one already done at Kari.
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Speaking of the remaining rounds, two of them will be held at Kari Motor Speedway in November, and December followed by the Grand Finale in January 2022 at the Buddh International Circuit in Greater Noida. Royal Enfield says that after the Continental GT Cup 2021 finale, it will also be introducing track schools in India with an intent to provide easy and professional training access to the enthusiasts who wish to learn motorcycle racing or simply want to improve their overall riding skills.
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