Indians gear up for Yamaha ASEAN Cup Race

Lacking in experience but not short in determination, four Indian motorcycle racers today geared up for the 11th Yamaha ASEAN Cup 2014 at the Sentul International Circuit, seeking to make a mark in the competition which starts with the qualifying race tomorrow.
Rajini Krishnan, Deepak Ravikumar, Jagan Kumar and Padmanaban have competed in barely 30 international races among themselves and it would be a tough task for them to climb to the podium on Sunday in the event to be competed among 60 riders from six countries in three categories -- ST150 (Sport YZF-R15), ST250 (Sport YZF-R25) and MT (Manual Transmission/Moped) Jupiter Z1.

Deepak, Jagan and Padmanaban will compete in STR15 while Rajini is the only Indian participant in the STR25 class. No Indian will participate in the MT Class.
The race, to be hosted by Yamaha Motor group company P T Yamaha Indonesia Motor Manufacturing, is an international one-make championship competition to crown the number one rider in the ASEAN region. Launched in 2003, the Yamaha ASEAN Cup Race is an event that aims to promote the sporty image of the Yamaha brand throughout the ASEAN region.
Sixty riders from six nations -- Philippines, India, Thailand, Malaysia, Japan and Indonesia -- have been chosen via national qualifiers in their respective countries to compete in the three categories here.

Hosts Indonesia are being represented by 15 riders while Malaysia have sent 12 competitors. Thailand have sent 11 while Philippines nine Japan will have nine riders each.

The MT and ST 150 class will be competed in a two-heat race format on Sunday with the final places to be decided on the basis of total points from the two races. ST 250 class will, however, be decided on the basis of a single race. MT class will have nine laps while ST 150 and ST 250 classes will both have 12 laps each.
The Indians -- all from Chennai -- are hoping to pose a stiff challenge to seasoned campaigners from Indonesia, Thailand, Japan, Philippines and Malaysia.

"In terms of experience, we are the least among the participating countries. The Indonesians and Thais have at least 15-20 international races in a year while I have participated in 12 or 13 international races since 2009. But we are no pushovers and we can compete with the riders of the other countries," said Deepak who has participated in more than 10 races in countries like Qatar, China and Thailand.