Sarthak Chavan takes a creditable third at Sepang
Sepang (Malaysia) 15 Sept. 2024: Ace Indian rider Sarthak Chavan took a creditable third place in Race 2 of Round 5 of the Idemitsu FIM Asia Road Racing Championship at Petronas Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia, which saw history created with Rocco Sessler became the first German to pick up a race win in the single-make championship.
The race began with veteran rider Vorapong Malahuan rocketing into the lead, closely trailed by Mohd Ramdan Rosli and Chiranth Viswanath of India. Deep within the group, championship leader Hiroki Ono’s hopes of another successful round was dashed when he tumbled at Turn 3, effectively putting paid to his dreams of another podium.
After swapping leads for six laps, the flag came down in Rocco’s favour. The German rider clocked his first ever TVS Asia victory with 14’31:021s, 0:090s ahead of Vorapong. Sarthak rounded up the winning trifecta in third place.
Rocco said, “For sure, it was a difficult race. The start wasn’t the best, but I pushed hard into the first corner and managed to get into the top 5. From there, I focused on staying in the front. I had some challenging moments but managed to regain my position. In the last lap, I took the lead because I thought there might be some battling behind me. Although I was overtaken in the final lap, I rode as well as I could, held my line, and ultimately took the win.”
Despite finishing tenth, Hiroki Ono picked up 6 points to stay at the top of the championship table with 201 points, 57 points ahead of Ramdan.
TOP 5 FASTEST – RACE 2
1. Rocco Sessler – German (14’31:021s)
2. VorapongMalahuan – Thailand (14’31:111s)
3. Sarthak Chavan – India (14’31:224s)
4. Md Muzakkir Mohamed – Malaysia (14’31:267s)
5. DeckyTiarno Aldy – Indonesia (14’35:389s)
