Aishwarya raring to go: MRF Mogrip Bike rally Nationals

Bengaluru, 21 October 2021: World Cup winner Aishwarya Pissay along with TVS Racing teammates R Nataraj, Rajendra RE and Abdul Waheed, all in the feature event, will lead an array of riders in Rally de Bengaluru, the second round of the MRF Mogrip FMSCI National Rally Championship 2w – 2021 here on Sunday.

The National Rally Championship for bikes organised by Ace Events, Puttur returns to Bengaluru amidst much excitement as it attracted about 80 riders from all over the country. The 2019 Overall champion Rajendra RE, who began the season with a bang in the first round at Hampi will have to ward off challenge from defending champion Nataraj and Waheed. Former champions Imran Pasha, Sachin D, Samuel Jacob will be fighting out in Super Sport 260cc Class. Local star Yuvakumar and Satyaraj Arumugam of Combatore, both from Hero Motosports, along while Sarath Mohan from Mallapuram and experienced Venu Ramesh Kumar from Coimbatore, Jatin Jain and Badal Doshi from Vashi, all privateers, will start favourites in their respective classes.

Aishwarya Pisssay, the 2019 FIM World Cup Baja winner, leads the championship table ahead of youngster Tanika Shanbagh of Satara and Ryhana Bee of Chennai. “I have important upgrades to my bike and with such a well-tuned RTR Apache, I feel confident going into the rally,’’ said Aishwarya, who came back after an injury layoff, winning her class and a creditable 5^th in the Rally of Himalayas and continued to dominate the Rally Nationals in Round 1 at Hampi. Tanika, showed glimpses of her talent finishing ahead of Sprint champion Ryhana, who will be looking to bounce back here.

Of the total distance of around 100km, the Special Stage rally distance would be around 51km with two physical stages of Jupiter (11.53km) and Mars (8.1km) run thrice each at MotoFarm, near Kanakapura, in the same direction, alternately on dirt roads closed to traffic. The Ceremonial Start will be held on Saturday at 4.30pm at MotoFarm, Kanakapura. The competitive stages kick-off at 8am on Sunday. Riders garner points in each round and there will 11 classes which will count for National titles apart from the Overall rider and Team champions after all six rounds. There will also be a Star of Karnataka, the support race and close to Rs.2 lakh prize money and Trophies are awarded.

“All safety precautions were taken care of and we are strictly following the Government’s COVID19 protocol. The route will be closed for general public and trained Marshals and HAM operators will be at key points to oversee the rally. We have also made RTPCR test mandatory for all outstation riders,” said Aakash Aithal, Clerk of the Course.