Three Indian racers to participate in the 2015 Honda Asia Dream Cup
The 2015 Honda Asia Dream Cup will see participation from three of India's best motorcycle racers. Sarath Kumar, Hari Krishnan Rajagopalan and S Rajiv will represent India in the six round championship.
Sarath Kumar managed to haul eight points in the opening round of the championship at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia where he set a lap time of 1:20:768. Hari Krishnan Rajagopalan managed to grab six points.
The three racers from Chennai were selected after their performances in the 2014 Honda One Make Race Championship in India.
Speaking about the performance of the three Indians, Keita Muramatsu, president and CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Private Limited said, "We are rooting for a podium win by the Indian contingent of Sarath Kumar, Hari Krishnan Rajagopalan and Sethu Rajiv. Honda wants to popularise motorsport culture in India. As a first step, we have handpicked the best talent from home-grown Honda One Make Race platform and are nurturing them through the Asia Dream Cup. Our objective is to see them grow and hopefully represent India in the coveted Moto3 and later MotoGP championships."
The Honda Asia Dream Cup provides a platform for young Asian racers to showcase their skills. At the end of the championship the top eight riders will get a chance to participate in Moto3 qualifying. The next round of the championship will be held at the Sentul International Asian MotoGP Circuit in Indonesia from June 4-7, 2015.
| Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia), April 25, 2015: India's three ace racers made a promising start at the much-awaited motor racing tourney- Asia Dream Cup 2015. Supported by Honda, the Indian trio - Shankar Sarath Kumar, Hari Krishnan Rajagopalan and Sethu Rajiv competed with 19 le crème of Asia's motorsport talent. Honda selected all three of them basis their strong and consistent performance in the 2014 edition of Honda One Make Race Championship held in India. Sarath clocked 8 points over two rounds including a credible best lap of 1:20:768. Looking to build on his podium finish at the Qatar-leg of the ADC last year, Sarath Kumar was quickly off the blocks. Unfortunately he suffered from a pedal during the first-race that pushed him to 10th place. A two-time Honda One Make Race Champion (2014 and 2013), besides being the first-Indian rider to participate in 125GP and Moto-3 CEV Championship, Sarath, 24, is keen to build on this performance in the next-five rounds. For the other 2 Indians â€" Hari Krishnan and Rajiv S., it was their first foray into ADC 2015. Hari Krishnan, 21, managed the credible feat of finishing both-rounds in his debut race and bagging 6 points. For the 17 year-old Rajiv, the 14 lap race was a steep learning curve. Congratulating the 3 Indian racers on their promising performance in Round 1 of Asia Dream Cup, Mr. Keita Muramatsu, President & CEO, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. said," We are rooting for podium win by the Indian contingent of Sarath Kumar, Hari Krishnan Rajagopalan and Sethu Rajiv. Honda wants to popularize motorsport culture in India. As first step, we have handpicked the best talent from home-grown Honda One Make Race platform and are nurturing them through the Asia Dream Cup. Our objective is to see them grow and hopefully represent India in the coveted Moto3 and later Moto GP championships." The racers now move to Sentul International Asian MotoGP circuit in Indonesia for the next-round, to be held from June 04-07, 2015. About Asia Dream Cup The Asia Dream Cup is a unique motorsport platform by Honda Motor Company, Japan. Through this, Honda develops motorsport talent and skills amongst Asian riders. Starting April, the 2015 season will see 19 promising racers from 10 Asian countries (Japan, Thailand, Philippines, China, Malaysia, Australia, Taipei, Singapore, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India) sweating it out on 5 international circuits (Malaysia, Indonesia, Japan, Qatar & Thailand) over 6 exciting rounds ending December,2015. The steep learning curve will only continue as Honda will give a chance to the top 8 racers of the 2015 Asia Dream Cup season to race in the qualifying of the prestigious 2016 Moto3 championship next year! Nurturing motorsport talent from India, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India Pvt. Ltd. (HMSI) has sponsored three most promising Indian racers to compete with Asia's best racers astride the CBR 250R performance motorcycle in 2015. | |