The Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) kicked off last weekend and Indian rider Rajiv Sethu managed to bag crucial points over the weekend for the IDEMITSU Honda Racing India team. The season opener was held at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, Thailand, and Sethu, along with teammate Senthil Kumar, competed in the Asia Production 250 (AP250) class, collectively bagging 11 points between themselves. That's the highest-ever the Indian riders have managed in a single round, setting a new record of its own.
Senthil Kumar crashed in Race 1 on Saturday but managed a strong recovery in Race 3 bagging 3 crucial points for the team
A slow start in Race 1 saw Sethu drop from 13th to 16th place by the end of Lap 3 of the race. However, the rider was quick to set the pace and worked his way up the ladder overtaking rivals one by one. He climbed up to P14 and held on to the position till the penultimate lap. Adding to his luck was a crash between two other riders in the last lap that promoted the racer to P13, thus bringing in 3 points for the team. For teammate Senthil Kumar, the rider was quick to climb to P14 from P16 at the beginning of the race, but the rider crashed out early on at Turn 12 of Lap 4, after opening the throttle early.
Maintaining a good pace, Rajiv Sethu earned 5 additional points on Sunday in Race 2, while Senthil Kumar recovered in full power and recorded his best-ever finish in AP250 class, finishing 13th. After his 13th place start in Race 2, Rajiv moved up to 12th after the first five laps and managed to move up by a single spot before the chequered flag, finishing 11th. After the end of round 1, Rajiv now has total of 8 points in his kitty.
Senthil, on the other hand, started at P16 on the grid of 17 riders, but a good start helped him climb up to 13th pace in the middle of the 10-lap race. Senthil made every effort to move up further but had to settle for 13th at the end of Race 2. With this, the 20-year-old Indian rider grabbed his highest ever 3 points in the championship.
Sarthak Chavan created history as the first Indian rider to break into Top 7 group in Thailand Talent Cup 2022
Not just in the AP250 class but Indian riders did well in other races too. The 2022 Thailand Talent Cup (TTC) 2022 saw teen rider Sarthak Chavan putting on an incredible show and becoming the first Indian rookie to win 9 points with a P7 finish in the second race of his debut season at TTC. Starting from 9th place, Sarthak fought fierce competition in today's race. He was composed till the end which won him 9 points. After the end of Round 1 of TTC, the 15-year-old rider now has total 13 points.
Speaking about his performance in Race 2, 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 the top bunch.”
Rider 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 keep steady momentum till the end and this helped me better my results. I look forward to racing in Sepang now and aim to climb up to Top bunch.”
Sharing an overview on the performance Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice President – Brand and Communications, HMSI 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 the 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 the top 7 today in TTC and grabbed total of 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.”
Parallelly in the ASB1000cc class, Malaysian rider Md Zaqhwan Zaidi of Honda Asia-Dream Racing showed 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.
