Buriram (Thailand): Rajiv Sethu of IDEMITSU Honda Racing India by T.Pro Ten10 gained his maiden points outside the country as he finished 13th in the AP 250CC category of the Asian Road Racing Championship at the Chang International Circuit here on Saturday. Rafid Topan Sucipto of Yamaha Yamalube KYT finished on top followed by Awhin Sanjaya of Astra Honda Racing and Muklada Sarqapuech of A.P Honda Racing Thailand.
Rajiv who started 20th on the gird did a creditable job by finishing 13th. “It was a good race and I had a wonderful start. In the first lap we got separated into two bunches and later on the first bunch got separated further. My target was to stick to my position and make a move in the last lap. I moved past two riders in the last lap but I didn’t want to take a risk moving past two more because I was scared of a crash. My target was to finish in the top 15,” said the Chennai rider.
The 21-year-old hopes to better his performance in the second race on Sunday. “If I finished in the top five, I would have been happier,” added Rajiv.
Rajiv’s team-mate Anish Shetty from Karnataka had a tough race as he started last on the grid but gained three places to finish 23rd.
“The set-up which we finalised for the qualifier didn’t turn out to be the right one. I missed a big opportunity in the qualifier. Starting from 26th on the grid, I challenged myself and finished three positions up at 23rd. In Sunday’s race, my aim will be to make a good start and finish in top 18.”
Japanese rider Taiga Hada also part of IDEMITSU Honda Racing India finished 15th in the Super Sports 600cc category. He had started 18th on the grid.
