IDEMITSU Honda Racing India’s riders showcase the power of young India in the first race of 2023 ARRC and TTC

Kavin Quintal wins a point for the team in his very first outing at Asia-Production 250cc class of Asia Road Racing Championship 2023

Raheesh Khatri becomes the YOUNGEST Indian rider to win point in maiden Thailand Talent Cup race with strong top 11 finish

Chang International Circuit (Thailand), 25 March 2023: With the first round of Asia’s most coveted Asia Road Racing Championship underway, the IDEMITSU Honda Racing India’s teen rider Kavin Quintal scored a point for the team in his first ever outing itself. 

Proving his mettle at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram (Thailand), the 17-year-old rider from Chennai battled with 21 of the toughest riders from across 7 countries of Asia (Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines, Japan and India). After getting some time on track in yesterday’s practice and morning qualifying session, Kavin quickly grasped the ways of the track and jumped from 17^th position start to 15^th position finish in first race of AP250cc class of 2023 ARRC, gaining one point for himself and the team.

His rookie team-mate, Mohsin P skillfully maneuvered on the racetrack and gained two positions from his 21-position start, thus ending the race at 19^th place on the leaderboard.

Speaking on race 1 of ARRC Round 1, Mr. Prabhu Nagaraj, Operating Officer – Brand and Communication, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India said, “This was the first race experience for our next-gen riders in ARRC and TTC. It is important that these young boys gain the knowledge and experience of maneuvering through competition at such an established platform and further unleash their potential. The round has begun with a good start and I am happy with our riders’ performance today. We are confident that our boys will do well and are looking forward to an even more thrilling race tomorrow.”

Quote of IDEMITSU Honda Racing India, Kavin Samaar Quintal: 

“I was both excited and anxious today. Though the race was tough but it was a fantastic day of learning for me. I started strong and consistently focused to keep my pace till the finish line. Personally, I am both humbled to earn points for the only Indian team in my debut ARRC race itself and am excited to do even better in race 2 tomorrow.”

Quote of IDEMITSU Honda Racing India rider Mohsin Paramban:

“It was my first race at ARRC today and I am happy that I made a good start. Overall, the race was extremely insightful and I’ll be using the learning’s of this race tomorrow. I am confident that tomorrow will be a better day and with Honda by my side I am optimistic of gaining a good spot.”

Parallely, development of NextGen millennial riders of India too got a push. 

Raheesh Khatri showed the might of confident young Indian riders in his debut race itself. Starting 13^th on the grid of 17 riders, Raheesh made a good start and quickly moved to 12^th place. From thereon, he raced his hardest and crossed the chequered line at 11^th place. Masterful race performance by this youngest Indian rider in the Thailand Talent Cup (Honda’s development program for Asian riders run on NSF250R) earned him and the IDEMITSU Honda Racing India team 5 points. Unfortunately, his teammate Shyam Sundar did not start the race.

About 2023 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC): The 26^th edition of FIM Asia Road Racing Championship is Asia’s most competitive motorcycle road racing championship, held since 1996. The 2023 season will have a total of six rounds beginning with the official test and season opener at the Chang International Circuit (Thailand) from 24-26 March 2023. In May 2023, the Sepang International Circuit (Malaysia) will host the second leg. While the host venue for Round 3 in June 2023 will be held at the Sports land Sugo International Circuit (Japan). Round 4, 5 and 6 will be held in August, October and December in Indonesia, China and Thailand respectively.