Jagan, Ahamed hope to make a mark at ARRC

TVS Racing’s Jagan has his eyes fixed on the Asian Road Racing Championship (ARRC), whose 2020 season came to an abrupt end owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. ARRC is likely to be back in June next year, with races in Malaysia, China, Australia and Thailand.

“I have won a lot of championships at the national level. Now, my focus is on the Asian Championship. I have been training well with the support of my team. We have reached the Asian Production 250 category. My target is to finish on the podium with our own bike,” nine-time national champion Jagan told reporters during a virtual press meet. “I had come first in one of the races at ARRC in 2015, but I want to finish on top with our own bike. We will fight for the championship as well.

It won’t be easy, but we will fight hard,” he added. Jagan’s TVS Racing teammate KY Ahamed, who clinched the title in the premier Pro-Stock 301-400cc category recently, echoed his words.

“With an Indian manufacturer, we are currently participating at ARRC. In 2020, we had only one leg because of the pandemic. We are now looking forward to the 2021 season. We have six months on our hand. We will use them properly and train well. Hopefully, we get good results,” Ahamed, who began racing at the age of 16, said.

Reflecting on the just concluded national championship, Jagan, who has been with TVS Racing for the last 12 years, said: “We did well as a team.

It was good to race in back-to-back weekends. In the final weekend, there was fierce competition. I am happy that I won the championship.” Chennai-based Ahamed, on his part, said: “It was great to get back on the track after the COVID-19 break. I competed with some top riders, but managed to win the championship. Only in the final race, the title was confirmed. It was that close.”