Sethu is the only Indian to have managed two top 10 finishes with the previous one coming in Race 1 of the Australian round earlier.
Despite a decent 14th position on the grid, a bad start dragged Sethu to 18th in lap 1. Sethu continued his assault on the time sheets immediately and recorded his best ever lap time of 1:54:055 in lap 2.
By lap 3, Sethu gained five positions and was with the top bunch riding in with a gap of less than two seconds. It was in lap 9 that Rajiv overtook the Malaysian trio of Nazirul Izzat, Muhammad Izam and Muzakkir Mohamed to finally finish inside Top 10.
"Todays' race was a mental race, more than a physical one. Despite cracking into Top 10 yesterday, I couldn't hold on to my position. Today, I entered the race to finish in Top 10. With the amazing team support behind me and by keeping my cool in the heat of the race, I finally achieved my dream finish," said Sethu.
Another Honda Racing India rider Senthil Kumar's (18) start pushed him to 16th spot that was moderated to 21st ending lap 1. By lap 3, Kumar regained three positions to 18th. A cornering mistake in lap 5 resulted in 3 riders overtaking him, putting him at 21st.
But continuing to challenge himself in the bunch of six riders, Kumar finally overtook three of them in turn 1 to finish 17th with an overall gain of two positions from his start.
( With inputs from IANS )