You would’ve probably had a good view of the pit lanes from the Grand Stand of the Buddh International Circuit but it’s a completely different feeling to walk the pits and watch the teams prepare for the race up close. Thanks to Honda Motorcycles and Scooters India, we got our pass to cover some serious action at one of the fastest racetracks anywhere in the world. The Buddh International Circuit, which of late has become the mecca of petrol heads in our country played host to Round 5 of Asia Dream Cup (ADC) and FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) over an action packed weekend.
The ADC was participated in by three Indian riders – Hari Krishnan, Mathana Kumar and Rajiv Sethu while the ARRC was supposed to be participated by Sarath Kumar. Unfortunately, Sarath Kumar had to withdraw from the race after a serious crash in the qualifiers.
ADC saw participation of 19 racers from 12 countries across Asia. In ADC, Hari Krishnan and Mathana Kumar, despite their best effort, could not improve their standings from the first race and finished on 11th and 15th position respectively. Rajiv Sethu was forced to retire after an unfortunate crash. While the Indian contingent was trying its best to grab as better positions as possible, Broc Pearson (1st), Sittipon Srimoontree (2nd) and Hafizh Nor Azman (3rd) grabbed the podium after a very tight battle.
Race 2 of ARRC saw Anthony Keith West from Australia repeat the success of the first race as he stood on the top of the podium. Decha Kraisarta of Thailand and Azlan Shah Kamaruzam of Malaysia stood second and third respectively.
Here is a summary of the race:
Asia Dream Cup
Top Honda riders from across Asia fought it out in a closely contested Race 2 of the 5th round of Asia Dream Cup 2016. Broc Pearson from Australia claimed the top spot in a closely fought race with a timing of 17:01:625. Sittipon Srimoontree of Thailand clocked 17:02:138 to finish second and Hafiz Norazman from Malaysia completed the podium with a timing of 17:02:540. India’s Hari Krishnan finished 11th, whereas Mathana Kumar S finished 15th in his maiden attempt.
SuperSports 600CC (Race 1)
Anthony Keith West from Australia, winner of race 1 continued his fine run to complete a convincing victory in the race 2 of the 5th round of ARRC. He clocked 31:03:153, to claim his second podium finish in consecutive races. Decha Kraisarta of Thailand also picked up his second podium this weekend as he finished second with a timing of 31.06:352. Malaysia’s Azlan Shah Kamaruzam finshed third with a timing of 31:10:691.
Honda CBR 250cc Open (Race 1)
The grid for Honda’s flagship CBR 250R Team Championship saw India’s top notch 20 riders. Abhishek V grabbed the top position with a total time of 12:52:326 and was closely followed by Anish D Shetty (12:52:386) who finished second. Mathana Kumar S (12.52:517) finished third to complete the podium.
