INDIA in F1

Category: Asian Road Racing

  • Rajiv Sethu, Senthil ready for ARRC final round in Buriram; Kritik Habib for Talent Cup

    Rajiv Sethu, Senthil ready for ARRC final round in Buriram; Kritik Habib for Talent Cup

    Rajiv Sethu after completing another win in the Indian domestic races at MMRT recently. Photo by Anand Philar 

    Buriram (Thailand), 28 Nov 2019: The fight for Asia Production 250cc class title has now reached Thai soil for the finale round of 2019 Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) at Chang International Circuit, Thailand. After winning points in each of the 6 rounds till now, ‘Idemitsu Honda Racing India’- the only Indian team in Asia Production 250 class enters the finale round firmly in Top 9 out of 20 teams. 

    Honda’s Indian riders, Rajiv and Senthil, are looking forward to the final round. In his third ARRC season, Rajiv enters last round of AP 250 class with 33 points under his belt. For the 21-year-old, Chang International Circuit holds a history of good performances. In 2018, he scored his maiden international point here. In 2019, Rajiv upped his game during the 3rd ARRC round becoming the first Indian rider to qualify in top-7, new fastest lap time (1:53:573) and over 33% reduction in total race time gap with lead rider from 18 seconds to just 5 seconds within the 10-lap race. Rajiv is already in top 16 out of the 40 riders in AP 250 class, which is an improvement from his overall 27th position in 2018. But he is determined for a repeat top-10 finish this weekend. Meanwhile, Senthil is gunning for a top-25 finish in his maiden ARRC season.

    Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice President, Brand and Communication, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Private Limited said, “This year has been a great year for Idemitsu Honda Racing India team. With two top-10 and eight top-15 finishes, Rajiv is now consistently riding with the top bunch. It was at Chang only that Rajiv had qualified in 7th earlier this year. Now we are confident that Rajiv is ready to better his record and close the 2019 season with a good performance. Senthil too has improved his race-craft and gained points in his debut season itself. As the 2019 season wraps up this weekend, we are looking for a strong finish.”

    This weekend, it will be a clash of titans as the AP250 class grid will see 32 riders from 8 Asia Oceania nations (Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Taipei, HongKong, India). Expect fireworks this weekend with 5 of the top-8 under equalizer rule. With 4 of the top-5 riders chasing title coming from Honda stables, the Indonesian rider Irfan Ardiansyah must finish second to be crowned the 2019 AP250 FIM Asian Champion. The AP 250 title fight heads for a tie-breaker as Indonesian riders Irfan Ardiansyah and Andy Muhammad are both tied at the top with 176 points each. But with the double equaliser cut of 1000rpm on the top runners, the championship may see new challenge from the next 3 riders on the scoreboard (Awhin Sanjaya, Muklada Sarapuech and Aiki Iyoshi).

    Looking forward to last round of ARRC, Rajiv Sethu, said, “Chang International Circuit is like a second home to me. This circuit has brought good fortune for my team and me in the past. I’m much more confident of my riding style here. This weekend is about being in prime form, strategically moving ahead on the grid and avoiding any riding mistake which can push me back. While Thai riders have the home-ground advantage here and 6 wildcards will heat up the competition even more, my aim is to be in top 10 here.”

    Sharing his thoughts, Senthil Kumar said, “I am excited to return to Buriram (Thailand). In my last visit, I finished in Top 20. As I feel much more comfortable on this track and my machine, I now aim to go full throttle and aim for points for the solo Indian team once again.”

    Parallelly, the marquee Asia SuperBike 1000cc (ASB) class of ARRC 2019 will see the podium contender Malaysian rider Zaqhwan Zaidi of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with SHOWA team (ranked 4th) return in full form. The team has top personnel from Honda subsidiaries across Asia & Oceania, including a race technician from India.

    The final round of Thailand Talent Cup, Honda’s development program for Asian riders, will also be held this weekend. Representing the next breed of Indian young racers going global with Honda will be Kritik Habib from Gadag, Karnataka. He is ranked 21.

