TEN10 IN INDONESIA

Sarath Kumar bags his first points of the season in the Super Sport 600 class of the Asia Road Racing championship in Indonesia

WWITH A LEG INJURY forcing him to sit out the season so far, Sarath Kumar has finally been able to score points in the Super Sport 600 class of the Asia Road Racing Championship at the Sentul International Circuit in Indonesia.

He joined the T-Pro Yuzy NTS Honda racing team after receiving support from Honda India, Ten10 Racing and WOW Digit HK for Round two of the series but was not fit to ride in Thailand. At Round three in Suzuka, he was able to take part in qualifying but was the slowest rider. Race 1 was red-flagged in five laps which allowed him complete his first race of the season. The team decided against him running in the second race as they feared aggravating his knee.

After a seven week break, Sarath was back on the Honda in Indonesia and this time round, he completed both races of the weekend. He was 20th in qualifying for race one. Scuffles and retirements ahead of him allowed Sarath to claim his first point in the Super Sport 600 class as he finished the race in 15th. In the next race, he could only finish 17th. Nevertheless, he was satisfied to complete an entire weekend of racing.

“I am very happy with the progress and this is the first time I was able to the ride the bike to its full potential”, said Sarath. “I am still having problems with my knee which bothers me after about 10 laps. However, it is a good sign that the recovery is happening. I have managed to get closer to the experienced guys being about five seconds off pace in my first full race weekend."

In the Asia Dream Cup, the other Ten10 Racing supported riders Hari Krishnan and Rajiv Sethu did not finish the first race. Hari finished tenth in race two while Rajiv finished sixteenth.

As for Sarath, the points in Indonesia have given him an impetus to speed up recovery and prepare for the penultimate round of the championship at the Buddh, which will take place on October 1-2. “I think I will be in good shape for the India round in October”, said Sarath. “We have already planned a few training methods to improve my confidence and performance on the bike. It is about learning the nuances and tricks of riding a bigger bike which is not the same as riding a 250cc.”