Aishwarya Pissay, the 23-year old former Indian National girls’ racing and rally champion, put up a gritty performance and achieved a 3rd position finish in the Women’s category as the Baja do Pinhal, the second round of FIM Bajas World Cup concluded on Sunday in Proenca-a-Nova, Portugal. The riders had to complete a gruelling course of 364.69 Kms over two days in this round of the World Cup.
Even though Aishwarya Pissay finished 29th in the overall two-wheeler class she was placed 3rd in the Women’s category and 4th in the Junior category. This wasn’t an easy outing for the Bengaluru based National Champion as she suffered a nerve pull on the right hand on Saturday because of which she lost a lot of time. Her hopes of a strong finish took a hit after the aforementioned injury. But her persistence saw her survive the long special stage of 191.27 Kms.
The grit and determination showed by Aishwarya Pissay fetched her 15 points. As of now, her World Cup Points tally sits at 40 points following the 25 points she received after the first round in Dubai earlier this month.
Speaking on her commendable performance, Aishwarya Pissay said, “I am extremely thrilled to have finished 3rd in the Women’s category and 4th in the Junior category in this rally and collect points for both the Baja World Cup and moving forward, leading the World Championship for Women and 3rd place in the Junior Championship overall. The rally was quite challenging with lots of Enduro sections but I managed to avoid crashing. With the nerve strain on my hand, I couldn’t push up my speeds which ultimately affected my overall performance. I will continue to train and learn from this experience to be fully prepared for the Baja Aragon in July 2019,”
“I am thankful to my sponsors TVS Racing, Mountain Dew, Big Rock Dirtpark (Bengaluru) and Scott for standing by my side through these races.” She added.
With the Round 2 complete, the riders are now preparing for the third and final round of the FIM Bajas Rally – Baja Aragon.
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