    In its 24th year, the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) is Asia’s most competitive motorcycle road racing championship. The 2019 season sees the battle play out in 7 rounds across 5 countries (Malaysia* 2, Australia, Thailand * 2, Japan & China) in 4 classes ASB1000, SuperSports 600 (SS600), AP250 and Underbone (UB150).

  • Ryhana Bee, Ann Jennifer for Asia Cup Road Racing Round 2

    Ryhana Bee, Ann Jennifer for Asia Cup Road Racing Round 2

    Ryhana Bee, right, and Ann Jennifer pose with FIM Asia vice-president Sujith Kumar before their races on Saturday. Photo FB @BSSujith

    Chennai, 12 Oct 2019: Ryhana Bee, the new 165cc Ladies Class National Champion, rushed to the airport straight from the awards function after receiving the award on Friday night to reach in time for the Round 2 of the FIM Asia Cup Road Racing championship 2019 to be held in Thailand on Sunday.

    Ryhana will have Ann Jennifer as teammate as the top two Indian riders will represent India as team FMSCI at the Road Racing event again. Jennifer was the National Champion for the year 2018 in the same class.

    Both the Indian riders will be seen in action at the Thailand Circuit, Nakhonchaisri
    as the event runs from October 11 to 13. FIM Asia vice-president Sujith Kumar (in the photo) is also present at the event.

    “We have taken up a lot of activities and have also promoted Women In Motorsports events in India. For every event, we are now sending a woman entry and even in domestic events, safety aspects are being given prime importance. In the near future, we expect a lot of improvements for the riders and in terms of infrastruture,” felt Sujith Kumar BS.

    I wanna thank FIM Asia, FMSCI, FIM WomenIn MOtorsport, Sujith Kumar for giving us an opportunity to run at the Asia level,” said Ryhana Bee. She sent her special thanks to Suresh Franklin who supported her in Team India. “It is always proud to represent the country and carry the Indian Tricolour,” she concluded.

  • Grand double for Aussie star Anthony West

    Grand double for Aussie star Anthony West

    Anthony West on way to scoring a double in the ARRC at MMRT on Sunday. Photo by Anand Philar

    Chennai, 5 Aug 2018: Anthony West’s hot form continued as he scored a lights-to-flag victory, his second of the weekend, while destroying the premier SuperSport 600cc field to stamp his class and authority on the fourth round of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship which concluded at the MMRT, here on Sunday.

    Such was 37-year old West’s supremacy today that he won by over seven seconds while recording his fourth win of the season which put him in line for his maiden ARRC title. While West cruised to victory untroubled and unchallenged on his Yamaha, behind him Tomoyoshi Koyoma (MUSASHi Boon Siew Honda), a former MotoGP rider, won a thrilling scrap with fellow-Japanese, the 19-year old Taiga Hada (Idemitsu Honda Racing India), to grab the second spot. For Hada, who became an instant favourite with the large crowd, it was his second podium of the weekend.

    Rafid Topan Sucipto (Yamaha) and Andy Muhammad Fadly (Kawasaki) delivered a 1-2 for Indonesia in the Asia Production 250cc race ahead of Thailand’s Anupab Sarmoon (Yamaha) in a near photo-finish with barely three-tenth of a second separating the trio.

    The two Indian riders in this category, Rajiv Sethu and Anish Damodara Shetty, it was a disappointing finish as they rode in 16th and 19th, thus out of points.

    Among the most notable podium finishers of the day was 14-year old Australian boy Travis Hall who fought his way to third place, his first podium of the season, in the second race of the highly competitive Underbone 150cc class while Malaysians Ahmad Fazli Sham and Md. Helmi Azman took the top two positions. Incidentally, championship leader in this category Indonesian Rheza Danica Ahrens, who had notched five wins in a row, finished a distant 17th following a crash early in the race.

