Aishwarya overcomes Tanika threat to keep slate clean: INRC2w Ladies Class

Puttur (Near Mangaluru), 15 Nov. 2021: Young Tanika Shanbag of Satara put up a valiant fight against FIM World Cupper Aiswarya Pissay but the Bengaluru’s rider astride an Apache RTR bull-dozed her way back, to claim her third consecutive victory in Rally de Mangaluru, the third round of the MRF MoGrip FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) 2021 for two-wheelers here on Sunday. Aishwarya clocked 50minutes 38.849seconds for her third win.

Read the men’s overall report for all classes in Round 3 here.

Tanika Shanbagh, riding a Hero Xpulse 200, came second ahead of another privateer Anam Hashim on Hero Honda Karizma. The teenager clocked 51min, 32.182sec for her second place while Anam took 1hr, 9min, 07.720seconds.

After the win Aishwarya Pissay, the defending champ, said, “I thank my team, TVS Racing and the mechanics for giving me another winning bike. I also thank Hyperice, the equipment that helps me to recover and maintain my fitness levels. The terrain is challenging and it is good for the National Rally because only such difficult terrain can prepare Indians for the tougher International rallies,” felt the six-time National, champion supported by IIFL, Sidvin, Scott, Puma India, and Go Pro. Aishwarya finished Overall 20, among 55 bikers that took the start and was ahead of 29 men and six women, who all competed on different bikes in various classes.

The Rally de Mangaluru organised in Puttur by Ace Events, headed by former National Champion Akash Aithal had two physical Special Stages, namely Karambi, a short 5.2-km dirt stage and Karikala, the slippery 15.1-km longer stage. Both the stages were run three time alternately and with the overnight rains making the roads slushy, the riders once again faced technical challenges but unlike the treacherous Kanakapura mud-traps, the Round 3 proved to be a haven.

Tanika and Aishwarya shared spoils and won three of the six special stages but while the TVS Factory Rider controlled her pace cleverly to limit the damage on the slippery surface, Tanika, nursing an ankle injury sustained in the previous round in Bengaluru rally, had to stop and clear the sticky mud on her bike. “I suffered an injury and did not want to aggravate. So I did not risk too much and stopped to clean my bike in SS3 where I lost a huge chunk of over 30 seconds. But I enjoyed my rally thoroughly as the terrain provided a challenging ride and that is what makes me happy. It is a good learning experience,” quipped the Business Administration student.

Aishwarya, who began on a ferocious note registering a blistering pace in the Karambi Special Stage, lost crucial time in SS2,. But falling back on her vast experience she extracted the best from her bike in the next four stages to bounce back brilliantly and played safe thereon, with regulated aggression on the slippery track to emerge triumphant for a clean sweep of the first three rounds in the 2021 calendar.

Bengaluru’s FIM Baja World Cup champion, claimed a solid win at Hampi and went on to take another facile victory in Round 2 at Bengaluru, conquering the technically challenging slushy terrain, and now leads the table in the woman’s category after her third win from three rounds here.

The fourth round, the Rally of Chikmagalur is scheduled for next Sunday and after two more rounds in Coimbatore and Nashik, the topper with more points is declared as the National champion. Aishwarya is well on her way to bag her sixth bike rally National title. She also won two coveted Road Racing titles.

Note: Photo added on 15th Nov 2021 with inputs from a Wordswork Press Release.