Rajiv Sethu earns more points for Honda Racing India in first

Rajiv Sethu of Idemitsu Honda Racing India team came up with a masterful performance to earn three more points with a 13th-place finish in the second race of the opening round of FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia.

After gaining seven points Saturday, the Honda Racing India team took its tally to 10 to be among the top 6 teams of AP 250 class.

In today's race, there was trouble for Rajiv Sethu from the first lap.

Despite a great start which took him to 5th spot, he suffered the collateral damage from the crash of Indonesian rider duo Irfan Ardiansyah and Rafid Topan before him and crashed.

Determined to finish the race, the Chennai rider resumed from back of the pack at 23rd spot and recovered to cross the finish line at 13th.

"This weekend I really gave it my all. Today I was totally focused, as I wanted to be in the top bunch right from the start. While I could do that, but I couldn't save from Indonesian riders crash before me.

My machine had minor problem from the crash impact, but I wanted to finish the race. Yes, I could gain more points for India and my team today but I feel disappointed that I couldn't close in top 10," Sethu said.

Sethu's teammate, the young Senthil Kumaar, who started 17th on the grid, climbed to 13th position by lap 6, before crashing later.

Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice-President Brand and Communications, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt.Ltd. said, "No doubt, it was a tough weekend, but we did good work, and I am proud of our team's efforts too.

After the high of race 1 where both Rajiv and Sethil scored points, Sunday race was a tough one with as many as 6 crashes.

Though Rajiv was caught up in the crash in lap 1 itself, he scripted a quick bounce-back from 23rd to 13th.

We have to keep our focus high and aim higher for the next round in Australia now.