JK Tyre National Racing Championship 2026: Round 1 ends with a dramatic finale

The opening round of the CTR-JK Tyre FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2026 concluded at Coimbatore's Kari Motor Speedway on October 25, with eight races on the final day. A last-corner collision in the Indian Super Touring Cars, a photo finish in the F1300 Novice Cup and heavy rain that brought the LGB Formula 4 finale to an early end made for an eventful close to the weekend. Here's a look at the key results.

LGB Formula 4

Meco Racing's Dhruvh Goswami won the first LGB Formula 4 race on Sunday, holding off his rivals by 0.356 seconds despite multiple safety-car interruptions. After an extra formation lap and early mechanical troubles for Ahura Racing, Goswami fought back against the Dark Don drivers and overtook Mehul Agarwal around the outside to reclaim the lead. Arya Singh finished third, while rookie Ashwin Kumar KP secured an impressive eighth overall.

The second race was interrupted by torrential rain and poor visibility. Starting behind the safety car, the race was red-flagged and classified at the end of lap nine. Balaprasath converted pole position into victory, finishing 0.392 seconds ahead of teammate Agarwal, with Meco Racing's Raghul Rangasamy third. Six drivers failed to finish, including Deepak Ravikumar and Ashwin Kumar KP.

Goswami and Balaprasath took a win apiece, while Agarwal, Singh, and Rangasamy also showed strong pace.

Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup

In the Pro class, Bengaluru's Anish Shetty charged from fifth on the grid to win by 4.091 seconds over Navaneeth Kumar. Shetty also recorded the fastest lap at 1:15.648, while Senthil Kumar recovered from a slow start to finish third.

The Amateur class saw Vadodara's Kabir Sahoch complete a hat-trick of wins over the weekend. Despite early chaos and a collision between Shyamal Das and Akash Boro, Sahoch took the chequered flag 1.793 seconds ahead of his rivals, setting the fastest lap at 1:19.452. Harish Yodhin climbed from fifth to second, ahead of Saurav Sanjay Dey.

Shetty and Sahoch emerged as the riders to beat in their respective classes, with Navaneeth Kumar, Yodhin and Dey also in contention.

JK Tyre Levitas Cup

Race winner Pratik Sonawane with Sidharth Balasundaram in P2, and Vinith Kumar in P3

Mumbai's Pratik Sonawane completed a clean sweep in the Gentleman class, converting pole position into a win by 5.053 seconds over Sidharth Balasundaram. Sonawane also set the fastest lap at 1:24.681. Behind them, Vinith Kumar passed Mira Erda on the penultimate lap to claim third, leaving Erda fourth.

In the Rookie class, Sri Lanka's Aadam Junaid secured his second win in as many starts, finishing fifth overall. Shreyans Mittal and Ajay Sankar completed the class podium.

Sonawane leads the Gentleman class, while Balasundaram, Vinith Kumar and Junaid are among the drivers to watch.

Super Saloon categories

The Indian Super Touring Cars finale ended in dramatic fashion as Team N1 Intervalve's Biren Pithawalla took victory in a rain-hit race. A multi-class collision at the final corner disrupted the battle at the front, allowing Pithawalla to beat Arjun Narendran by 2.480 seconds.

In the Indian Touring Cars, Aman Nagdev secured back-to-back wins, finishing 18.137 seconds ahead of Vidyaprakash Damodaran.

Team Performance Racing's Deepak Ravikumar also completed a double in the Indian Junior Touring Cars, holding off teammate Srinivas Teja in a drag race to the line. Ravikumar won by just 0.115 seconds.

In Super Stock, DTS Racing's Diljith T S completed a clean sweep, finishing 10.635 seconds ahead of Krishanu Dutta Bhuyan.

Nagdev, Ravikumar and Diljith ended the weekend as the leading contenders in their respective categories, while Pithawalla, Narendran and Teja also showed strong form.

F1300 Novice Cup

Meco Racing's Shatveer Shetty completed a weekend double in the F1300 Novice Cup, converting pole position into an 8.866-second victory. The race was interrupted early when Kek Qian Jun hit the inside tyre barrier, bringing out the safety car. A subsequent three-car collision ended the races of Hardik L Lakiphangal and Kaveen Rajapaksa.

After the restart, Augustine Boby held off Aadam Junaid by 0.458 seconds to finish second. The closest battle came for fourth, where Momentum Motorsports' Ruthvik Reddy edged teammate Yash Vikram Singh by just 0.004 seconds on the final lap.

Shetty finished the weekend as the class's leading contender, with Boby, Junaid and Reddy also in the mix.

Round 2 of the CTR-JK Tyre FMSCI Indian National Car Racing Championship 2026 will take place at Kari Motor Speedway from November 13 to 15.