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Category: Non-F1
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Another win, 3rd place for Ruhaan: Italian Easykart
File photo of Ruhaan Alva by Alva’s team Lonato (Italy), 12 June 2017: India’s Ruhaan Alva, the 10-year old schoolboy from Bengaluru, continued his run of success in the Italian Easykart Championship with a win and a third place finish in the back-to-back rounds 4 and 5 held here over the last weekend.
Ruhaan, supported by Italian kart manufacturer Birel Art, won the fourth round on Saturday and came in third in the next round on Sunday. He is currently placed second in the championship with 90 points, just 13 behind his MLG Racing team-mate Patrese Lorenzo.
“It has been a very difficult season, but I’m very happy with two wins and two podiums in four rounds that I have competed in this category,” said Ruhaan, who had missed the first round due to his participation in the Mini class before switching to the higher Easykart 60 category from the second round onwards.
On Saturday, Ruhaan qualified second for the pre-final which he won after a hard battle with Lorenzo. The duo was again locked in a bitter tussle in the final that went to the wire with Ruhana managing to get an edge on Lorenzo to record his second win.
On Sunday, Ruhaan did not fare as well. He qualified second for the pre-final where he finished third which placed him second on the grid for the final. However, Ruhaan came in third at the chequered flag despite his valiant efforts to get past the front-runners as Lorenzo won the race.
The Rounds 6 and 7 will be held at Castelletto, Italy, on July 1-2.
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Aishwarya Pissay wins historic first National Championship race for ladies in a thrilling duel
Aishwarya Pissay of Bengaluru tops the maiden ladies class National Championship race to complete a double. Image by Sriharsha Nadiger, Special Arrangement with INDIAinF1. Coimbatore, 10 June 2017: The girls race in the Rolon round of the MRF MMSC FMSCI Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship lit up an overcast day marked by intermittent showers with Bengaluru’s Aishwarya Pissay of Apex Racing Academy team winning a thrilling battle at the Kari Motor Speedway, here on Saturday.
The day’s programme was truncated due to rains in the evening and two scheduled races will be run on Sunday that will have an early start at 9 am, it was officially announced.
In a very close and thrilling eight-lap race, pole-sitter Aishwarya was off to a bad start and briefly slid to third before recovering to take the lead. However, she got embroiled in a tight battle with Kalyani Potekar (Madhya Pradesh, Speed Up Racing) who nosed ahead in the last lap before committing an error at Turns 3 and 4 where Aishwarya got a jump on her to win the race.
While Kalyani was left to rue her riding errors in the last lap to finish second, Chennai’s Alisha Abdullah (Alisha Abdullah Racing Academy) came in third.
“I had a very bad start. I don’t know what happened but I managed to regain my track position. I had a tough battle with Kalyani and in the last lap, I managed to close the door on her and it gave me just enough breathing space to win the race,” said Aishwarya who later won the TVS girls race, a support event, for a creditable double.
Another impressive winner on the day was Kerala’s Amarnath Menon of Gusto Racing who topped in the Super Sport Indian 300-400cc after front-runner Antony Peter (Kingdom Motorsport) packed up after the first lap.
Finishing second behind Menon, who faced little competition after he took the lead, was his team-mate Arun Muthukrishnan with Vivek Pillai (Rockers Racing) completing the podium.
One of the highlights of Sunday’s programme will be a 40-rider grid in the Stock (up to 165cc, Novice) race. The initial 58 entrants went through a process of qualifying and heats in two batches to make the grid for the race.
The results (Provisional):
National Championship – Super Sport Indian (300-400cc, 10 laps): 1. Amarnath Menon (Gusto Racing) (12mins, 49.080secs); 2. Arun Muthukrishnan (Gusto Racing) (12:56.517); 3. Vivek Pillai (Rockers Racing) (12:57.274).
