Honda rider Rajiv finishes on a high
Eager to prove himself in the second race of the AP 250CC category at the Asia Road Racing Championship, Rajiv Sethu of IDEMITSU Honda Racing India by T. Pro Ten10 clinched another point finishing 15th at the Chang International Circuit here on Sunday.
With two impressive results on both race days, 13th and 15th, the rider from Chennai remained in the 27th position in the overall championship stanwdings with seven points.
Andy Muhammad Fadly of Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing finished first in the same category followed by Rheza Danica Ahrens of Astra Honda Racing Team.
The 21- year- old Rajiv started 19th on the grid but climbed three positions in the first turn of lap one. He was forced to remain cautious in the race after he made contact with another rider.
Thereafter, he maintained his position and made his final move in the last lap to finish in top 15. The Chennai born racer recorded a fastest lap of 1.55.719 minutes around the Chang International Circuit improving his time from Saturday.
“I have improved 19 positions in the championship from last year and have also won seven points for my team in three races. Now I will put my best effort to try and win the SuperSport165 in the Indian national championship,” said Rajiv after the race.
Rajiv’s team- mate Anish Shetty who finished 23rd in the first race managed to finish 20th in the second. Despite a bad start which cost him 10 seconds in the first lap, Anish aggressively pushed to better his position after he started 25th on the grid. “ARRC was a steep learning curve that has tremendously improved my riding style, cornering speed, bike and tyre understanding.
After battling with Asia’s best, my target now is to add to my lead and seal my maiden Pro- Stock title in the Indian national racing championship.”
Meanwhile, the 20 year old Taiga Hada also of IDEMITSU Honda Racing India by T. Pro Ten10 finished 12th in the second race and 11th in the overall championship. In the team standings they finished 15th in the AP250CC category and 7th in the Super Sports 600 CC category.