Rajiv becomes first Indian to qualify in top 7 in AP 250 class of ARRC

Honda Racing India's Rajiv Sethu Saturday became the first Indian to finish in top-7 in the AP 250 class qualifying race in the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship but met with a crash in the main race to end at 22nd here.

The morning qualifier saw Rajiv record the best ever finish by an Indian rider in top-7. His gap with lead rider Muklada was further reduced to under 1 second, the least ever so far.

Unfortunately, he could not maintain this momentum in Race 1. A poor start lost him 14 positions from his first ever third row start.

Rajiv made a quick recovery and by lap 3, he had overtaken one rider, and three more by lap 5. By the start of last 10th lap, Rajiv had returned to his targeted 10th position.

But then, searching for a slipstream came the high-side resulting in a crash in Turn 3. Despite minor damage in handle-bar, Rajiv managed to finish the race.

Starting 20th on the grid, the other rider Senthil Kumar made a good start but could not surge ahead till the 8th lap. Thereon, he gained over two riders in the last 2 laps to finally close at 18th position.