Sarath Kumar Secures His First Point In ARRC

Chennai-based bike racer, Sarath Kumar had a pretty tough time in the latest -- and his debut -- season of the Asian Road Racing Championship (ARRC). His knee injury had constantly forced him to retire from previous races in the ARRC, but not anymore. Recovering from his injury, the racer has finally secured his first point in the championship. Sarath has finished 15th and 17th in the weekend races, which were held in Sentul, Indonesia, on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. 

Sarath started at the 20th spot on the grid in the first race, which took place on August 7. However, he gained spots quickly and finished 15th, thanks to numerous riders ahead of him retiring.

In the second race, the 24-year-old rider finished 17th, bringing about a satisfactory weekend for his team -- T-Pro Yuzy NTS Honda Racing. According to his team, Sarath is fast gaining the necessary acumen required to ace the highly competitive 600cc supersport championship.

As said before, Sarath had a bout of bad luck early in the season, missing the first round of the championship in Malaysia, skipping both the races in Thailand, and being able to make just one start in Japan. Recovering from his recent knee injury, Sarath has now improved his lap times. 

Commenting on his performance, Sarath said, “I am very happy with the progress and this is the first time I was able to the ride the bike to its fullest potential. I am still having problems with my knee which bothers me towards the end of the races, after about 10 laps. However, it is a good sign that the recovery is happening."

“I have managed to get closer to the experienced guys with about five seconds off the pace in my first full race weekend. I think I will be in good shape for the India round in October. We have already planned a few training methods to improve my confidence and performance on the bike as from this point, it is about learning the nuances and tricks of riding a bigger bike which not the same as riding a 250cc," he added.

Acknowledging the contribution of his team to his recovery and success, he said, “The team T-Pro Yuzy NTS Honda Racing with WOW helped me a lot especially my team owner Yusuke Teshima who just returned from the Suzuka 8-Hour race and also my teammate Tomoyoshi Toyama who gave a lot of inputs."

Speaking on his future plans, he said, “Now I am a lot more excited and preparing for my home race in Buddh International Circuit on 1-2 October. Once again, a long break and I will be working hard on my recovery and more practice to get to good pace at the BIC.”