Double win for Kraisart in Supersport races of ARRC

CHENNAI: Decha Kraisart was unstoppable. Neither the sapping Chennai heat, nor the bumpy ride at the MMSC Race Track or the wheel-to-wheel, start-to-finish affairs with rivals could deter the defending champion from scoring a memorable double victory in the 600cc Supersport category at the third round races of the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) on Sunday.

Thai Kraisart had missed out on the second round races in Indonesia due to a wrist injury. The Yamaha Thailand Racing rider, however, had made his intentions of storming back into the title race clear by taking pole after breaking the lap during qualifying on Saturday. And on race day, he just carried forward the form, breaking the lap record once again during Race 2, as he revved his way to the finish line.

With the win, Kraisart has jumped to fifth place in the championship table with 57.5 points. Japanese rider Katsuaki Fujiwara of Manual-Tech BEET Kawasaki, who finished seventh and sixth in Race 1 and 2, still leads the table with 114.5 points while Malaysians Azlan Shah Kamaruzaman of Boon Siew Honda Racing is second with 84 points followed by Mohd Zamri Baba (65 points) of Petronas Yamaha.

Moto-Rev India also had something to cheer when their lead rider Toshiyuki Hamaguchi of Japan finished fourth in Race 2 after starting from tenth position. The five-time Asian champion used all his experience to claw up the order, making up for an average outing in Race 1.

The Indian team's second rider, national champ K Rajini, had a poor outing at his home event though. The 29-year-old, fighting pain from a wrist sprain after a crash on Friday, finished 16th in Race 1 and failed to finish in Race 2.

But at the business end of the grid, Kraisart stamped his credentials as a champ. As he had predicted, he faced stiff challenge from Malaysians Baba and Kamaruzaman in both the races.

In Race 1, Baba made a flying start and overtook Kraisart in the first corner and maintained half a second advantage till the fifth lap when Kraisart made his move. At the start of the sixth lap, the Thai closed in on Baba in the first corner and made his pass after slip-streaming the Malaysian in the second.

There after Kraisart rode a flawless race, warding off the Malaysian challenge with some on-the-edge riding. The race was red-flagged prematurely in the 11th lap after Aussie Michael Edward Jones, who was running fifth, had a serious crash. Kraisart was declared the winner with Kamaruzaman and Baba finishing second and third.

Race 2 followed on similar lines with Baba, and Kamaruzaman taking over the lead from Kraisart during the race only to see the Thai champ regain his position. Kraisart crossed the chequered flag ahead of Baba and Aussie Aaron Morris of Yamaha Indonesia.

In the Underbone 115cc category, Rafid Topan Sucipto continued his literally unchallenged run in the season by scoring double victories. The Indonesian, riding for Yamaha CKJ TJM Racing, currently leads the standings with 125 points, followed by Hadi Wijaya of Kawasaki NHK Rextor (86 points). Hadi finished both the races in second place but way behind Sucipto.  

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Rajini not banking on home advantage in Asian Road Racing

CHENNAI: National bike racing champion K Rajini may have a lot of fond memories from the MMSC Race track at Irrungatukottai, the venue where he has won countless national championship races over the years.

But he is under no illusion about home advantage when the lights turn green for the third round races of the FIM Asian Road Racing Championship (ARRC), to be held this weekend (August 5 to 7).

Rajini, who had a podium finish here during the ARRC round two years back, is the second rider for Moto-Rev India, the only Indian team in the Supersports 600cc category of the series. Five-time Asian champ Toshiyuki Hamaguchi of Japan is the senior rider of the team, which is also fielding Gautam Mayilvaganan as a wildcard entry for this round.

It has been a tough season so far for Rajini and Co, struggling to match the competition from riders who are not just talented, but also have the added support from the major bike manufacturers from Japan.

Suzuki, Honda, Yamaha and Kawasaki have factory-supported teams in the fray this year at ARRC and it has brought up the competition standards by more than a few notches.

Ron Hogg, promotions director of Two Wheels Motor Racing, the organisers of ARRC, is happy with the rise in competition and attributes it to the change in rules this year.

"Basically we allowed changes to be made on the bikes - the main was to allow the use of big radiators that would add a few revs and allow the bikes to be more reliable too. Plus we allow the slip clutches and quick shifters too and after all these changes, the big manufacturers have entered the fray and the competition is fierce now," explained Hogg.

Hot competition means the biggies are pumping in their know-how to give their riders the best hardware and that has made life difficult for private teams like Moto-Rev, who are struggling to rope in sponsors to set up bikes which can compete with the giants.

Rajini and Gautam will still be riding bikes without the three modifications Hogg mentioned and Hamaguchi will just have the big radiator and that in itself is a handicap.

And the results are obvious. Hamaguchi, nicknamed Hammer, is lying seventh in the standings with 33 points while Rajini, who missed the second round races in Indonesia, is 20th with just four points in his kitty. The table is led by Manual-Tech Beet Kawasaki Racing's Japanese sensation Katsuaki Fujiwara (100 points), who has a hundred per cent record this season, having won all the four races.

Rajini knows the MMSC track inside out and since the track has a lot of twists compared to the other circuits in the ARRC season, the national champ's familiarity might give him the edge at the weekend.

"The competition is tough and bikes, with the modifications, are at least a second or so faster per lap than last year and to match that with our team's virtually stock Yamahas would be difficult," says the 29-year-old.

"The riders are also of top quality. I hope to do well here as the track is familiar to me. If I can get a good qualifying run on Saturday and start within 10th position I could push for a podium," he added. "I am confident of giving my best and I will match or better my best timing here. The question is whether that will be enough to match the other riders. I am confident though."

The ARRC round also features races in the fiercely-competed 115cc Underbone category, where Indonesian Rafid Topan of Yamaha CKJ TJM Racing is leading the standings with 75 points while Malaysia's Shahril Izzuwan Md Noor (58 points) of Petronas Syntium Moto Yamaha AHM is breathing down his neck.

The weekend will also have the Honda Asia Cup one-make races, run on the Japanese manufacturer's CBR-250R bikes.

The action beings on Friday with free practice and 'time practice' in all the segments, followed by Saturday 'time practice' (qualifiers) and two races each on Sunday.