Aishwarya takes podium in Class 1 of Dubai Baja, with crucial points for WC
First round of FIM World Cup Baja
Dubai, 19 Feb 2021: Ace Indian cross-country rallyist of team TVS Racing, Aishwarya Pissay, the FIM Bajas World Cup 2019 winner made it to the chequered flag to take a well-deserved podium in the Dubai International Baja, the first round of the FIM Women’s Baja World Cup at the Deserts of Al Qudra here on Saturday.
Astride a Husqvarna SX-F450, Aishwarya clocked 9hours, 21minutes 27.0seconds (including a penalty time of 6:00:0 after SS1) for an overall second place in Class 1 and Group 1 but she had to be content with a bronze in the women’s category. The Class 1 podium fetched her 16 valuable points in her campaign for the 2021 Bajas World Cup. However, the provisional points need to be confirmed by FIM.
The Bengalurean finished the first leg in second place in the women’s section with an overall lead in 18th place after Day 1. Today, she took overall 14th place on Day 2, for a final count of third in the women’s class which matters for her WC campaign.
On Day 2, an issue with in the gearbox slowed a speeding Aishwarya in her tracks. Forced to nurse her bike back while others passed by, Aishwarya made the most of her situation to cross the finish line for a third place in the women’s class. Mirjam Pol (7:04:06) and Llobera Farre (8:27:01) finished ahead of her in that order.
Khuraibet S, who did well, picked up a penalty and slided to fourth place. Aishwarya’s third was good enough to get her an overall combined second place behind Pol in Class 1 but with both classes 1 and 1/2 counting together for WC points, Aishwarya will get 16 points for her efforts.
The TVS Racing talent is supported by Sidvin Core Tech, Scott Sports India, K&N, Pepsico and CutGear.
Aishwarya has bagged 16 points with her achievement today. This year, the ladies should take part in at least one of the 10 FIM 2021 Baja World Cup rounds to be eligible for the finals, which will have a coefficient of 2. Along with the final rankings, two other best events rankings, among the ten, will be counted for the World Cup Baja title. The individual qualifying rounds will have a coefficient of 1.
Note: Class and Points corrected on 22 Feb 2021 at 4.28 pm
[…] Racing-backed Aishwarya Pissay, who bagged a second place in her class in Round 1, had settled for a third place in the Ladies section at Dubai. With the regulations pooling all classes together for WC rankings, Aishwarya will get points only […]