Stock (Novice, up to 165cc) – Heat 1 (8 laps): 1. Aditya Rao (Sparks Racing) (11:34.049); 3. Satyanarayana Raju (Sparks Racing) (11:38.535); 3. Nithish Kumar N (Sparks Racing) (11:40.161). Heat 2: 1. Akshay VM (Palghat) (11:35.275); 2. Navin A (Salem) (11:40.414); 3. AS Alexander (Chennai) (11:45.644).
GIRLS – (Stock, up to 165cc, 8 laps): 1. Aishwarya Pissay (Bengaluru, Apex Racing Academy) (12:13.213); 2. Kalyani Potekar (Madhya Pradesh, Speed Up Racing) (12:13.467); 3. Alisha Abdullah (Chennai, Alisha Abdullah Racing Academy) (12:15.613).
One-Make Championship – Honda CBR150 (Novice, 8 laps): 1. Satya Narayana (Hyderabad) (14:27.445); 2. Bharath BS (Erode) (14:38.111); 3. Syed Nawas N (Chennai) (14:39.523).
TVS Apache RTR 200 (Novice, 8 laps): 1. Peddu Sriharsha (Chennai) (14:22.692); 2. Shankar Guru (Chennai) (14:28.962); 3. Anup Kumar M (Chennai) (14:42.639).
Support Race – TVS Girls race (8 laps): 1. Aishwarya Pisay (Bengaluru) (12:20.723); 2.Soundari (Chennai) (12:43.922); 3.Kokila Shiva Shankar (Banglaore) (12:59.397).
eom/AP Media Comm. Press Release
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Ladies to race for National title for first time: NRC
Honda ladies race file photo by Anand Philar Coimbatore, 8 June 2017: In an innovative and landmark move, the Madras Motor Sports Club has unveiled a full-fledged National Championship for ladies under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs in India (FMSCI) and it is incorporated into the 2017 MRF MMSC Fmsci Indian National Motorcycle Racing Championship, the Rolon round of which will be held at the Kari Motor Speedway here this weekend.
It is for the first time in India that women are contesting for the National title over five rounds and the entries have been very encouraging. So also is the case with other National championship categories – the Super Sport Indian 300-400cc and 165cc, the Pro-Stock 165cc and Stock 165cc (Novice).
However, Suzuki has opted out and will not be holding its one-make championship along with the National races. This year the Suzuki Gixxer Cup will be organised along with the JK Tyre championships, according to sources.
Thus, the two-day extravaganza that follows Friday’s practice and qualifying sessions, will witness a full card of 19 races with over 200 riders vying for honours.
Race Director and Chairman of organizing committee Manoj Dalal said: “In keeping with MMSC’s constant endeavour to promote motorsport at all levels, we decided to introduce a National championship exclusively for women. We are happy that so far, 15 entries have been received.
“Given the fact that increasing number of women are taking to various forms of motorsport, we do hope that our move will further their cause.”
Along with the National Championship, India’s top two-wheeler manufacturers TVS and Honda will run their separate One-Make series in two categories – Open and Novice – besides a support race apiece for ladies.
As in the past, the Super Sport Indian 165cc (Open) will headline the championship as the category has attracted country’s top riders astride their modified bikes with the likes of last year’s champion Jagan Kumar along with his TVS team-mates KY Ahmed and Harry Sylvester, in the fray, besides Shankar Sarath Kumar of Honda Ten10.
Similarly, the TVS and Honda One-Make championships have witnessed ever-growing number of entries, some of whom include riders with international exposure like Rajiv Sethu, Vishwadev Muraleedharan, Hari Krishnan Rajagopal and Mathana Kumar.
