Aaron with experienced MotorGP rider Yukio Kagayama

This is the first time a Sri Lankan rider has got a break in an international circuit Suzuki, the Japanese marque introduced its own Asian series that runs in conjunction with the FIM Asia Road Racing Championship (ARRC) and Aaron will be part of the Suzuki team running for the Asian Championship.

Aaron went to Suzuka, Japan to take part in the Asian Road Race and rode his Suzuki 125cc bike in the third round of the five-round race. He is currently placed in the first ten.

Aaron who is the baby of the bunch was one of the first Asian riders to get an opportunity to pose on Aleix Espargaro’s Moto GP bike for a press release.

Espargaro and Maverick Vinales took Suzuki to another level and after a shaky start to the season Vinales and Aleix have finished in the top six at the last three rounds and sits at No. 5 and 7 on the world championship standings.

Young Aaron said he was excited to sit behind Aleix’s bike and touch the controls.

Aaron riding his Suzuki 125cc in the Asian Road Race at Suzuka.

“I like to say a big thank you to Suzuki for the motivation and I am happy to be part of Suzuki’s structured program,” said Aaron.

The proud Dad Shane said, “Suzuki’s efforts to discover and groom riders from the Asian region and Suzuki’s return to the MotoGP in 2015 have been really great. The collaboration with the Asia Road Racing Championship has motivated many riders from all parts of Asia and I have no doubt that we would see an Asian in MotoGP soon”.

Yukio Kagayama, who has abundant experience in MotoGP, World Superbike, World Endurance, and the Japanese Championship said he was happy about the progress Aaron has made so far.

“Champions are not made overnight. There is a long progression for young riders before they are ready to take on the challenges of the world stage,” said Kagayama.

“There is no short cut to success and the young riders trained from the Suzuki Asian Challenge must first be exposed to even more competitive racing in the higher classes.”

The duo aged 12 and 13 years stunned seasoned campaigners of the Asian fraternity in winning this event.

Jaden Gunawardena astride his Honda HPM 250cc at the Kuala Lumpur circuit

The championship was conducted as an open age category event and included three stages worked off in Japan, Thailand and Taiwan. The Sri Lankan pair earned an aggregate of 10 points from the three stages to crown themselves as champions and receive their award the Federation of International Motorcycling (FIM) Asia General Assembly in Kuala Lumpur.

Jaden and Aaron fearlessly challenged matured and experienced riders from countries such as Japan, Thailand, India, Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia and Nepal. They beat many riders on their home soil and placed Sri Lanka high on the Asia racing map.

The two brothers came into the limelight in 2011 when they first participated at the ACRR as eight and nine-year lads. The determined riders came through the national selection process beating national level and three Forces riders over twice their age to become the best riders of the 150cc and 250cc events.

Jaden and Aaron hail from a racing family and are siblings of retired national motorcycling champion Shane Gunawardena. Shane has stamped his class in motor racing and won the Best Rider award at the inaugural Foxhill Supercross. He is the manager, coach and consultant to this champion duo.

Avindra Mirando, the President of the Federation of Motorcycle Sports in Sri Lanka said the Association is greatly honoured to receive this award as this is the first time Sri Lanka has carved their name in the 102-year-old history of the FIM.

He wished the young champions and expects them to bring further glory to the country in the future.