Two wheeler Asia Road Racing c'ship starts in Chennai

A challenging race is on the cards for the top Asian two wheeler riders when the Petronas Asia Road Racing championship commence here tomorrow with the qualifying event.
Two rounds of racing slated to be held here on weekends would witness the likes of Malaysia's Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman (current leader), Katsuaki Fujiwara (World SuperSports rider), Makoto Tamada (MotoGP rider) and Tomoyoshi Koyama (MotoGP rider). Lap record holder Rafid Topan (1:59.820sec) of Indonesia (Yamaha team) would be looking for an encore of 2011 season leg held here.
The championship consisting of three categories -- Super Sports 600cc, Asia Dream Cup and the Underbone 115cc -- would witness almost all the top riders from Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan and Australia competing for honours.

India's Rajini Krishnan and R Deepak have been extended 'wild cards' in Super Sports category by the Promoters. But the country won't be represented in the Underbone 115cc class.
The Asia Dream Cup making its debut in India this weekend would have Sumit Lucas Toppo and A Prabhu participating in it.
Ron Hogg, Promotion director, two wheeler motor racing of the Asian body, said, "at this stage, for Asian riders to progress to the world stage is all about sponsorship".

"A large number of Asian riders have reached a very high level in terms of skill but lacked the opportunity to progress. Through the Asia Dream Cup, it is hoped that this problem will be eliminated," he said.

He said the objective of the Asia Dream Cup is to be a clear path for Asian riders to progress from their national championships -- to the Underbone 115cc class to the Asia Dream Cup and then to the SuperSports 600cc class and finally to reach the world level as wildcard and eventually even full seasons in the world championships.
"This new class raced on the platform provided by the PETRONAS Asia Road Racing Championship, is conducted with the full support of Honda Motor Co Ltd, Japan and is a 'scholarship' programme for talented young Asian riders throughout the region," Hogg said.