About Madras Motor Sports Club (MMSC):
The Madras Motor Sports Club has been the pioneer in developing and promoting motorsport in India since 1953, and we look to further improve in the years to come. It is the club’s endeavor to provide more opportunities for competitors and to this end, it has chalked out a progressive program for 2016. From the days of Sholavaram , MMSC built its own racetrack which was inaugurated in 1979 and secured its FIA Grade-2 international certification in 2015, making it the only club which owns such a facility. The club has organised the Porsche Super Cup, Formula Campos, Formula Asia, Asian touring car championships, Formula 3, Tata Prima Truck racing championship, the Asian 2-wheeler racing championships besides a host of other motorsport events over the years. The club also has active participation for its events from vehicle manufacturers who also use the Madras Motor Race Track (MMRT) extensively for testing their products.
eom/AP Media Comm press release
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Sarath, Sethu gear up for Suzuka challenge: ARRC
Suzuka, 1 June 2017: Having scored points in the previous two rounds, India’s Shankar Sarath Kumar along with his RAMA Honda Racing team by NTS T.Pro Ten10 team-mate Rajiv Sethu hope to put in improved performance in the third round of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the historic circuit here this weekend.
Chennai-based Sarath and young Sethu are part of the five-member team spearheaded by Japanese ace Tiga Hada, and backed by John Sudheer of the RAMA Group of companies. The Indian duo is also supported by Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India and Honda Motorsports Japan,
Sarath, in his second season in the SuperSport 600cc class, said: “Last year, I did not have a good outing in Suzuka as I was able to participate in only Race 1 and had to sit out of Race 2 due to injury. This circuit is very demanding on bikes and I feel I am much fitter this year and I want to improve my timing and position for sure.
“On this circuit, it is important to get into a rhythm and from the very first session, our goal is going to get the flow and have the right setup rfor the race, My target it to stay within 1.5 seconds of the top lap time so that I can finish in top 15.”
Sethu, in his debut season in the highly competitive Asia Production 250cc class astride a Honda CBR 250, had a forgettable second round in Buriram , Thailand, in April, following a crash in the pre-race practice session and is eager to make up for it.
“Yes, Buriram was a big disappointment for me, but I hope I will do far better at Suzuka. The track here is one of the most technical in the calendar. Since I have already raced the 2-hour endurance in 2016 , I know about the track . So for me, the goal for this round is going to be a top-8 result in both races though there is much more to learn the competition and fight,” said Sethu.
John Sudheer, Chairman, RAMA Group of Companies, said: “The first two rounds this season have been pretty exciting with some good results for our team. We are in good position in the championship. I am very satisfied with the performance and I hope we continue similar performance with some podium finishes in Japan also.
“We are close to middle of the season and I think we have good chance this year to once again fight on the top spot. Tiga Hada is doing very well. However, I want to see our Indian riders finish on top soon. They have to put in a lot of hard work and I am sure they will come up soon.
Ramji Govindarajan, Team Manager, said: “In such a competitive and short championship, we have to understand the machine and the competition quickly to adapt and perform which I feel both the riders are doing as compared the previous years.
“They are able to understand the bikes and the competition well and now and based on that, we have set realistic goals for them for Suzuka and I hope we see a good improvement in their lap times and position.”
eom/AP Media Comm Release
File photo of Sarath Kumar by Anand Philar. -
RIP Nicky Hayden 1981-2017
Nicky Hayden 1981-2017 A Red Bull pool image A statement from Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team
22 May 2017: It is with great sadness that Red Bull Honda World Superbike Team has to announce that Nicky Hayden has succumbed on Monday to injuries suffered during an incident while riding his bicycle last Wednesday.
Nicky passed away at 19:09 CEST this evening at Maurizio Bufalini Hospital in Cesena, Italy. His fiancée Jackie, mother Rose and brother Tommy were at his side.
Throughout his career Nicky’s professionalism and fighting spirit was greatly valued and carried him to numerous successes, including his childhood dream of being crowned MotoGP World Champion with Honda in 2006. As well as being a true champion on the track, Nicky was a fan favourite off it due to his kind nature, relaxed demeanour, and the huge smile he invariably carried everywhere.
Nothing says more about Nicky’s character than the overwhelming response expressed by fellow racers and his legions of fans over the past few days. Jackie and his family are truly grateful for the countless prayers and well wishes for Nicky.
