Asia Road Racing C'ship: Rajiv Sethu clocks strong qualifier before crashing out

Indian racer Rajiv Sethu clocked a strong qualifying time but a fall cut short his chances of making a top 10 finish at the first race outing in round six of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) here on Saturday.

The morning qualifier saw IDEMITSU Honda Racing India's Sethu clock a strong 2:27:617 lap time. This put him in the top 15 riders who were competing in the 2 second gap.

Starting the afternoon's race 1 from the fifth row, Sethu persevering on aggressively. Unfortunately, he suffered a fall at turn 11 soon after, cutting short his dream of a top 10 finish.

"Today, the competition was really tough here. It was a set-back for sure. But the only saving grace is that I got-off with just a minor sprain and can ride tomorrow. Overall, I am confident of my machine setting and my target still remains Top 10," Sethu said.

For 18-year-old Senthil Kumar, Saturday was another day of progress at Sepang circuit. Working hard in the morning qualifier, he clocked his personal best lap time of 2:29:612.

In the afternoon race he climbing five positions from 22nd on the starting grid to finish 17th. With a strong home turf advantage for Malaysian rider Shahrol Yuzy and Thai rider Sawapol Nilapong hot on his heels, Senthil decided to defend his position.

Despite the to and fro between them in the last 2 laps, Senthil successfully maintained his position to finish 17th 0.162 seconds ahead of Sawapong.

Race 1 saw battle start from the word go and ended at the chequered flag. While the afternoon race saw three crashes, it was once again the Honda riders who notched up all three podium positions.

Completing the podium today were Indonesian rider Irfan Ardiansyah from Astra Honda (1st), Muklada Sarapuech (2nd) and Rafid Topan Sucipto (3rd) all crossing the chequered flag in a mere 0.261 gap.