Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia): Day 2 of Round 2 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) was filled with drama. As many as 14 riders across 5 categories lost traction and crashed out today at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. But ending the round on a good note, Honda Racing India team added yet another point in Asia Production 250 class (AP250) of the championship.
Making a good start in today’s race, Rajiv Sethu quickly climbed from 16th to 14th position before finishing lap 1. But then, he was caught in a stiff battle with Indonesia’s Fitriansyah Kete and local rider Md Idlan Haqimi. From there on, he pushed back to 17th in lap 5. After the 6th lap, Rajiv had returned to 16th. In last lap, Rajiv spotted the perfect moment and overtook the rider before him to finish 15th and add 1 more point to Honda Racing India’s kitty.
Rajiv’s teammate Senthil Kumar had put up a tough fight today. Starting 17th on grid, he jumped to 16th in lap 1 and maintained his position till lap 2 but returned to 17th in lap 3. Between lap 4 and 5, Senthil geared up and accelerated ahead of his contenders consequently taking 14th position and recorded his personal best lap of 2:29.078 at Sepang. Grappling to fight his momentum from there on, Senthil went wide at last corner of the 8 lap race where he crashed but recovered and managed to finish the race.
Mr. Prabhu Nagaraj, Operating Officer – Brand & Communication, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India said, “Malaysia has been a satisfying round for us. On a day that saw 14 riders crashing out on the circuit, our riders had put relentless efforts to complete the race despite fighting neck-to-neck with their nearest competitors. Each race imparts a valuable lesson. I am confident that our riders and team will adopt these learnings and will further improve their performance. Next up, the ARRC round 3 will head to Sports land Sugo International Circuit in Japan. This will be absolutely a new experience for us. Both our rider will be racing there for the first time. I am sure that we will add more points in Japan too.”
Honda Racing India rider Rajiv Sethu said: “It was certainly not a satisfactory race for me. Although I made a good start in the race but to avoid the crash, I went wide in Lap 5 after getting closer to nearest riders. Nevertheless, it was another day of learning for me. I will work harder to further improve my skills and return back stronger to bring laurels for my country.”
Honda Racing India rider Senthil Kumar said, “Today was another difficult day for me. At the beginning, I gained 1 position but went down to 17th in lap 3. After that, I pushed the throttlehard and eventually overtook 4 riders in lap 5. Thereafter, I was fighting hard till the last but a hit by rider in the last corner of lap 8 resulted in a 16thposition finish for me.”
Despite second place finish in race 2 of ASB 1000cc class by Zaqhwan Zaidi of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with SHOWA team, the Malaysian rider continues to maintain his lead in the championship. Whereas, his teammate Gerry Salim of Indonesia finished today’s race of ASB1000cc class at eighth.
The 25th edition of FIM Asia Road Racing Championship is Asia’s most competitive motorcycle road racing championship, held since 1996. After completing the first two rounds of the championship in Buriram (Thailand) and Sepang (Malaysia), the third round of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship has been confirmed and will be held at the Sportsland Sugo International Circuit in Japan. However, the 2022 season has been reduced from a total of six rounds to five rounds.