The ‘Kentucky Kid’ will be sorely missed by all that ever had the pleasure of meeting him or the privilege to see him race a motorcycle around a track, be it dirt or asphalt.
The racing world says goodbye to one of its dearest sons. Rest in peace Nicholas ‘Nicky’ Patrick Hayden.
Tommy Hayden
“On behalf of the whole Hayden family and Nicky’s fiancée Jackie I would like to thank everyone for their messages of support – it has been a great comfort to us all knowing that Nicky has touched so many people’s lives in such a positive way.
“Although this is obviously a sad time, we would like everyone to remember Nicky at his happiest – riding a motorcycle. He dreamed as a kid of being a pro rider and not only achieved that but also managed to reach the pinnacle of his chosen sport in becoming World Champion. We are all so proud of that.
“Apart from these ‘public’ memories, we will also have many great and happy memories of Nicky at home in Kentucky, in the heart of the family. We will all miss him terribly.
“It is also important for us to thank all the hospital staff for their incredible support – they have been very kind. With the further support of the authorities in the coming days we hope to have Nicky home soon.”
eom/Red Bull Honda World Superbike team release
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Belagavi gets its first big Motorsport event
File photo courtesy BMSA Belgaum, 19 May 2017: Belagavi’s first Super Dirt-Bike race, Karnataka Invitational Supercross 2017-Belagavi, jointly organised by Belgaum Moto Sports Association (BMSA) and Goa Moto Sport Association (GMSA) will be held here on Sunday. The gates are free and the organisers are expecting a crowd of over 20,000.
For the first time in North Karnataka, the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI) approved event is taking place in Belagavi. National-level riders from across India are expected to take part. The Magadum SX race track has been designed and executed by the renowned track designer, Ashley Gomes.
The race will be held behind GIT College, next to Dyan Prabodhan School, Sammed Nagar Udyambag, Belagavi from 3 pm. BMSA President Akshay Magadum, along with the team of Abhishek Magadum, Aditya Magadum, Shiv Mamadapur, Abhijeet Magadum, Vinay Magale, Suprit Magadum and Yatindra Deshpande have been working in coordination with GMSA President Ashley Gomes over a year to bring this event to Belagavi.
BMA & GMSA plan to launch the Karnataka Invitational Supercross Championship in November this year once the permanent race track is ready at the same location.
The races will be held in the following categories:
- Group A, Sx1 upto 250cc 2 stroke & 450cc 4 stroke.
- Group A, Sx2 upto 250cc 2 stroke & 450cc 4 stroke.
- Group A, Sx3 upto 250cc 2 stroke & 450cc 4 stroke.
- Junior 1, group A/B/C/D upto 125cc 2 stroke & 250cc 4 stroke (under 18 above 15).
- Junior 2, group A/B/C/D upto 85cc 2 stroke & 150cc 4 stroke (under 15 above 12).
- Junior 3, group A/B/C/D upto 65cc 2 stroke (under 12 above 7).
- Group C, upto 250cc (2/4 stroke).
- Group B, upto 250cc (2/4 stroke).
- Enfield Class, upto 500cc.
- Women’s Class, upto 450cc.
The races will be held under the supervision and inspection of FMSCI Scrutineers and Stewards. This event is also being held under the International Sporting ode of the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) the National Competition rules of FMSCI (NCR), & its appendices and the supplementary regulations. Online registrations are open at www.belgaummotosport.com or email to `gomessportsacademy@gmail.com’.
For Details Contact Abhishek Magadum at 9886136886 or Shiv Mamadapur 9844435492.
eom/BMSA press release
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Karun Chandhok to return to Le Mans and WEC
File photo of Karun Chandhok at Le mans with Indian flag. Image courtesy Karun Chandhok Chennai, 3 May 2017: Former Formula One driver Karun Chandhok has confirmed that he will participate in this weekend’s 6 Hours of Spa Francorrchamps and next month’s prestigious Le Mans 24 Hourswith the English team Tockwith Motorsport, which is set to make its Le Mans debut in June in the LMP2 class.
