Sportsland SUGO: The IDEMITSU Honda Racing India celebrated its best-ever performance in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship 2022 (ARRC). Today’s race made India proud. It is the first time that India’s solo team secured the top 5 positions at Asia’s toughest road race championship. Rajiv recorded the new best finish by an Indian rider in AP250 class of AP250 at the 5th spot.
Saturday’s AP250 race was one of the toughest races of the season with 5 riders crashing out in the first lap. Starting the wet 12-lap race 1 from 14th on the grid, Rajiv quickly moved to 6th place after lap 1. From thereon, he continued to maintain his position until he fell in lap 5 due to a wet racetrack. Determined to finish the race, Rajiv challenged himself and immediately re-joined the race to finally cross the chequered line at 5th place.
Masterful race performance by the Indian rider Rajiv Sethu in his very first outing at Sportsland SUGO International Circuit resulted in the team realizing its next step up by securing the top 5th spot in Race 1 of AP250 class and earning 11 points.
Proud of today’s performance, Mr Prabhu Nagaraj, Operating Officer – Brand & Communication, Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India, said, “Today, it’s a happy day for Honda Racing India! We have reached the first step of our target top 5 finish. In a nail-biting race where many riders crashed out due to wet weather conditions, our rider Rajiv Sethu showed his mettle and made India proud with his fifth-place finish. With his splendid performance, the team earned 11 points. His performance not only created a record but also boosted the morale of the entire team. Meanwhile, Senthil Kumar couldn’t complete the race due to a crash. This was disappointing but he’s learning fast and I’m confident that he will come back stronger and wiser. I am confident that tomorrow’s race will see more excitement from both the riders.”
Meanwhile, it was a tough day for teammate Senthil Kumar who crashed out in the first lap due to a wet racetrack.
Honda Racing India rider Rajiv Sethu said:
Today’s race was a true test for all riders as weather conditions were not in favour. I am happy that I didn’t rush on the wet track and maintained a steady position in the race. Despite meeting a crash, I continued with the same performance as my focus was to earn points for the team. The training from our trainers and experience in past races helped me in countering all race hurdles and set a record for the team in ARRC. Having this performance as one of the biggest motivations, I am looking forward to another best results in tomorrow’s race.
Honda Racing India rider Senthil Kumar said:
Riding in the circuit of Japan is a dream for every Honda rider and I am happy that today on the same track our team created history. But I am not satisfied with my performance as the bad weather became a roadblock for me. Learning from today’s mistakes, I am preparing well for tomorrow and confident to earn points for the team in the final race of this round.
The 25th edition of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship is Asia’s most competitive motorcycle road racing championship, held since 1996. The 2022 season has now reduced from a 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 the second round at the Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia), the battle for the championship is set to take place this weekend at the Sportsland Sugo International Circuit in Japan. In October 2022, the championship will return to Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia) for the penultimate round and the season will wrap up again at the Chang International Circuit in Thailand in the month of November this year.
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