Royal Enfield Flat Track Racing – Shetty is Slide School Cup Champion

Four regional rounds, 12 finalists, one winner. Anish Shetty is the country’s first-ever Royal Enfield Slide School Cup Champion.

Story: Joshua Varghese
Photography: Royal Enfield

Following their association with the acclaimed flat-track racer, Johnny Lewis, Royal Enfield’s Slide School initiative has been gaining popularity worldwide. They introduced the Slide School Cup in Europe in the past year and it was received well. Thankfully, they elected to give Indian motorcycle enthusiasts a go by bringing it to our country. The format was simple. There were four regional rounds, the first of which took place at Motoverse in Goa. The other three were held in Bengaluru, Pune, and Jaipur. We were in attendance at the Pune regionals to witness the action live.

Participants faced off in a 1v1 race over five laps where the loser was eliminated. This continued until only the top four remained. Those gentlemen then fought it out on track simultaneously in a longer race wherein only the top three were selected to head to the finals. A total of three riders from each zone assembled at the Royal Enfield Kukas facility in Jaipur for the final round on a Saturday but before the racing began, Royal Enfield had a surprise waiting for them. They had flown in British flat-track champions Gary Birtwistle and Leah Tokelove for some last-minute coaching and guidance.

Following a classroom session where the coaches offered valuable insights into flat-track racing and apprised participants of the rules and regulations, we convened on the track. The proceedings began with a few demonstration laps by Birtwistle and Tokelove in which they exhibited different ways to line up and execute overtakes. At the participants’ request, they also hammered in a few laps of flat-out riding which gave everyone an idea of the pace and style professionals carry when competing. The rest of the day was devoted to practice sessions.

Come Sunday morning, the 12 riders were split into groups of three at random. Their positions on the grid were also selected at random. The top two from each heat advanced to the semi-finals. From there, the top two from each heat moved on to the finals. For the final heat, it was down to four riders and three races. The champion would be the one who had maximum points at the end of those races.

Having shown remarkable form throughout the day, Anish Shetty made quick work of the first race, clinching the win easily. In the second race, he got caught in a scuffle at the first corner. By the time he recovered, the others had taken off. He finished that one in fourth place. Before the start of the final race, the tension was palpable. Shetty had no option but to win the race if he wanted to be champion. Sathya Raj Arumugam had finished second in the previous races. The competition was fierce but Shetty kept a cool head and paced himself to be just out of reach of his competitors. Although Shetty and Arumugam were tied on points, the former was crowned champion because he won the final race. Meanwhile, Karan Drishya finished in third place.

After becoming the first-ever Royal Enfield Continental GT Cup champion, Shetty is now the first-ever Slide School Cup champion in the country, a modern example of a rider who is competent in more than one discipline of motorcycle racing.

In case you are wondering which motorcycles they raced on, they were the FT411s. They are fully stripped versions of the Himalayan 411/Scram 411 with custom bodywork and a custom exhaust. Wheels are the same size at both ends and so are the tyres. Naturally, the front brake is removed and the seat is just a piece of foam. The flat track at Kukas is 460 metres long with a width of 50 feet. To make the most of that, they had to modify the final drive gearing by adding six more teeth to the rear sprocket.

Flat-tracking is not just a sport. It is also a good way for motorcyclists to train and improve their skills in a safe environment because the skill set developed while riding flat track is equally relevant to both circuit and off-road riding.