Indian rally rider Aishwarya Pissay will be joining the team for the Baja Aragon rally, later this year said an announcement by Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team. The event is scheduled between July 20-22, 2018 in Teruel, Spain and will mark the international rally debut of Pissay in the sport.
“This will be my first international Rally and I am overwhelmed as well as grateful to TVS Racing for giving me this opportunity. The Baja Aragon is a good training ground for any racer who has their sights set on the Dakar, as it tests their mettle among the international talent. I am excited to race alongside experienced International Champions from the Sherco TVS Rally Factory Team. The prospect of finally experiencing the RTR 450 is daunting but I look forward to packing time on the motorcycle and perfecting my technique,” said TVS Factory racer, Aishwarya Pissay to NDTV.
Aishwarya created history as she is the first Indian woman factory racer to compete in the Baja World Rally. The 22-year-old will be a part of the four-member squad comprising brothers Adrien Metge and Michael Metge from France, as well as Spaniard Lorenzo Santolino.
According to the report, she has been part of numerous Indian rally championships before. In 2017 alone, Pissay participated and won a number of rallies including Raid De Himalaya 2017, Dakshin Dare 2017, Indian National Rally Championship (INRC), 2017 and TVS Apache Ladies One Make Championship 2017. Not just that, Pissay is also the youngest jury member to be a part of The NDTV Car And Bike Awards.
Regarding the team’s participation, TVS Racing, Team Manager, B. Selvaraj said to NDTV, “We are thrilled to be a part of the 35th edition of Baja Aragon and Aishwarya’s participation makes it special, as she will be the first Indian woman to participate in a Baja World Rally. What makes this even more exciting is that this is a new team that we are fielding for the Rally and it will be interesting to see how the dynamics play out. Our technical team is also working around the clock on the performance of the bikes and I wish the team the very best for the Rally.“
The Sherco TVS Baja Aragon squad will be participating in the rally on the Dakar ready – RTR 450. This event will be useful for Pissay to hone her rally skills, and we wish to see her make it to Dakar in 2019, which is hardly six months away.