Chang International Circuit (Buriram): The inaugural round of FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) 2022 ended with IDEMITSU Honda Racing India Team – Honda’s solo Indian team earning 11 points in a single round for the first time in AP250 class of championship.
Maintaining good pace, Indian rider Rajiv Sethu at Buriram International Circuit earned 5 additional points today. Senthil Kumar too showcased his full power and recorded his best-ever finish in AP250 class of ARRC at 13th spot (earlier highest 14th). With this, the 20-year-old Indian rider grabs his highest ever 3 points in the championship.
Today’s race of Thailand Talent Cup (TTC) 2022 too made India proud. The teen rider Sarthak Chavan showed the power of young India and became the first Indian rookie to win 9 points with 7th finish in second race of his debut season at TTC itself!
Sharing an overview on performance by Indian riders today, Mr. Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice President – Brand and Communications, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, “I am happy with the performance of our riders today who made India proud on international soil. Both Rajiv and Senthil well utilized their strategies and machines to achieve highest single round points for the team. On the other hand, Sarthak Chavan the face of new, confident and aggressive young Indian riders finished in top 7 today in TTC and grabbed total 13 points in round 1 itself. I am confident that our riders will bring back the same motivation and strength to perform best to their abilities in the upcoming rounds.”
Indian team’s performance in AP 250 (race 2) class of ARRC:
After his 13th place start in race 2 of AP250 class, Rajiv paced up in initial 5 laps and moved up to 12th position. His steady performance till the chequered flag resulted in 11th place finish. After the end of round 1, Rajiv now has total of 8 points in his kitty.
Senthil showed the might of confident young Indian rider. Starting 16th on the grid of 17 riders, Senthil made a good start and climbed upto 13th pace in middle of the 10-lap race. From there till the end of race, Senthil was battling it out with his nearest competition and ultimately confirmed 13th position in today’s race. With this, Senthil scores his highest ever 3 points in Asia Road Racing Championship.
Rajiv Sethu said: “Today my entire focus was to maintain steady performance and grab more points for the team. I made a great start and overtook two riders. This round has helped us to test our strategies and make further improvements on the track. I am confident that in the next rounds, I will be able to push harder and secure positions in top bunch.”
Senthil Kumar said: “I am happy with my performance today as for the first time I clocked 13th position and earned 3 points for the team. After yesterday’s crash, I chose to kept steady momentum till the end and this helped me bettering my results. I look forward to racing in Sepang now and aim to climb up to Top bunch.”
Parallelly in ASB1000cc class, Malaysian rider Md Zaqhwan Zaidi of Honda Asia-Dream Racing showed a great strength on the track. Leading from the beginning, Zaqhwan dropped to 4th position in the last few laps. However, the Malaysian rider competed fearlessly and pushed his machine harder in the exciting last lap to finish a close 2nd in the Race2.
Best ever performance by Indian rider at Thailand Talent Cup (TTC):
Exemplifying the true racing spirit and making India proud, IDEMITSU Honda Racing India team rider Sarthak Chavan created history as the first Indian rider to break into Top 7 group in Thailand Talent Cup 2022 – Honda’s development program for Asian riders run on NSF250R.
Starting from the 9th position on grid, Sarthak fought a fierce competition in today’s race. His composed till the end won him 9 points today. After the end of Round 1 of TTC, the 15-year-old rider now has total 13 points.
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 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 September 2022, 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.
