ARRC Round 3: Rajiv wins points for India, finishes 12th in Race 2 of Thai ARRC
Race 2 of the FIM ARRC Round 3
The final race of round 3 of the ARRC turned out to be another day of gaining points for Idemitsu Honda Racing India team’s duo of Rajiv and Senthil in FIM Asia Road Racing Championship in Buriram. In this round, Rajiv showed remarkable improvement, recording the first Indian rider Qualifier finish in top 7, new fastest lap time (1:53:573) and the gap with lead rider was reduced from 18 seconds to just 5 seconds in the 10 lap race. His team-mate, Senthil completed the race at 20th position out of 25 riders. Thai rider Tatchakorn Buasri won the race followed by Indonesian Honda rider Awhin Sanjaya and Muhammad Faerozy on the podium.
Idemitsu Honda Racing India has breached the 20 points mark with a total of 22 points, before mid of 2019 season, taking it to top 7 teams of the AP250 championship. Snapping another 4 points, Rajiv is ranked 14th with 22 points and Senthil at 21st with 2 points in his debut season.
“Today, I raced my best out of my 24 ARRC races in 3 years. For the first time, I fought in the top 5 in 2 laps and I had my maiden opportunity to taste the front bunch of AP250. Overall, I learnt a lot in Thai round and will be using this experience going forward. Last year, after my wrist fracture I couldn’t race well in Japan. This year I will surely benefit from my experience in Suzuka 4-Hour Endurance race next weekend and will apply the learning in upcoming June end round in Suzuka.” Rajiv Sethu
In ASB1000cc class, Malaysian rider Zaqhwan Zaidi of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with Showa team finished 4th. Taking Honda’s solo team and rider both to top 4 in the flagship class.
