Rajiv, Senthil collect 7 points for Honda Racing India in Race 1 of 2022 ARRC

Honda Racing India Team's Rajiv Sethu and Senthil Kumar finished 12th and 13th respectively in the first race of Round 2 FIM Asia Road Racing Championships (ARRC) to collect seven points at the Sepang International Circuit here on Saturday.

Starting 16th on the grid, Rajiv overtook Indonesian rider Fitriansyah Kete in the first lap itself and continued to ride at the 14th spot till lap 4.

Thereafter, Rajiv moved up one position in lap 5 and lap 6 and maintained his momentum to cross the finish line with a timing of 20:12.398s, earning four valuable points for his team.

Senthil too showcased his full power on the racetrack and clocked the best lap time of 2:29.301s, his new fastest lap time at the Sepang International Circuit, to finish the race one spot behind Rajiv. He collected three points for his efforts.

"I am not happy with the qualifier session. My entire focus was to maintain a steady position in the race and earn points for the team. Despite the tough competition, I kept my cool and concentrated on my skills to make no mistakes on the track. With today's learning, I shall push harder in tomorrow's race to mark my position in the top 10," Rajiv said.

Senthil added: "I was a bit nervous while starting from the last row. However, I applied all my strategies and learned to build a strong pace. While competing with all the international riders, I gained much confidence and recorded my personal best lap time of 2:29.301s at the Sepang circuit."