Top racers for Asian Road Racing meet in Chennai

Indian riders Shankar Sarath Kumar and Rajiv Sethu will be seen in action alongside leading two-wheeler racers from across Asia in the fifth round of Asia Road Racing Championship to be held at Sriperumbudur near here over the weekend.
Riders from Australia, Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Chinese-Taipei, besides the city-based Kumar and Sethu would be in the fray.
A press release said the field includes a clutch of riders with exposure at the world championship level and they would be contesting in the SuperSports 600cc, Asia Production 250cc and the Underbone 150cc classes.
There would also be support races in the Honda CBR 250 (Open) and TVS Apache 200 (Open) categories.

On his chances, 24-year-old Kumar said: "Obviously, I am very excited to be racing on my home track and in front of our fans. The expectations will be high and that adds to the pressure, but quite inspiring.
"As for my realistic target, it is to get my lap time under 1:46 (one minute, 46 seconds) which will get me closer to the front bunch of riders. The 600cc field is very strong and has plenty of experienced riders with world championship exposure. So, you can expect a very high level of competition.

"Compared to last season when I was recovering from a knee injury, I am in better physical condition this year and am able to push more. My pace has improved, but the big problem is that I do not get any track time on the 600cc bike between races or pre-season," he said.

On his part, the 18-year-old Sethu said, "It has been a learning process for me in the ARRC this season. I have been improving with every outing and this weekend, I want to do better than my previous best finish of 16.
He said the aim was to stay with the leading bunch and carry the good form from the national championship into the Asian meet.
"My goal is to stay with the leading bunch, and racing on my home track, I do not want to disappoint the fans. I have been in good form in the ongoing National championship and I hope to carry that form into this weekend," Sethu added.

International racing returns to the iconic MMRT track in Sriperumbudur after a four-year gap.
Madras Motor Sports Club president Ajit Thomas said fans in these parts would get to see the cream of Asia's two-wheeler racing talent in action.