Honda’s Indian team snatches first ARRC podium on home soil

Taiga Hada on the podium of Race 1 - Round 4 ARRC

Chasing the dream of winning Asia’s top Motorsport championship on home-soil, 'IDEMITSU Honda Racing India' team by T. Pro Ten10 Racing made a cracker of a start in the Round 4 of 'Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC)'. Today proved to be a historic day with the Indian Flag flying high on the podium for the first time.

For 19 year old Japanese rider Taiga Hada – the solo entry of IDEMITSU Honda Racing India in the premier Super Sport 600 (SS600) class, Chennai was sweet start. Earlier today, Hada qualified 6th in the grid with the fastest lap time of 01.41.384. Pushing ahead full steam, Taiga Hada made a strong start in race 1 and soon started leading the ranks with Anthony West and his play-off keeping all on toes right till the finish. Gaining the first podium of the championship for the solo Indian team, Hada finished 3rd. Winning 16 points in race 1, Hada is now with 40 points and in top 7 of the championship.

Taiga Hada finishes 3rd in Race 1 of Round 4 ARRC

Meanwhile, with 24 riders completing the Asia Production 250 (AP250) grid, Indian boys qualified at 19th and 20th. Race 1 was a mixed bag for the Indian riders. Fresh from leading the national championship and his recent international exposure at Thai Talent Cup, this was the first race for the 20 year old Chennai boy Rajiv Sethu after the full recovery of wrist injury. Picking up ranks in the close contested race, Rajiv quickly climbed up to finish in the top 13, thereby scoring his first 3 points of the season with his best lap time of 1:50:945. Meanwhile, for the rookie rider Anish Shetty the high slide in the 7th lap prevented him from finishing the race.

Rajiv Sethu scores first points for the season in Race 1 - Round 4 ARRC

Sharing his excitement with the Indian team’s performance in Round 4 of Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) 2018 in Chennai, Mr. Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice President – Brand & Communication, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said, “We are extremely delighted with the performance in home soil. Making us proud, Taiga Hada’s first podium and Rajiv Sethu’s first points for the season is a major reason to cheer for us. Anish’s crash was unfortunate but I am sure he will bounce back stronger tomorrow. The pace has been set today and I am confident that our riders will give us more reason to celebrate tomorrow.”

Talking about today’s race, RAJIV SETHU – IDEMITSU Honda Racing India team by T.Pro Ten10 rider said, “While I had a bad start today and I was confident of the setup of my bike. Too many riders crowding around me which kept pushing me outside of the racing line. But I kept my cool and kept gaining on everyone. Climbing 6 positions, I am ecstatic to score my first points for the season in front of the home crowd. My recent stint in the Thai Talent Cup has been a game changer, giving me more exposure to the highly competitive international racing. With this huge morale boost I will soak pressure better and push harder tomorrow.”

Scoring a morale boosting podium, TAIGA HADA - IDEMITSU Honda Racing India team by T.Pro Ten10 rider, “Having scored double podiums in my previous outing at Madras Motor Race Track, I am very excited to register one of the third consecutive time. The support from the crowd was electrifying and that inspired me push harder in every corner. This is one of my most favourite tracks of the calendar and I am going to aim for a win tomorrow.”

Results:

Team	Rider	Country	Category	Qualifying result	Round 3 Race 1 Result
‘IDEMITSU Honda Racing India’ team by T Pro Ten10	Rajiv Sethu	India	Asia Production 250	19	13
	Anish Shetty	India		20	DNF
	Taiga Hada	Japan	Super Sport 600	6	3

About 2018 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship:

The 23rd edition of FIM Asia Road Racing Championship is Asia’s most competitive motorcycle road racing championship, held since 1996. The 2018 season of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) has 65 riders from 8 Asia and Oceania countries (Australia, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and India) battling it out in an intense 6 round championship.

ARRC is part of the production-based category of racing, similar to the Supersport World Championship. It consists of 3 open-make classes (SuperSport 600, Asia Production 250cc and Underbone 130cc) and 2 single-make development classes. Modified versions of production motorcycles available to the public are featured in the race.

2018 ARRC calendar:
After Round 1 in Thailand in March and Round 2 in Australia (Bend Motorsport Park, Adelaide), Japan’s iconic Suzuka circuit hosted the third battleground from 1st to 3rd June. This weekend, the championship has come to home-soil returning to MMRT, Chennai. Followed by the finale race tomorrow, the championship goes to Indonesia (12th to 14th October) for the penultimate round. The season finale in Thailand will close the action over November 30 to December 2, 2018.