Marking his first international points at the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) Round 2 in Australia and finishing race 2 in 15th position, Idemitsu Honda Racing India team by T Pro Ten10 rider Anish Shetty is all set for the next round from June 1-3 at the Suzuka circuit, Japan. Meanwhile, teammate Rajiv Sethu has been recovering well from his injury. Sethu faced a wrist injury during practice before in Australia halting his race at Bend Motorsport Park. With a successful surgery, extensive exercises and adequate support from his team and fans, Sethu looks forward to become race fit and resume the season with Anish Shetty at Suzuka. The Suzuka circuit is known to be as one of the most enjoyable circuits in motorsport racing. With fast corners and long stretches which provide opportunities for overtaking, Anish Shetty of Idemitsu Honda Racing Team looks forward to securing a better position this weekend. The next three rounds of the 2018 ARRC will be held in India, Indonesia and Thailand. MMRT in Chennai will play host to the fourth round of the championship series.
Here’s the press release:
Suzuka (Japan), May 31, 2018: Taking Indian riders to an international racing platform, the first ever India racing team with Indian riders are heading to Japan for Round 3 of 2018 Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC).
With a phenomenal performance by rookie Anish Shetty at Round 2 in Australia, the team is charged up to battle it out with Asia’s best racers this weekend at the historic Suzuka Circuit. Honda’s second rider Rajiv Sethu will be making a comeback after a wrist injury during practice in Australia which preventing him from racing at Bend Motorsport Park. The Suzuka Circuit is team’s SuperSport 600 rider Taiga Hada’s home race where he will be aiming for a high points finish.
Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice President, Brand and Communications, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said,“Racing is the heart of Honda and HMSI too has special focus to develop iconic Indian riders for national & international championships. After scoring at both the races in Round 2, the team is fully charged to take on the iconic Suzuka Circuit. Anish Shetty has been honing his skills with Taiga Hada in Japan while Rajiv Sethu, recovering from an injury, has been working hard to be race fit. Suzuka is a very technical track and we are sure this first Indian team will make the country proud.”
Ecstatic about the upcoming race at the iconic Suzuka Circuit, Anish Shetty, the rookie Indian rider of IDEMITSU Honda Racing India team by T Pro Ten10 racing in Asia Production 250 class, said, “Scoring my first international points in Australia on Race 1 and repeating the performance the next day has been a huge morale booster for me. I am now familiar with the bike and have started to get a hang of the pressure of performing amongst the best racers of Asia. Suzuka has many fast corners which allow a lot of overtaking opportunities. I would like to thank Honda 2Wheelers India for making this dream ride possible and will be trying to score more points this weekend.”
Recovering from a wrist injury Honda’s second timer in the Asia Production 250 class of Asia Road Racing Championship Rajiv Sethu said, “Suzuka is one of my favourite tracks of the season I am really excited to be racing here for the second year running. After a successful surgery of my wrist last month, I’ve been undergoing extensive exercises to gain mobility and reduce inflammation. Recovering muscle tone the progress over the last few weeks is very encouraging but my wrist still has a support plate. Honda engineers have made special changes to my motorcycle so that throttle inputs are easier to be made. I would also thank all the fans who sent me messages and helped me to prepare myself mentally for Suzuka.”
About 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship:
The 23rd edition of FIM Asia Road Racing Championship is Asia’s most competitive motorcycle road racing championship, held since 1996. The 2018 season has 64 riders from 8 Asia and Oceania countries (India, Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines) battling it out in an intense 6 round championship.
2018 ARRC calendar:
After Round 1 in Thailand in March and Round 2 in Australia (Bend Motorsport Park,Adelaide) in April, Japan’s iconic Suzuka circuit is the third battleground from 1st to 3rd June. The second half of the season will see the Indian team race on home-soil as ARRC will return to MMRT, Chennai from 3rd to 5th August. This will be followed by penultimate round at Indonesia (12th to 14th October) and the season finale in Thailand from November 30 to December 2, 2018.