Racing News

·       After 7 points yesterday,masterful riding by Rajiv wins the team another 3 points today

·       Honda’s solo Indian riderduo grabs 10 points in formidable Sepang – their highest single roundhaul!  

·       Despite crash in lap 1 whichpushed him to last on grid, Rajiv resurges to finish 13th in Race 2

·       Tough luck for Senthil, low-sidein 6^th lap leading to crash and minor injury

·       IDEMITSU Honda Racing Indianow 6^th out of 15 teams in inaugural round of 2019 ARRC

Sepang International Circuit(Malaysia), 10 March 2019: Masterful race performance by the Indian riderRajiv Sethu at Sepang International Circuit track earned him and IDEMITSU HondaRacing India team 3 additional points in the second consecutive race of2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC).

With the end of inaugural Malaysia round today, Honda’s solo Indianteam has earned double digit points in a single round for the first time. Gaining10 points in the inaugural round, Honda’s Indian rider duo is now firmly inthe Top 6 teams of AP 250 class.

Sharingan overview on the solo Indian team’s performance today, Mr. Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice President – Brand and Communications, HondaMotorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, “No doubt, it wasa tough weekend, but we did good work, and I am proud our team’s efforts too.After the high of race 1 where both Rajiv and Senthil scored a double whammy,Sunday race was a tough one with as many as 6 crashes. Though Rajiv was caughtup in the crash in lap 1 itself, he scripted a quick bounce-back from 23^rdto 13^th. Meanwhile, Senthil crashed out while fighting to secure his13^th spot. This was disappointing but he’s learning fast and I’mconfident that he will come back stronger and wiser. Sepang is just the startof a long season. We have to keep our focus high and aim higher for the nextround in Australia now.”

Indianteam performance in AP 250 (race 2) class of ARRC:

Sunday’s AP 250 race was one of the toughest ones till date with 6 riderscrashing out in the 8 lap race.

Trouble ensued for Rajiv right from lap 1. Despite a great startwhich took him to 5^th spot, Rajiv suffered the collateral damagefrom the crash of Indonesian rider duoIrfan Ardiansyah and Rafid Topan before him and crashed. Determined tofinish the race, Rajiv resumed from back of the pack at 23^rd spot.Scripting an extraordinary recovery, Rajiv sprang back in ensuing 7 laps tofinally cross the chequered line at 13^th.  

Meanwhile beginnersluck evaded young Senthil today. Starting 17^th on the grid, Senthilskillfully avoid the crash in lap 1 and climbed to 13^th position bylap 6. But his strong braking in the tight corner resulted in a low-side andultimately crash. Senthil’s total point tally at end of round 1 stands at 2points.

Femalepower stood out in the AP250 race 2 today with Thailand rider Muklada Sarapaechfrom A.P Honda Racing Thailand overtaking Andy at the last minute to win therace. Completing the podium was the Indonesian rider Awhin Sanjaya from AstraHonda Racing team.

Having mixed reaction post his performancetoday, Honda’s front-runner rider Rajiv Sethusaid, “This weekend I really gave it myall. Today I was totally focused, as I wanted to be in the top bunch right fromthe start. While I could do that, but I couldn’t save from Indonesian riderscrash before me. My machine had minor problem from the crash impact, but Iwanted to finish the race. Yes, I could gain more points for India and my teamtoday but I feel disappointed that I couldn’t close in top 10. Going back toIndia, the challenge to myself is to achieve this in the April round at BendMotorsport Park.”

Summing up his debut round performance, the 18 year rookie rider Senthil Kumar said, “Today was a tough day. My target was tobetter my yesterday’s 14^th finish. By 6^th lap, I hadalready reached 13^th spot but the miscalculation at the turn led tomy crash. As a racer, my target is to do better and eye for top bunch in everyrace. So yes, today was been a little disappointing but there is a lot oflearning in this too.”

REFERENCE ANNEXURE:

IDEMITSU Honda RacingIndia team – Rider Profile

About 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship:

FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) isAsia’s most competitive motorcycle road racing championship in its 24^thyear. The 2019 season has 7 rounds across 5 countries (Malaysia* 2, Australia,Thailand * 2, Japan & South Korea). The battle for 2019 championship startsthis weekend (8-10 March) at Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia.

In 2019 ARRC features four classes - thenewly introduced premier class of Asia Superbike 1000 (ASB1000), SuperSports600 (SS600), Asia Production 250 (AP250) and Underbone class (UB150).

Representing the solo Indian team at theevent - IDEMITSU Honda Racing India are two riders – Rajiv Sethu and the rookieSenthil Kumar who fight on the CBR250RR.

For more information, contact Public.relations@honda2wheelersindia.com