Aishwarya Pissay becomes first Indian woman to win FIM Bajas World Cup

Aishwarya Pissay finished first in the FIM World Cup with a tally of 65 points and also placed second in the junior category with 46 points.

File photo: Aishwarya Pisay who won the first round in Dubai and was placed third (Portugal), fifth (Spain) and fourth (Hungary) in the subsequent outings, finished with a tally of 65 points.

In a milestone moment for Indian motorsport, Aishwarya Pissay annexed the FIM World Cup in the Women’s category at the end of the final round of the championship, at Varpalota, Hungary. The 23-year old also finished second in the FIM Junior category.

In the Hungarian Baja, the final round, the Team Sherco TVS rider finished fourth and added 13 points to her tally.

At the end of the four rounds, Aishwarya finished with 65 points, ahead of Portugal's Rita Vieira (61 points), Sara Alvarez (56 pts), Rosa Romero (50 pts) and Margot Farre (13 pts).

Aishwarya had an advantage over her rivals, as she was the only one among the five riders in her category to compete in all four rounds.

A thrilled Aishwarya said, “It’s absolutely overwhelming. I am out of words. After what happened last year in my first international season, when I crashed in Spain Baja and suffered career-threatening injuries, to come out and win the championship is a great feeling. Without a doubt, the Hungarian Baja was one of my best races, even though I didn’t win.

"It wasn’t an easy race. Given the nature of the terrain, it was more of endurance than just pace. I was riding a smaller bike (250cc) as against the 450cc bikes the other girls were on. So, there was always a difference of 20-25 minutes between me and the other riders.”