Both races are currently part of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).Chandhok is thus far the first and only Indian to compete at the Le Mans 24 hour race and the 2017 edition will be his fifth appearance the world‘s biggest endurance racing event. His fellow drivers will be teenage debutant Philip Hanson and Nigel Moore.
Speaking about the deal Karun said “I’m really excited to be going back to Le Mans. It’s one of the biggest races in the world and I feel very privileged to be the only person from my country to have raced there. It’s a race you have to take seriously as it’s a fast and dangerous track but that makes it a great challenge.”
“The team owner Simon Moore called me and was very keen to have me involved. They’ve shown their commitment by investing in a brand new Ligier car and infrastructure which is a clear sign of their intent for the future. They offered me Le Mans but we were very keen to also do something before the big race, so the WEC round at Spa will be a great way to kick off things with the team. It will be good to get behind the wheel after a little time away.” Karun added.
The 6 hour race at Spa in Belgium on the 6th of May will be Chandhok’s first taste of the new LMP2 machinery, and a good chance to gain some experience racing with the team before Le Mans week. Spa is known as one of the ultimate driver’s circuits and Karun has driven at the historic venue in Formula 3, GP2, Formula 1 and in the World Endurance Championship in 2012.
Speaking on the World Championship race Karun said, “Spa is a great yardstick. It’s a track I love, having won there in GP2 and it’s a good race to do for us to gauge ourselves against the competitors in the World Endurance Championship before Le Mans. Doing a 6 hour race is obviously only a quarter of the time we will need to cover when compared to Le Mans but it will give us plenty of very good data before we head to Le Mans.
The 24 hours of Le Mans draws a live audience of 300,000 spectators and forms part of the trio of blue ribband events in motorsports, along with the Monaco Grand Prix and the Indianapolis 500. The race starts at 3pm on Saturday the 17th of June and runs until 3pm on Sunday the 18th. The grid is divided up into four different categories – LMP1, LMP2, GTE-Pro and GTE-Am.
The LMP2 class where Tockwith Motorsport are competing is having something of a resurgence and the grid for the class at Le Mans is arguably the most competitive it’s ever been. With 25 cars on the grid, Karun will be racing alongside several drivers that he’s competed against over the years including Bruno Senna, Nico Prost, Nelson Piquet jnr, and Jean Eric Vergne.
Backed by the AVT Group once again, Karun sums up “The grid in LMP2 this year is going to be incredibly strong. There are a lot of experienced teams and drivers and I’m under no illusions of how difficult the task ahead will be as a rookie team heading to Le Mans. I think we have to aim to get in the top 5 and achieving that will be a great result for us this year.”
Karun made a return to the track last weekend by competing in the British Championship for LMP3 cars. Joining his old F3 team T-Sport on their Sportscar debut, Karun and team-mate Steve Tandy finished 3rd and 4th in the two races held at Donington Park. Speaking on the event Karun said “It was a last minute deal – I first drove the car at 10:30 in the morning and a few hours later we were on the podium so that was nice. It was very useful for me to do the race weekend and get warmed up before Spa next weekend.”
eom/Karun Chandhok’s press release
eom/Karun Chandhok release
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Gill-Musa bad Rally of Coimbatore to begin season with a win
Coimbatore, 31 July 2017: Gaurav Gill and Musa Sherif began with a bang, winning the MRF Rally of Coimbatore, the first round of the MRF-FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) at the windmill farms of Kethanur, near here, on Sunday.
The King of Indian motorsports, along with co-driver Musa Sherif, took a comfortable lead from the very first special Stage and slowly improved it to chalk out a convincing win. The double Asia Pacific Rally Champion made amends to his run at the Southern Indian city last year which was troubled by mechanical problems, but today he made up for the loss with a good win to take a lead in the Championship race.
