ARRC, Round Six: Rajiv Sethu garners a point for Honda Racing
The rider finishes 15th in Sunday's final race at Sepang International Circuit. Compatriot and team-mate Senthil Kumar finishes 17th.
Published : Sep 22, 2019 17:22 IST
Despite his back and hand injury from Saturday's crash , IDEMITSU Honda Racing India's Rajiv Sethu secured a point in Sunday's final race in the sixth round of the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) 2019.
Sethu finished the race — held at the Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia — in the 15th position.
Looking ahead to the next round of the championship — to be held in December, 2019, in Buriram, Thailand — Sethu said: “I have very good confidence in Buriram. Now I plan to recover fast and focus on my weak-points to fight for the top-15 in championship. I will have to close in top 10 in both the Thai races.”
Personal best
Compatriot and team-mate Senthil Kumar started the race from the 22nd position, and finished in the 17th position. The 18-year-old, still learning the ropes of international racing in his debut ARRC season, recorded his personal best lap record of 2:28:241 at Sepang during qualifying.
Senthil, too, hoped to secure a top-15 finish in Buriram. “I have to learn from my mistakes this weekend, better my corner exits and get more lean to ensure a top 15 finish there,” he said, looking ahead to the next round.
Awhin Sanjaya takes top spot
Indonesian riders took the top six spots in Sunday's race. The jostle for the win was uninterrupted till the chequered flag, and the pursuit took out two casualties — Rafid Topan and Muklada Sapapuech. Both crashed out in their attempt to take the lead in the last lap.
The first position was claimed by Astra Honda Racing team’s Awhin Sanjaya, who clocked 19:43:339. Andy Fadly trailed Sanjaya by only 0.048 seconds to take the second position. Reynaldo Chrisantho, with a timing of 19:43:545, finished third.
IDEMITSU Honda Racing India is now among the top nine teams of AP 250 class with 33 points. Rajiv is now placed 16 with 33 points, while Senthil with is tied at 26 out of 40 riders.