28 May 2024

KTM CUP, India’s largest racing championship crowns India’s fastest racers in its 2nd Season, 2024

• Rahil Pillari Shetty (Pro Category), Ann Jennifer (Women’s Category), Adam Feroz Backer (Amateur Category) emerged as the winners at the action-packed finale of KTM CUP Season 2 at Coimbatore’s KARI Motor Speedway
• The winners will train with KTM Pro instructors in the presence of MotoGP^TM legends at the KTM Academy of Speed in Austria.
• 900 KTM owners from 114 towns participated across the Pro, Women and Amateur categories. 111 Racers from 38 cities were then selected for the qualifier.
• Largest qualifier of any ‘One Make Race’ thus far in India.

Coimbatore, May 28^th, 2024: Purely READY TO RACE, KTM, the world’s number one premium sport motorcycle brand concluded its customer racing program KTM CUP, at the KARI Motor Speedway, Coimbatore, today. By far, the largest racing championship ever in India, the KTM CUP saw the best of racing talent from 114 different cities battle to the top in 3 categories – Pro, Women & Amateur.

KTM CUP – 2 successful seasons

KTM had announced its ‘customer racing program,’ KTM CUP in Dec 2022 – a big step to democratise racing in India. The Season 2 of KTM concluded on 26^th May 2024 with over 900 racers participating across the country from over 114 towns. The KTM CUP is recognised by FMSCII as KTM’s One Make Race Championship. This year, Castrol and Ceat joined KTM India’s mission to popularize racing in India and build India’s largest racing championship.

The Finale of KTM CUP Season 2 was telecasted LIVE on YouTube and here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etl4XlQrYpk

The Stages in KTM CUP

KTM CUP is conducted in 3 stages – Selections, Qualifier, Finale. The Amateurs & Women with over 860 racers across India participated in the Selectionsround in Coimbatore, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata and the top 66 made it to the qualifier. Out of these 860 racers, about 200 were women racers from across the country.

36 Pros joined in at the Qualifiers at Coimbatore. With 111 racers from 38 cities across India, the KTM CUP Qualifier is by far the largest one-make race format event in the country.

The KTM Race Academy

KTM Race Academy is a pedigree racing school that trains the racers during Selection & Qualifier rounds of the KTM CUP. This is driven and mentored by ex-MotoGP^TM racer Jeremy McWilliams & 7-time INMRC championship winning Emmanuel Jebaraj.

Treat for the KTM CUP winners of Season 2

Apart from the cash prize, the winners (1st in each category) will fly to Austria, for the KTM Academy of Speed. They will train with KTM Pro instructors in the presence of MotoGP™ legends at the KTM Academy of Speed in Austria. Truly a ‘money can’t buy experience.’

• Winners in Pro Category: Rahil Pillari Shetty took the overall win while Abhishek Vasudev and Kayan Zubin Patel took the 2^nd and 3^rd positions, respectively.
• Winners in Amateur Category: Adam Feroz Backer took the win while Mohd Yosuf and Shashanka Sharma took the 2^nd and 3^rd positions respectively.
• Winners in Women Category: Ann Jennifer took the win while Lani Jena Fernandez and Tanisha Sanjay Arora took the 2^nd and 3^rd positions, respectively.

Rahil, Adam, and Ann will be flying to Austria for KTM Academy of Speed.

The KTM RC 390 - Born and bred for the racetrack

Throughout all stages of the KTM CUP championship, participants raced with the READY TO RACE, company provided KTM RC 390 GP. This machine boasts high-level components like trellis frame, WP APEX suspension and sophisticated technology like MTC, cornering ABS. These features, when combined with KTM’s legendary power to weight ratio creates a racer’s dream machine that is capable of incredible confidence inspiring performance on the track.

The media race

India’s top auto experts also got to race on the KTM RC 390 at KARI in a friendly media race. Their presence was an added motivation for the top racers who competed in the finale.

Interested readers can view the race here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etl4XlQrYpk (From 5:19:15).

Speaking on the occasion, Jeremy McWilliams, Race Director - KTM CUP said,“Every nation across the world should have such a grassroot level program for Racing like the KTM CUP India. It is good to see India introducing the women category to KTM CUP. I have seen such efforts from the USA & other European countries. The feedback from the riders and their progression has been truly outstanding and at international standards. Jeba (Mr. Emmanuel Jebaraj) and his team have worked hard to up the standards and got a good base setting for the riders now. The KTM CUP is delivering exactly what it set out to do for 2 consecutive seasons now and I am already looking forward to season 3.”

Mr Sumeet Narang, President (Probiking) at Bajaj Auto Ltd: said, “The response to KTM CUP Season 1 was so overwhelming that Season 2 was a natural outcome. Racing is a sport that is best experienced on the controlled environment of a racetrack than the streets. With the KTM CUP we have provided a platform for over a thousand KTM racers to learn and display their racing talent, making this India’s largest racing championship. This year, we are thrilled by the fantastic turnout across the 3 categories – Pro, Women, Amateur. Winners from each category will fly to Austria, for an unforgettable training experience at the KTM Academy of Speed. KTM fans can gear up for more such ‘Ready to Race’ experiences in the future!”

The KTM CUP is a part of KTM Pro-XP’s endeavour to offer KTM owners experiences that makes them pro riders. In the last 70 years of motorsports, KTM has won 340+ world championship titles across all racing formats, like Dakar, MotoGP, Motocross (MX), Supercross (SX), and Enduro.

About KTM India

True to its “Ready to Race” philosophy, KTM has an unparalleled legacy in motorsports, with over 340+ world championships since 1953, winning the Dakar Rally for the 19^th time in 2023. Since its entry in 2012, KTM India has grown its presence to more than 450 stores across the country. KTM has built a strong customer base of half a million biking enthusiasts, making India the largest global market for KTM. The partnership of Bajaj Auto Limited and KTM was inked in 2007, with Bajaj Auto Limited now owning a significant stake in KTM AG.

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