Arriving in Thailand on the back of a top-10 finish in the Asian Production 250cc category of the FIM Asian Road Racing Championship, Rajiv Sethu had a memorable end to Friday's practice by setting a personal best lap time of 1:55.146 at the Chang International Circuit.
His previous best was 1:55.725, set in Round 2 last season. On aggregate, he finished in the 15th position after three practice sessions.
Teammate Senthil Chandrasekaran, who is still getting used to his AP 250 bike, finished 20th. His personal best on the day was 1:57:766, set in Practice 2.
Rajiv had a good start to the day's practice session but an electrical issue in Practice 2 forced the IDEMITSU Honda Racing India rider to end his session after just two laps.
The team made changes to the bike’s set-up, apart from fixing the issue, to suit the track conditions better and it showed in the 21-year-old’s performance in Practice 3.
He managed to stay with the fastest pack through the session to go into Saturday's qualification on a high.
“The set-up is finalised and we got a good rhythm,” said an upbeat Rajiv. “I now have to push and get a good result in qualifying. I feel good now as the rest are only two seconds ahead. The minimum aim is to qualify in the top 10.”
Brand and Communications vice-president of Honda Racing India Prabhu Nagaraj was cautiously optimistic.
“Although he had his best timing, he finished 15th because that's the kind of competition now. He got into the 1:55s but there are a lot of riders in the 1:54s,” he said, adding, “I am sure he is capable of doing that, too.”
(The writer is in Buriram at the invitation of Honda Racing India)
