ARRC: Penalties force Rajiv, Senthil to drop below top 15

Senthil and Rajiv lost 5 positions from their 11th and 13th race finish to 16th and 18th for exceeding track limits

Indian riders Senthil Kumar (18) and Rajiv Sethu (80) during the AP 250 Race 2 at the Asian Road Racing Championship 2019 on Sunday.

Despite a top 15 finish by both the Indian riders of IDEMITSU Honda Racing India ,  the team finished pointless after position penalty in the AP250 (Asia Production 250cc) class of Asia Road Racing Championship 2019 (ARRC) at Chang circuit on Sunday.

Senthil and Rajiv lost 5 positions from their 11th and 13th race finish to 16th and 18th for exceeding track limits.

Starting at 16th, Rajiv entered the top 10 by the eighth lap. A wide cornering in turn 12 of the 10th and final lap saw Rajiv finish 13th in the second race, only to bear the brunt of 5 positions penalty which put him 18th on the official Race 2 result.

Still learning the ropes of international racing in his debut ARRC season, 18-year-old Senthil continued his assault on time sheets to record his personal best lap record of 1:54:323 at Chang ciruit today. Senthil climbed 11 positions after starting on 22nd to finish 11th – the best ever finish of Honda’s rookie rider. But the 5 position penalty pushed him back to 16 in the amended results.

While four riders including championship contender Irfan Ardiansyah crashed out during the aggressive race, local favourite Mukada Sarapuech and Vietnam’s Cao Viet Nam too dropped due to technical problems.

Post the positions flux after penalty, A.P Honda Racing Thailand’s rider Piyawat Patoomyos was the winner, followed by Vorapong Malahuan (2) and Awhin Sanjaya (3).

After the climactic race 2 finish today, it’s a clean podium sweep for Indonesians in the 2019 AP 250 championship.

While Andy Fadly won 2019 AP 250 title with 214 points, Astra Honda Racing team’s duo of Awhin Sanjaya 188 points) and Irfan Ardiansyah (187 points) completed the podium.