Reigning champions Karna Kadur and co-driver Nikhil V Pai followed Gill and Musa in second place and last year’s winner Amittrajit Ghosh and navigator Ashwin Naik could only finish third. The Kolkota driver looked rusted and the seven-month gap from driving showed on his performance. “The long gap took its toll and it is difficult coming back from such a break,” he said. On the contrary his Mahindra Adventure teammate Gill was happy with the show. `I have not got into the SUV for almost a year but I am happy with the result,” he quipped.
Results: INRC 2017 Round 1 – Coimbatore
INRC: 1. Gaurav Gill & Musa Sherif (Team Mahindra Adventure); 2. Karna Kadur & Nikhil Pai (Arka Motorsports); 3. Amittrajit Ghosh & Ashwin Naik (Team Mahindra Adventure).INRC 2: 1. Karna Kadur & Nikhil Pai (Red Rooster Performance); 2. Rahul Kanthraj & Vivek Bhatt (Red Rooster Performance); 3. Younus Ilyas & Harish Kumar.
INRC 3: 1. Dean Mascarenhas & Shruptha Padival; 2. Dr Biku Babu & Milen George; 3. KM Bopaiah & Karumbaisah G.
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Amanpreet crowned king of mountains in JK Tyre Festival of Speed
Dirang Valley (Arunachal Pradesh), 17 April 2017: Former Indian National Rally Champion Amanpreet Ahulawalia emerged as the undisputed king of the mountains as he claimed the JK Tyre Arunachal Festival of Speed crown here at the spectacular Dirang Valley on Monday.
The Noida-based veteran rallyist and his navigator Ajay Kumar were virtually unbeatable on each of the three days, conquering eight of the ten stages to pocket a major chunk out of the total prize money of Rs 10 lakh.
On the third and final day too, he won the first three Special Stages before easing up on the last one. He finished all the stages, including the Super Special Stage on Day 1, in just over an hour to win with an impressive 27 second lead.
“It was an honour to compete against so many good drivers and good cars,” said Amanpreet graciously. “But as a driver I am more comfortable in the hills, especially where it’s more about technique than speed, and I guess that’s where I scored,” he explained.
Amanpreet, who owns one of the largest rally car workshops in India, gave all the credit to his 1300cc turbo charged Gypsy. “I worked on it for three months, and was managing to produce close to 150-odd bhp power that is pretty good for a gypsy. I guess that was the only good and best part of my car: the engine,” he said, flashing a triumphant smile.
Coorg’s INRC regular KM Bopaiah went all out in his 1600cc Vento but still has to settle for the second place. He was barely 2 or 3 seconds off the leader in each of the stages, and even claimed the final stage, but the 28 second deficit over the first two days proved to be a bridge too far to cross.
He finished all the stages in an equally commendable one hour and 29 seconds. “I gave it my all in the Special Stages. But I guess my car wasn’t suited for some of the rough terrains and the uphill climbs,” he said.
Delhi’s Sandeep Sharma held on to his position to take the third place. His feat was particularly laudable as he was driving a stock car, and it was clear on the second day itself that it was struggling. “I knew I had a huge disadvantage. But I pushed myself and my car to our limits today as I firmly believe that that’s the only thing that counts, not where you finish,” he said.
In the Autocross for local talent, Babit Lyngdoh continued his good run to win the last two sprints on Monday to become the local hero.
Maninder, wife of Sandeep Sharma and the only lady driver in this category, slipped from her second place to finish fourth.
