Driven to race ahead in life

Aishwarya Pissay did not wanted to study forward, start working, get married and have a family of her won. She had a passion which she choose to pursue. Wondering what is it? It is bike racing, both on-road and off-road.

‘Fashion is my passion, racing is my interest’ said Aishwarya. Aishwarya Pissay, 23 year old arts graduate from Surana College is based in Banashankari. Seeing her seniors with those bikes and helmets inspired her. She was doing her intermediate and felt the urge to pursue this as her interest. But she has to multitask this newfound interest with her studies. She thought it might be challenging to do both but a  good push from her family helped her to realise that her goals are important and her family encouraged her. And then, the journey began.

Aishwarya says, “I started riding when I was 18 and my first training started from Apex Racing Academy.  My first Racing event was in 2016 in which I had to experience failure. That’s what prompted me to focus hard on racing and getting trained. Eventually TVS Racing chose me from one of the events in which I participated.

And that is where my actual racing training started. I was sent for coaching to various places like Coimbatore, Spain, Portugal and Dubai so that I could participate in more competitions.”

Aishwarya’s family was a little unsure about her travelling so much but once they realised how determined she was, they gave in. When she explained to them that she want to crack the global championship, her family never let her down. She now has a bike of her own which is Apache 200 RTR. She however trains with a modified  Apache 310 RTR version.  Aishwarya participated in 15 racing events till date and this includes six national road racing and rally championships, six national cross country rally and three international racing championships in a span of four years.

“In order to pursue my studies, I opted for a correspondence course to complete my graduation in commerce and had to manage racing at the same time. It was a bit tough for me because I could neither let go of my studies nor my dream. My life-time goal is to participate and experience victory in the Dakar Rally championship.’

TVS chose Aishwarya from one of the events and now she is TVS’s youngest racer in women’s category in the country.  “None of the stereotypical comments affected me. I hardly get to hear negative stuff because my family answers the society. So that was never an issue. I feel so amazing that I’m doing something which can be a source of inspiration for  other young girls. Girls are not just meant for kitchen, kids and desk. Along with me, there are many who are following their interest  in racing. I get inspired when I see women in the racing line but unfortunately the strength is still weak,” she says.

When asked about her unforgettable moment, Aishwarya said “I was injured in 2017 during my racing event in the National Championship and my collar bone was injured. My coach asked me to rest and the doctor said I’m not supposed to race for six months. But the next race was a couple of months away and I actually managed to win that race.”