Three Indian ace riders took part in the opening round of Honda Asia Dream Cup at Sepang International Circuit, having been selected on the basis of their strong and consistent performances in 2014 edition of Honda One Make Race Championship.
Among the trio, Shankar Sarath accumulated eight points in the two races, including a credible best lap of 1:20:768. The Chennai born rider was looking to build over his podium finish at the Qatar round of ADC last year, but a pedal issue relegated him down to 10th place in the first race.
Unlike Sarath, Hari Krishnan Rajagopalan and Sethu Rajiv made their debut at the Asia Dream Cup, with the former clocking six points over the weekend. 17 year old Rajiv fared far worse, and came home empty handed from Malaysia.
Asia Dream Cup is a brainchild of Honda and aims to develop Indian riders of international calibre. These riders are pitted against some of the best in Asia across six rounds, and if they happen to finish in the top eight in the championship, a chance to participate in Moto3 qualifying will follow.
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 MotoGP championships.”
The next round of Honda Asia Dream Cup is scheduled from June 04-07 at Indonesia's Sentul International Circuit.
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