Honda Racing India
Global Motorcycle Racing
Honda Racing India
Global Motorcycle Racing
· AP250 class Qualifying: With fastest lap of 1:54.936, Rajiv Sethu secured 13th position on the grid while Senthil Kumar got 16th spot (Fastest lap: 1:55.804)
· AP250 class Race 1: Finishing the race 1 at 13th, Rajiv Sethu opens his points tally with 3 points; Senthil Kumar crashed in lap 4
Chang International Circuit (Thailand), 26 March 2022: With the onset of Asia’s most coveted Asia Road Racing Championship, the IDEMITSU Honda Racing India team’s rider Rajiv Sethu today baggedlaurels for the country.
Show casing his skillsat Chang International Circuit in Buriram, the team’s seasoned rider Rajiv Sethu maintained his steady position till last lap of Asia Production 250 classand scored valuable points in Race 1 of the 2022 season of ARRC.
Dropping down from 13thplace start to the 16th at the end of Lap 3, Rajiv was decisive and sharp and worked his magic on the track. Overtaking the competitors, Rajiv quickly climbed to 14th place and continued the momentum till penultimatelap. A crash between the 2 competition riders in the last lap confirmed his 13thplace, thus bagging valuable 3 points for the team.
While Rajiv’s teammate Senthil Kumar quickly climbed 2 positions to 14th in lap 2 from 16thposition start on grid. But he unfortunately suffered a crash due to opening the throttle early at turn 12 of lap 4.
Quote of Mr. Prabhu Nagaraj, Senior Vice President –Brand and Communications, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd.
“It was a good start for the IDEMITSU Honda Racing India Team after a hiatus of almost 2 years. Stepping on the track after a longbreak, both Rajiv & Senthil adjusted to the track today. Rajiv finished day 1 well and secured 3 points for the team. He can push to the top bunch if he plays his cards right tomorrow. Being his second year at ARRC, Senthil is stilll earning. Charged with today’s results and learnings, we are challenging ourselves to better our results even more in tomorrow’s race of 2022 ARRC round1.”
Quote of IDEMITSU Honda Racing India rider Rajiv Sethu:
“I was both excitedand nervous to step on the track for race today. My strategy for today’s race was maintaining the pace till the end and gain points for the team. I am confident that I will benefit from my experience and training added in these 2 years going ahead in the championship. I am looking forward to tomorrow’s race where I am confident of better results”
Quote of IDEMITSU Honda Racing India rider Senthil Kumar:
“Starting my second season after a long break was a little daunting for me. However, as I rode onthe track, I regained my confidence. Although today’s race met an untimely end with a crash at the end of lap 4 but I am excited to get back on the bike and race to win laurels for the team and my country tomorrow.”
Race 1 of AP 250 class saw battle start from the word go and ended at the chequered flag with Honda riders getting 2 positions on podium. Leading the bunch was Astra Honda Racing’s Rheza Danica Ahrens (1st)followed by Piyawat Patoomyos (2nd) of Honda Racing Thailand.
Parallelly in the ASB1000cc class, Malaysian rider Md Zaqhwan Zaidi of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with SHOWA team fought intensely till the end and won first gold of the 2022 Asia Road Racing Championship.
The development of NextGen millennial riders of India too got a push today. Honda’s Indian teen rider duo of Sarthak Chavan and Kavin Quintal racing in the Thailand Talent Cup (Honda’s development program for Asian riders run on NSF250R) secured 11th& 12th positions respectively in Round 1 qualifying. Making strong push in race 1, Sarthak Chavan finished the race at 12th position.While Kavin Quintal did not participate in the race due to poor health.
About 2022 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship:
The 25th edition of FIM Asia Road Racing Championshipis Asia’s most competitive motorcycle road racing championship, held since 1996. The 2022 season will have a total of six rounds beginning with the official test and season opener at the Chang International Circuit (Thailand)on 22 March 2022. In May 2022, the Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia) will host the second leg. While the host venue for Round 3 in July 2022 is yet to be confirmed, the 2022 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship will make its debut at the Sports land Sugo International Circuit (Japan) in August 2022. In September2022, the Zhuhai International Circuit (China) will serve as the host for the penultimate round and the season is expected to wrap up again at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand in the month of November this year.