Buriram, Thailand – IDEMITSU Honda Racing India’s riders Rajiv Sethu and Senthil Kumar delivered a solid start in the practice sessions of Round 3 of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) at the Chang International Circuit.
Rajiv Sethu clocked his personal best at the Buriram track with a lap time of 1:55.146, cutting a full 3 seconds from his earlier sessions and closing the gap to the front-runners to just 2 seconds. His performance places him among the top 15 riders in the practice leaderboard.
Senthil Kumar, the 18-year-old rookie, improved his pace across all three practice sessions, registering a lap time of 1:57.766 and finishing 20th in the combined standings.
With just a 1-second gap separating the top 14 riders, competition was intense. Muklada Sarapuech and Piyawat Patoomyos from A.P Honda Racing led the timesheets, followed by Indonesian champion Andy Fadly.
The championship resumes with the Qualifier and Race 1 tomorrow, featuring 25 top Asian riders from 7 countries.
Quotes:
Mr. Prabhu Nagaraj, VP – Brand & Communications, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd., said:
“Rajiv is showing significant growth – more confident, fitter, and focused. With his gap to the front now just 2 seconds, a top-10 finish is within reach. Senthil is learning fast and tomorrow we expect a stronger fight from him.”
Rajiv Sethu, IDEMITSU Honda Racing India:
“Despite missing FP2 due to an electronic issue, I pushed hard in FP3 and beat my personal best. I’m targeting a top 10 finish tomorrow.”
Senthil Kumar, IDEMITSU Honda Racing India:
“I’m not fully satisfied with today’s performance. But tomorrow is a new day, and I’ll aim to finish in the top 15 to earn points for India.”
Other Highlights:
In the ASB1000cc category, Zaqhwan Zaidi of Honda Asia-Dream Racing with SHOWA clocked 1:36.274, securing the second spot.
In the Honda Thailand Talent Cup, teenager Mohammad Mikail placed 13th with a best time of 1:53.776, while Kritik Habib finished 17th (FP1) and 18th (FP2).
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