About JK Tyre
Part of the JK Organisation, JK Tyre & Industries Limited is a leading four-wheeler tyre manufacturer in India and among the top-25 manufacturers in the world with a wide range of products catering to diverse business segments in the automobile industry. JK Tyre has global presence in 100 countries across
Amanpreet Ahluwalia won the 4th JK TYRE Arunachal Festival of Speed in Dirang on Monday. Image by JK Tyre Motorsports six continents, backed by production support from 12 plants – 9 in India and 3 in Mexico. Currently, the capacity across all its plants is about 35 million tyres per annum. In April 2016 JK Tyreacquired Cavendish India Limited from Birla Tyres. While acquisition added three modern plants to its portfolio taking the total count to 12, it helped the tyre major foray into the two/three wheeler segment as well. Pioneers of radial technology, JK Tyre produced the first radial tyre in 1977 and is currently the market leader in Truck Bus Radial segment. With over three decades of technological innovation, JK Tyre offers tyre for entire range of passenger and commercial vehicles, starting from a 3 kg two-wheeler tyre to a 3.5 ton OTR tyre. Apart from a strong network of 4000 dealers and over 200 dedicated outlets, JK Tyre was the first tyre company to introduce unique concepts like “Dial-a-Tyre” and is the only tyre company to launch a 24×7 on-road tyre assistance initiative called “Fix-a-Tyre”.
eom/JK Tyre press release
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Sarath, Rajiv set for Thailand campaign: ARRC
Buriram (Thailand), 13 April 2017: India’s S Sarath Kumar and Rajiv Sethu, both representing Rama Honda Racing team by NTS T.Pro Ten10 team, will renew their respective campaigns in the second round of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Chang International Circuit here on Friday, hoping to improve on their performance in the previous outing in Johor Bahru, Malaysia, a fortnight ago.
Sarath Kumar, participating in the SuperSport 600cc class on a Honda CBR 600WR bike, picked up points in both the races in Johor while Sethu, astride the all new Honda CBR 250RR, made his debut in the highly competitive Asia Production 250cc.
Both the Chennai-based riders, supported by Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, Honda Motorsports Japan and John Sudheer of Rama Group of Companies, are part of a five-rider team that includes Japan’s Tiga Hada who delivered a double podium in Johor.
Sarath, shrugging off a collar bone injury that he suffered after a crash during pre-season test session, put in two impressive rides in Johor as he improved his time with each outing.
“I need to focus on my pace in Round 2. This circuit is fast and is one of my favourite as compared Johor. I am now feeling more confident on the bike and I hope good results will come from Round 2.
“I have been working hard on adapting to SuperSport style of riding. In Johor, I was still riding the 600 like a 250cc, carrying a lot of corner speed and losing precious time exiting the corner. Now, after a lot of data analysis and inputs from my team, I have started adapting to the big bike and I hope to score more points.
“The only setback is a crack in my collar bone from the crash during pre-season test, but I think, it is manageable. Honda and my team have been very supportive and I hope I give them something good this round,” said Sarath on the eve of the Buriram round.
Sethu, who is aiming for a top-15 finish here, said: “The AP250 category is very competitive. I have to come to terms with the competition and it is important that the all new Honda CBR250RR should be set up right. This bike is brand new, very powerful and a perfect package for the road racing.
“My expectations for this round is to finish in top 15 which in itself will be a great improvement on my lap times and riding. It’s a step by step learning.”
John Sudheer, Team Ambassador and Director Rama Group of Companies: “I am very excited about Thailand round as I enjoy the circuit a lot as compared to the others in the season. Also, Thailand is like my second home. The crowd here is electrifying and with the season of Songkran Festival, we are sure there will be a lot of celebration at the circuit and if we can add some cheer to the festival with some victory by Tiga Hada and improved performance by our Indian racers, I will be very glad.”
Ramji Govindarajan, Team Manager: “Our season kicked off well with double podiums in Round 1 by Tiga Hada who has been a transformation this year. We expect some fireworks from Tomoyashi Koyama on CBR250RR this round. With regard to our own boys, we hope Sarath to have a better run in Chang International Circuit as his understanding of the bike has improved as compared to last year and even the first round. For Rajiv Sethu, this will be learning year for him which he can from his teammates who have over 30 years of combined experience racing and we are confident that he will improve his performance as the development of the new Honda CBR250RR Improves. Overall, we expect a good race across both AP250 and SS600.”
eom/AP Media Comm release
File photo of Sarath Kumar by Anand Philar
