TVS Racing factory rider Aishwarya Pissay begins title defence in style

TVS Racing factory rider Aishwarya Pissay, began her quest for a record sixth consecutive National Rally Championship crown on a winning note. Pissay conquered the Rally of Chikmagalur - the first round of the MRF Mogrip FMSCI Indian National Racing Championship (INRC) for two-wheelers on Sunday.

The 2019 FIM World Cup Champion in the ladies class, put in a commanding performance that saw her win the 56-km first round. She clocked 1 hour 7 min 23.684 seconds to win the first round with the fastest timing in all the eight Special Stages (SS). While winning this class, she finished 32nd overall among 88 riders, including 79 men.

Aishwarya Pissay, who made a clean sweep of all the six rounds for her fifth national title in the ladies class of the two-wheeler rally nationals last year, is eager to get back to bigger cross-country events, as she recovers from a major injury from last year's Jordan Rally.

The disciplined motorsports athlete, who is co-sponsored by Ultrahuman, IIFL, Micro Labs and Surana College and has bounced back into form, said she is happy with her victory in the first round.

"The bike is lean and powerful. I thoroughly enjoyed riding my TVS Apache RTR 200 through the beautiful coffee estates and look forward to more of it. I have trained hard for the Nationals including a trip to France under acclaimed mentor Michael Metge. I look forward to learning more from each one of these races and my immediate goal is to bring home the sixth National title," she said according to a release.

The 26-year-old from Bengaluru rose from a life-threatening injury before her World crown and silenced her critics with creditable deeds on the track with a highly successful 2021.

The rider, who began her biking career in late 2016, vaulted into the record books with a Road Racing National title, the TVS One-Make Championship and several cross-country rally championships at Madras Motor Racetrack and cross country rallies in 2017.

The second round of two-wheeler Rally Nationals organised by Ace Events will have two Special Stages and will run three times each.

(ANI)