Chennai, Sep 4 - For all the hype and expectations surrounding the Indian riders, the home entrants would have to perform out of their skins to make an impact in the fourth round of the Petronas Asian Road Racing Championship for two-wheelers to be run at the Madras Motor Racing Track in Sriperumdubur near here Sunday.

From India's perspective, the focus would be chiefly on the two Red Rooster Racing riders, Krishnan Rajini and Preetham Dev Moses, in the SuperSports 600cc class, especially since Blue Arrow Racing team's Dilip Rogger, undoubtedly India's best rider, was pulled out late Thursday night as his Honda machine was not race ready.

As for the other seven Indians in the fray, the outing would be more an exposure as few have the necessary experience and proven ability at the international level to secure a podium position.

Rajini and Moses, both 29, have been on the international circuit, chiefly in the Asian region, for a few seasons now, but are yet to deliver strong results on a consistent basis.

This season, the two Indians have struggled for pace in the three earlier rounds held in Malaysia, Japan and Indonesia, if one were to go by their lap timings and average race speeds. The best performance of both Rajini and Moses in the three rounds and six races so far has been a 10th place finish, but can do better if they effectively use their intimate knowledge of the track where they cut their racing teeth.

Although Red Rooster team management believes that riding on home turf here would be an advantage, it remains to be seen whether the duo will be up to speed to challenge the likes of championship leaders Chalermpol Polamai (120 points) and Decha Kraisat (118), both from Thailand.

The two Thai riders are well clear of the rest of the field in the championship standings, with 11 podium finishes between them.

The three Indian riders entered for the Underbone 115cc class race - T.