40 riders prepare for Asian Road Racing Championship

A field of 40 riders from the region will be seen in what promises to be high quality action in the third round of the Petronas Asia Road Racing Championship for two-wheelers here August 6-7.

The provisional entry list includes championship leaders Katsuaki Fujiwara of Japan (Manual-Tech BEET Kawasaki Racing team) in the Supersports 600cc class and Indonesia’s Rafid Topan (Yamaha CKJ TJM Racing) in the Underbone 115cc category.

India’s lone representative in the Supersports class is Krishnan Rajini, who will be partnering former champion Toshiyuki Hamaguchi of Japan in the Moto-Rev India livery, as per the entry list released at a media conference here Wednesday.

The grid includes riders from Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and the Philippines, and India whose sole entry in the Underbone 115cc class is Jagan Kumar of TVS Racing.

Also on the programme list is the single-make series, Honda’s Asia Cup Road Racing that has riders from eight countries participating, astride the CBR 250R machine, to be run concurrently with the Asian championship that is being held in the city for the third consecutive year.

Briefing the media in Chennai, Ron Hogg, promotions director, Two Wheels Motor Racing, said certain changes in the regulations have contributed to making the bikes more rider friendly while enabling faster entry speeds into corners.

“The regulations for the 600cc class have not been changed for long and we decided to allow some modifications to make it more popular,” said Hogg.

The major changes include shifting of the brake tensioner from right to left to facilitate lever adjustments without interrupting the throttling, a bigger radiator to help improve the engine performance and the “slipper clutch” that enables gear shifts without decelerating.

“We will be able to carry far more speed entering a corner and the radiator will keep the engine cool and hence it will perform better,” said Rajini while explaining the various features.

The event will be conducted on track by the Madras Motor Sports Club under the aegis of the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).

The Asia Championship comprises of six rounds of two races apiece. Malaysia and Indonesia hosted the opening two rounds. After the Indian round, the series moves to China before concluding in Qatar.