    Bengaluru’s Abhishek Vasudev and Aravind Balasubramaniam (Chennai) shared the honours in the two Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup races. However, in the championship stakes, Coimbatore’s Senthil Kumar, with two second-place finishes, moved to the top of the leaderboard with 99 points, ahead of Vasudev (88) and Anish Shetty (86) who sat out both the races due to injury.

    The TVS One-Make Championship (Apache RR310) double-header dished out close races as Vivek Pillai and PM Soorya, both from Chennai, won one apiece. The victory helped Pillai (94 points) close in on championship leader Deepak Ravikumar (98), who finished second and fifth in the two races, Soorya managed to move up to mid-table with a tally of 33.

    The results:

    SuperSport 600cc (Race-2, 16 laps): 1. Anthony West (Australia, Webike Kazuchi Racing, Yamaha) (27mins, 10.157secs); 2. Tomoyoshi Koyama (Japan, Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing) (27:17.240); 3. Taiga Hada (Japan, Idemitsu Honda Racing India) (27:17.568).

    Asia Production 250cc (Race-2, 12 laps): 1. Rafid Topan Sucipto (Indonesia, Yamalube KYT TJM WR Super Battery) (22:00:544); 2. Andy Muhammad Fadly (Indonesia, Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing) (22:00.686); 3. Anupab Sarmoon (Thailand, Yamaha Thailand Racing Team) (22:00.830).

    Underbone 150cc (Race-2): 1. Ahmad Fazli Sham (Malaysia, Onexox TKKR Racing) (18:59.247); 2. Md. Helmi Azman (Malaysia, SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing) (18:59.355); 3. Travis Hall (Australia, SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team) (19:03.008).

    Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (CBR 250) organised by MMSC (Race-1, 6 laps): 1. Abhishek Vasudev (Bengaluru) (12:18.230); 2. Senthil Kumar (Coimbatore) (12:18.792); 3. Aravind Balasubramaniam (Chennai) (12:18.891). Race 2 (8 laps): Aravind Balasubramaniam (Chennai) (16:31.817); 2. Senthil Kumar (Coimbatore) (16:32.049); 3. Amit Richard Topno (Ranchi) (16:33.190).

    TVS One-Make Championship (Apache RR310) – Race 1 (6 laps): 1. Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (13:04.471); 2. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai) (13:06.967); 3. Peddu Sriharsha (Hyderabad) (13:06.968). Race 2 (8 laps): 1. PM Soorya (Chennai) (16:17.261); 2. Vivek Pillai (Chennai) (16:17.821); 3. Yashas RL (Bengaluru) (16:17.926).

  • Rajiv Sethu finishes 13th; Anish Shetty crashes out in AP 250cc outing

      • Aussie ace Anthony West triumphs in SuperSport 600cc race

    Chennai, August 08: Veteran Australian Anthony West plotted his way to a brilliant victory, his third in the premier SuperSport 600cc this season to consolidate his top position on FIM Asia Road Racing Championship leaderboard at the MMRT, here on Saturday.

    The 37-year old with a decade’s experience in the World Championship behind him, rode a waiting race over 16 laps on his Yamaha, content to lie in third position after dropping two spots from his pole position start. West, who earlier in the day set a record for fastest qualifying lap of 01:40.585 for pole position, made his move with about two laps from the finish to take the flag ahead of Malaysian Md Zaqhwan Zaidi and 19-year old rising Japanese star Taiga Hada who was representing the Idemitsu Honda Racing India team.

    The Idemitsu Honda Racing India team had another reason to cheer as their rider in the Asia Production 250cc class, Rajiv Sethu, 20, finished 13th in a grid of 24 for his first points this season. However, compatriot and team-mate Anish Shetty, 20, crashed in the eighth of the 12-lap race that Indonesia’s Rheza Danica Ahrens won for his fifth consecutive success in this category.

    In a thrilling finish in the Underbone 150cc race, Ahmed Fazli Sham led a 1-2 for Malaysia as he snatched a dramatic, last-gasp win over Md Helmi Azman with Thailand’s Peerapong Luiboonpeng completing the podium.

