Indian riders Shankar Sarath Kumar and Rajiv Sethu struggled to make an impact in their respective classes in the fifth round of Asia Road Racing Championship at MMRT track in Sriperumbudur near here today.
While Kumar of Team RAMA Honda by NTS T.Pro Ten 10, did improve his timing in the premier SuperSports 600cc class, he could only finish a lap down in 12th spot.
In the Asia Production 250cc category, Sethu, also racing for RAMA Hona team, ended up 19th. He, however, had the satisfaction of clinching the title in the Honda CBR 250 (Open) category of the MMSC One-Make Championship.
He sealed the top prize despite finishing fifth in the support race which was won by Deepak Ravikumar.
The 10 points that Sethu earned took his tally to 179 points, clear of second-placed Hari Krishnan Rajagopal (145), who in turn is 39 ahead of Anish Shetty, with just one more race to be run tomorrow.
Meanwhile, on a hot day, Malaysian rider Mohd Zaqhwan Zaidi, astride a Honda, powered his way to victory in the SuperSports 600cc class.
Zaidi started second on the grid behind pole-sitter Keminth Kubo (Japan, Yamaha), but eased to the front early in the 16-lap race. He then kept his nerves even as two other Japanese Taiga Hada (Honda) and Yuki Ito (Yamaha) scrapped for the other two podium spots to post his second win of the season. Hada finished second ahead of Ito.
Meanwhile, championship Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman, nursing an injury following a high-side crash during Fridays third free practice session, qualified 15th, but limped home in 10th place which earned him enough points to maintain his lead on the leaderboard with 124 points.
In the Asia Production 250cc category, Indonesian Gerry Salim, who was expected to seal the title in the first race today, crashed twice during the warm-up lap and sat out.
In his absence, Tomoyoshi Koyama (Japan) scored his first AP250 win but not before holding off Thailands Anupab Sarmoon who eventually finished second.
Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam, on a Honda, chalked up his third win of the season in the Underbone 150cc class in a tight finish after surviving close attention from Mohd Haziq Mohd Fairues (Yamaha) and Azroy Hakeem Anuar (Honda) for an all-Malaysian podium.
Arun Muthukrishnan took the honours in the other support race, the TVS Apache 200 (Open) where Sivanesan, who finished third behind Anand Kumar, has already clinched the title.
Results (provisional): SuperSports 600cc Race 1 (16 Laps): 1. Md Zaqhwan Zaidi (Malaysia, Honda) (27:20.721); 2. Taiga Hada (Japan, Honda) (27:21.347); 3. Yuki Ito (Japan, Yamaha) (27:21.710).
Asia Production 250cc Race 1 (12 Laps): 1. Tomoyoshi Koyama (Japan, Honda) (22:07.059); 2. Anupab Sarmoon (Thailand, Yamaha) (22:07.176); 3. Galang Hendra Pratama (Indonesia, Yamaha) (22:11.328).
Underbone 150cc Race 1 (10 Laps): 1. Fakhrusy Syakirin Rostam (Malaysia, Honda) (19:14.180); 2. Md Haziq Md Fairues (Malaysia, Yamaha) (19:14.358); 3. Azroy Hakeem Anuar (Malaysia, Honda) (19:14.432).
Support Races (MMSC One-Make Championship): Honda CBR 250 (Open) Race 1 (10 Laps): 1. Deepak Ravikumar (Chennai) (20:31.867); 2. Anish D Shetty (Hubballi) (20:33.699); 3. Hari Krishnan Rajagopal (Chennai) (20:33.916).
TVS Apache 200 (Open) Race 1 (10 Laps): 1. Arun Muthukrishnan (Chennai) (22:07.866); 2. Anand Kumar S (Chennai) (22:08.311); 3. Sivanesan S (Chennai) (22:08.401).
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content
