The Idemitsu Honda India Racing Team has enjoyed a good start to the 2023 Asia Road Racing Championship. With a new rider line-up of Kavin Quintal and Mohsin Paramban, the Indian team managed to score some valuable points in the season opener at Buriram.
- Honda India scores nine points in Thailand
- Eighth in the championship
- Khatri scores points in international racing debut
ARRC Round 1: Quintal and Paramban score points
After impressing in the Thailand Talent Cup last year, both Quintal and Paramban were promoted to compete in the AP 250cc class of the ARRC.
In the first race, Quintal climbed from 17th to 15th place to pick up one point. In the next race, he was up to 13th place by Lap 8. He then overtook Japanese rider Chihiro Ishi to finish 12th on track. However, he was promoted to P11 after a driver ahead of him was disqualified. As a result, Quintal collected a total of six points in the first round.
After starting from 21st on the grid, Paramban gained two places to finish 19th in the first race. He followed that up with a 13th place result in the second race, earning three points.
At the end of the opening round, Honda India stands eighth overall out of 11 teams, with a total of nine points.
Thailand Talent Cup Round 1: Khatri impresses in international debut
Over in the Thailand Talent Cup (TTC), Indian teen riders Raheesh Khatri and Shyam Sundar made their international racing debut. Unfortunately, Sundar didn’t participate in this round after injuring his shoulder, leaving 15-year-old Khatri as the team’s sole rider.
Nevertheless, Khatri did score 10 points on his debut, with a pair of P11 finishes.
Speaking about the team’s performance, Prabhu Nagaraj, operating officer, Brand and Communication, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said, “As a new squad both in ARRC and TTC, the Indian team is emerging as a serious challenger... Thailand is just the start of a long season. We have to keep our focus high and aim higher for the next round in Malaysia.”