Chennai: India’s Aishwarya Pissay completed Day 1 of the FIM Bajas World Cup in Dubai despite a few crashes on the 201.6 Kms stage as she also battled the sand dunes and navigation here on Friday. The event concludes Sunday with the competitors negotiating another Special Stage of 204.93 kms.
Aishwarya, the 23-year old from Bengaluru, picked up the pace in the latter half of the day and was placed 31st among 37 starters. “It was a tough start to the rally. I fell multiple times in the first 60 kms and lost lots of time. Also since the cars started ahead of bikes, the tracks were all quite deep and so I had to set my own track.”
“Using the GPS Navigation took some time to get used to, but I was confident by the end of the stage. I am Looking to better my performance on Day 2 and end the rally on a high,’ said National women’s rally champion Aishwarya, who holds the unique record of being India’s first women’s National racing champion before switching full-time to rallying.
The riders will negotiate the second Special Stage (204.93 Kms) on Sunday before the event returns to the Autodrome at 12.30 pm with the ceremonial finish.