    The spotlight no doubt was on the SuperSport 600cc race that boasted of a quality grid with a mix of World championship riders and young guns, but ultimately, it was West’s craftiness and cool that won the day in tricky conditions due to light showers in some sections of the track

    “It was a very difficult race. It took me a few laps to get used to the conditions due to the drizzle before we started. But as the race progressed, I was able to generate more power and then took my opportunities to pass the riders in front,” said West after the victory on his first visit to MMRT.

    Earlier, in the Asia Production 250cc race, Shetty crashed in the eighth lap when he high-sided. “There was an issue regarding the suspension and also my being too aggressive on the throttle which led to the crash. I damaged the left toe which is swollen, but I should be fine for tomorrow’s second race,” said Shetty who is in his maiden ARRC season.

    Sethu said: “I had a bad start, but I gave my best, but other riders too were aggressive and better. However, today, I clocked my best ever time (01:50.555) on this track. Hopefully, I will perform better tomorrow.”

    The other two races scheduled for the day – the Idemitsu Honda India Talent Cup (CBR 250) organised by MMSC and TVS One-Make Championship (Apache RR310) – could not be run today following a heavy downpour soon after the 600cc race.

    The results (Provisional):

    SuperSport 600 (Race-1, 16 laps): 1. Anthony West (Australia, Webike Ikazuchi, Yamaha) (27mins, 35.304secs); 2. Md Zaqhwan Zaidi (Malaysia, Musashi Boon Siew Honda) (27:35.629); 3. Taiga Hada (Japan, Idemitsu Honda Racing India) (27:36.885).

    Asia Production 250 (Race-1, 12 laps): 1. Rheza Danica Ahrens (Indonesia, Astra Honda) (21:53.4); 2. Mario Suryo Aji (Indonesia, Astra Honda) (21:53.5); 3. Reynaldo Chrisantho (Indonesia, ONEXOX TKK Yamaha) (22:01.9).

    Underbone 150 (Race-1, 10 laps): 1. Ahmed Fazli Sham (Onexox TKKR Racing Team, Malaysia) (19:02.205); 2. Md. Helmi Azman (SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing team, Malaysia) (19:02.460); 3. Peerapong Luiboonpeng (Team One For All, Thailand) (19:02.502).

  • Zaqhwan Zaidi quickest rider on Friday: ARRC Practice

    Zaqhwan Zaidi quickest rider on Friday: ARRC Practice

    Md Zaqhwan Zaidi (Malaysia), quickest in the SuperSport 600cc class on Friday.

    Chennai, 3 Aug 2018: A long stint racing astride the 1000cc machine has obviously not affected Malaysian rider Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi’s ability to finesse the 600cc bike. Fresh from a stint in the prestigious Suzuka 8-Hour Endurance Race, the Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing rider charged on to Chennai, India, where the Madras Motor Race Track played host to Round 4 of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship here on Friday.

    After the first day of free practices, Zaqhwan led a mixed bag of competitors by posting the fastest time of 1’41.306s. Just off Zaqhwan’s pace, championship leader Anthony West clocked second fastest with 1’41.388s in his first official run on the 3.74km race track.

    The most impressive rider of the day was team Musashi Boon Siew Honda Racing rookie Azroy Hakeem Anuar. Azroy, who has been recording increasingly impressive performances in each successive round of the ARRC, stands third fastest with 1’41.677s. Yamaha Thailand Racing Team rider Ratthapong Wilairot and Taiga Hada representing home team Idemitsu Honda Racing India by T.Pro Ten10, rounded up the top five. Defending champion Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman continues to struggle with balance issues and just managed to clock within the top 10.

