Chang International Circuit (Thailand): As Asia’s toughest road racing championship draws to a close this weekend, Honda RacingIndia’s duo of Rajiv Sethu and Senthil Kumar have reached Chang International Circuit in Thailand for the final battle of 2022 Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC).
The Honda Racing India Team enters this round among the Top 9 of the total 14 teams in Asia Production 250cc (AP250) class. Showing consistent improvement since its debut as a solo Indian team in 2018, the team has worked extensively on gaining valuable points- climbing from 6 points in its inaugural season to closing the 2019 season with 35 points. On a constant improving path,the team now enters the 2022 finale with total of 42 points.
Commenting on the upcoming round, Mr. Prabhu Nagaraj, Operating Officer – Brand & Communication, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India said, “2022 season of ARRC has proved to be a great learning journey for our riders. We started this championship at Chang International circuitwhere our boys clinched good points for the country.Coming back to the circuit after 4 rounds of intense racing, I am confident that our riders will administer the learnings of previous rounds to gain even better results for the country as well as the team.Honda Racing India is ready to take on the Thai challengeand make the most out of it this weekend.”
Honda racing India’s experienced rider Rajiv Sethu enters last round of AP 250 class with total 31 points under his belt. For Rajiv, Chang International Circuit holds a history of good performances. In 2018, he scored his maiden international point here. It was here that Rajiv secured the Top 7 qualifying finish – first time by an Indian rider, during the 3rd round of ARRC in 2019. His steady performance in round 1 of 2022 season earlier this yearresulted in 11th place finish. Rajiv is already in top 15 out of the 24 riders in AP250 class and is determined to further up his ante this weekend.
Meanwhile, Rajiv’s teammate Senthil Kumar is the most familiar with this track. It was at Chang where he made his international debut with Thailand Talent Cup and finished in Top 20 in round 3 of 2019 ARRC. In round 1 of this season, he powered through and outpaced other international riders in the championship to close the race at 13th place – his best finish. After round 4, Senthil with is now having 11 points and is among the top 19 riders – a stark improvement from his overall 30thposition in 2019.
Looking forward to the last round of championship, Rajiv Sethusaid, “We have reached the final leg of the championship and I am excited to give it my all in the last round here at the Chang International Circuit. Having raced at this circuit previously, I am optimistic of the results and will personally try to snatch as many points as possible by claiming the top position at the leader board.”
Sharing his thoughts, Senthil Kumar said, “This season has added immensely to my learning curve. I am happy that so far, I have been able to gain few points and stand at better position than last year. In my last outing at Chang earlier this year, I finished in Top 13. I am looking forward to racing again at Chang for the last round and am hopeful of claiming a better finish for my country and team.”
The Chang International Circuit will also witness the final round of 2022 Thailand Talent Cup(Honda’s development program for Asian riders) this weekend. Representing the next breed of Indian young racers going global with Honda will be Kavin Quintal from Chennai (Tamil Nadu) and Mohsin P from Malappuram (Kerala).
About 2022 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship: The 25th edition of FIM Asia Road Racing Championship is Asia’s most competitive motorcycle road racing championship, held since 1996. The 2022 season has now reduced from total of six rounds to five rounds. After the official test and season opener at the Chang International Circuit (Thailand) on 22 March 2022 and second & third rounds at the Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia) and the Sportsland Sugo International Circuit (Japan), the battle returnedto Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia) for the penultimate round. The season will wrap up again at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand this weekend.
