Rajiv Sethu, Senthil Kumar Earn Honda India Crucial Points In Round 1 Of ARRC

There was much to cheer for team Idemitsu Honda Racing India as both their riders, Rajiv Sethu and Senthil Kumar, racked up crucial points in the first round of the 2019 Asia Road Racing Championship. The opening round took place at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. Racing in the Asia Production 250 class, Rajiv and Senthil have been entrusted to lead the Indian charge for 2019.

Rajiv put in a gritty performance over the course of the weekend as he was able to run with the lead pack in both races on his Honda CBR250RR. His qualifying results could have been better as he started from 14th in the first race. Yet, he was able to climb up to 11th spot after jostling with the lead pack over the course of eight laps. On the opening lap of the following race, he got caught in the middle of a melee of stricken riders. He did get back on his bike and rode a gritty race thereafter to finish 13th, making it a double points finish over the weekend.

Rajiv’s teammate Senthil Kumar made a strong debut over the weekend. He climbed up three spots from his starting position in 17th to bag his career first ARRC points. It seemed like he went one better in the following race and was looking on course for yet another strong result. But with two laps to the finish line, he crashed out. Nevertheless, he made a strong impression on his maiden appearance.

The next round of the series takes place at the Bend Motorsport Park in Australia between April 25 to 28.