Honda India Announces Its Racing Team For 2019

• 14-year-old Mohamed Mikail will be competing in the Thai Talent Cup this year astride a Moto3 bike. 
• Rajiv Sethu will be back for his third season, competing in the Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC). 
• HRC India will also be sending one of its technician to the ARRC as a part of the technical team.

We remember when Honda Racing India announced its intention of seeing an Indian racer participating in MotoGP. While it did seemed like an ambitious statement at first, things have started to fall in place.

Honda Racing India recently confirmed its lineup, and quite honestly, some of the entries have taken us for a surprise (for a good reason). Starting with the obvious names on the sheet, Chennai ace Rajiv Sethu will be back for his 3rd season of the 2019 FIM Asia Road Racing Championship. However, partnering him will be Senthil Kumar, who put an impressive display in the Thai Talent Cup (20th overall) and INMRC Pro Stock 165 category (3rd overall).

This is a big opportunity for the 18-year-old, who surprisingly enough, started his racing career only two years back. We’d like to think the experience of competing against some of Asia’s best riders has the potential to be a big learning curve for him.

Speaking of young talent, Mohamed Mikail floored us (no, we’re not exaggerating) with his performance in the inaugural Honda Talent Cup India. For 2019, the 14-year-old will be competing in the Thai Talent Cup. The teenager will be racing the NSF 250R, a Moto3 bike! The sole reason behind this is to familiarise young riders with more powerful, lighter race machines for better development. A welcome move from HRC India’s side indeed. Joining him will be 18-year old Kartik Habib who also made his debut with the Honda Talent Cup last year and finished 3rd overall. 

In another major news, HRC India technician P. Prabhakaran will be joining Honda Asia-Dream Racing Team with SHOWA in the Superbike 1000cc class, as a part of the technical team. This will give the Indian technicians a much-needed hands-on experience for working on more sophisticated racing machines.

Elaborating on HRC India’s 2019 plans Prabhu Nagaraj, Vice President – Brand and Communications, Honda Motorcycle & Scooter India, said, “Honda is driven by a challenging spirit and passion to win. A lot of people have high expectations from us, so we will work hard as a team to get the best possible results. With 2 of India’s most promising riders representing the IDEMITSU Honda Racing India at Asia level, we are aiming that our boys climb the top group and make India proud on the international stage in 2019.

Last year, we announced our motorsport direction. And now, staying true to our commitment, we are fast-tracking the development of 2 next generation riders to the Asian platform. Starting from identifying high potential riders as young as 13 years through our ‘IDEMITSU Honda India Talent Hunt to aiming to develop a top Indian rider for MotoGP, Honda has an aggressive roadmap to support young Indian riders to realize their dreams.”

In the past few years, Honda India has made great strides in the promotion and development of racing culture in India, like arranging talent hunts throughout India and giving young riders a platform. Something which we’ve been clearly lacking for years. At this point, we can only wish that other brands take note of this. KTM India, you listening?

Source: zigwheels.com