Honda riders Anish, Rajiv start positively in Round 3 of ARRC

Suzuka (Japan), June 2 (IANS) After scoring the first points of the season in round two of the Asia Road racing Championship (ARRC), Honda riders Rajiv Sethu and Anish Shetty started positively gaining six points each in Round 3 at the Suzuka Circuit here on Saturday.

Starting a distant 30th, the 23-year-old Anish overtook six riders to close at 24th. Between Friday and Saturday, Anish worked up to shave off 8.006 seconds of his lap time, clocking his best lap time of 2:33.746 with a top speed of 136 kilometres/hour.

Already recovering from his wrist surgery, 20-year-old Chennai boy Rajiv Sethu couldn't make the most of the three free practices due to a crash in Practice 1 itself.

Notwithstanding this setback which gave him very little time for track feedback, the second timer Rajiv pushed hard and closed the qualifying at 31st out of 33 riders on Saturday.

Pushing full throttle, Rajiv worked his way up and gained a solid 6 positions to finish in top 25 with his best lap time of 2:34:246.

Honda 2Wheeler India team's third rider, 19-year old Japanese rider Taiga Hada lost the opportunity to win on home soil.

Starting from 15th, Hada closed in the top 12 of the total 24 riders. With this, the team added 4 points to his tally.