    FREE PRACTICE: TOP 5 OVERALL

    1. Zaqhwan Zaidi MAS Honda 1’41.306s;
    2. Anthony West AUS Yamaha 1’41.388s;
    3. Azroy Hakeem Anuar MAS Honda 1’41.677s;
    4. Ratthapong Wilairot THA Yamaha 1’41.828s;
    5. Taiga Hada JPN Honda 1’41.838s;

    ASIA PRODUCTION 250cc: DOUBLE 4-HR CHAMP ANUPAB OUT TO END RHEZA’S DOMINATION

    Anupab Sarmoon’s recent success at the 41st Suzuka 4 Hour Endurance Road Race has given the Yamaha Thailand Racing Team rider the additional impetus he needed to try to bring an end to Rheza Danica Ahren’s domination in the Asia Production 250cc class.

    Just a week ago, Anupab successfully defended his Suzuka 4 Hour title with the help of his team mate, Peerapong Boonlert. As the AP250 riders went out on track for the first day of practice in Round 4, Anupab has been able to equal speedy Rheza’s pace at the top of the timesheets. Although the Astra Honda Racing Team rider emerged as the fastest rider of the day with 1’48.030s, Anupab was able to lap within the same parameters, coming home second fastest with 1’48.252s.

    With the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship now entering the second half of its 2018 season, Anupab, currently third overall in the AP250 standings, is under pressure to bring home more podium finishes and race wins. As Rheza took the win in round after round, Anupab’s last victory was taken in Round 1, and he has only managed two podium finishes so far.

    As always, Anupab will be facing a field of top Indonesian aces in the AP250 class. The Astra Honda Racing Team’s latest wonderkid, Mario Suryo Aji, posted third fastest with 1’48.775. Rey Ratukore, ONEXOX TKKR Racing Team’s latest recruit, was fourth fastest with 1’48.853s. Andy Muhammad Fadly from Manual Tech KYT Kawasaki Racing, ended the free practices fifth fastest with 1’49.510s

    FREE PRACTICE: TOP 5 OVERALL

    1. Rheza Danica Ahrens INA Honda 1’48.030s
    2. Anupab Sarmoon THA Yamaha 1’48.252s
    3. Mario Suryo Aji INA Honda 1’48.775s
    4. Rey Ratukore INA Yamaha 1’48.853s
    5. Andy Md Fadly INA Kawasaki 1’49.510s

    UNDERBONE 150cc: RECORD BREAKING DAY IN THE UNDERBONE CLASS

    The Underbone 150cc riders kicked off a record-breaking day as Round 4 of the 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship officially got underway at the Madras Motor Race Track in Chennai, India. With most of the

    Underbone riders having had some experience at the challenging South Indian race track, the class is now competing on a whole different level.

    At the end of Free Practice 2, the top seven riders in the class have managed to break the 2017 1’53.944s lap record held by Mohd Akid Aziz. As of Practice 2, SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team duo Mohd Helmi Azman and Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam have emerged as the provisional leaders of the class, clocking 1’53.169s and 1’53.178s respectively.

    Defending champion Mohd Akid Aziz was third fastest with 1’53.225s followed by Mohd Adib Rosley from the YY Pang camp. Filipino wonderkid, McKinley Kyle Paz, again riding wildcard for the UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team was impressive on his first run out on the Madras Motor Race Track. He posted fifth in the class with 1’54.252s.

    However, Akid came out with guns blazing in the 30-minute qualifying session. The UMA Racing Yamaha Maju Motor Asia Team rider beat his own fastest time by two whole seconds and clocked the fastest time in the class with 1’51.970s. Half a second off Akid’s pace, SCK Rapido Hi Rev Honda Racing Team duo Mohd Helmi Azman and Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam logged the second and third fastest times with 1’52.524 and 1’53.325s respectively.

    QUALIFYING: TOP 5 OVERALL

    1. Mohd Akid Aziz MAS Yamaha 1’51.970s
    2. Mohd Helmi Azman MAS Honda 1’52.524s
    3. Fakhrusy Syakirin MAS Honda 1’53.325s
    4. Mohd Affendi Rosli MAS Yamaha 1’53.387s
    5. Mohd Adib Rosley MAS Yamaha 1’53.795s

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