EXCLUSIVE: World champion motorcycle racer Aishwarya Pissay encapsulates her journey in 'male-centric' sport

Motorsports isn't a popular sport in India. To think of making your hobby a passion, taking it up professionally, to be able to make a career in it, succeeding at the highest level, takes guts, determination and passion. To be able to win championships left, right and centre, it takes a special talent like Aishwarya Pissay.

Pissay, who just won the second straight win at the National Rally Championship, a couple of days ago, has won over 10 championships — both nationally and internationally and has done some wonders in the last few years.

A minuscule number of people participate in it from India, so calling it a 'male-centric' sport isn't right and Pissay doing it over and over again and braving injuries and tough terrains from Jordan to Portugal to Dubai and Himalayas is an achievement and a half.

It was a hobby -- going to ride bikes over the weekends with friends -- which became a career goal and then from enrolling herself to Apex Racing academy to winning a few championships then TVS noticing it after she won both road racing and rally in 2017, it was an arduous but a fruitful journey for the 26-year old from Bangalore.

Pissay, who has completely moved to rallies started with road racing, which is an enclosed circuit race and whoever crosses the finish line first wins the race. The rallies, on the other hand, are longer length courses conducted over rougher terrains like dunes, forests etc.

Pissay was coming to the National Championship from her first competition at the Rally of Himalaya in early October where she walked away with three pieces of silverware, P1 in women's class, P2 in Group A up to 450CC class and P5 overall.

So in an exclusive chat, Aishwarya Pissay talked to DNA about how her journey of motorcycle racing started, arranging funds at the start, the tryst with injuries, the diet and importance of mental health and much more. Here are the edited excerpts from the interview:

Motorcycle Racing isn't a much recognized sport in India still, how did it start for you and what made you decide to take it up professionally?

Yes, motorsports in India is still not one of the most recognized sports. And even when I did want to take it up, I started riding motorcycles as a hobby over the weekends with my friends. And over a period, I started, also training for racing at a racing school called Apex racing Academy, which specialized in road racing.

And I was, I was initially also advised, no, I should just do this as a hobby because nobody has seen anyone make a career out of this. A very few people [are] doing it full-time professionally. So at the time, I didn't let any of that bother me. My focus was to train and start racing. I was racing as a privateer in the first two years with Apex Racing Academy. And I started winning a few championships. And then in 2017, I signed on with TVS racing, which made my passion my career. So technically, yeah, that's how I got into racing. And that's how it became my career.

Family's reaction? Any apprehension?

Yes, they definitely were [apprehensive], like, you know, even in the beginning, they wanted probably, me to have a secure job, finish my education and all of this, but that was mostly my grandparents. But my mother has always been supportive. You know, she, she never really stopped me. And I think having that support from home is a very important thing. And I think I had that.

Any doubts within yourself -- Can I do it or not?

It was never that can I do it? I wanted, it was always about I want to do this, I may not have the funds to do it. Now. How do I find a way to make it happen? And definitely, that would be more mostly the question than having supposed to me doubting myself whether or not I can do it.

How did TVS come into the picture? And how did it all happen?

TVS was constantly scouting for good athletes. So when I was doing road racing, they were following my journey because I also won one of their TVS one-day cups, along with which I was started doing off-road rallies as well, which is what I have completely moved to at this point. But in 2016-2017, I was doing both road racing and rally together and I was performing very well. 2017 I went on to win both road racing and Rally Championship national championships together in the same year. And that caught their eye and then you know, after which I started racing for them from the following year.

How difficult was recovery from the wrist injury suffered in Jordan early this year, now that you are amidst a fantastic run?

This year, I participated at the World Cup again, where I finished third. And then the second round was in Jordan. That's where my accident happened. And after the accident, I had about four surgeries -- before I started rehab -- two in Jordan and two when I was back in India. And I started my rehab with a place called Guerlain fitness studio.

The doctor that I had suggested that I start doing recovery three days after my surgery, so, I started my rehab then slowly slowly worked on other muscles and my endurance and everything. And in about a three-month mark of the bone is healed, I was allowed to ride then I started riding. So for me, being at the rally of the Himalayas was a training race to be able to work on my wrist and everything. And, you know, see where they hold up. And I think we did a pretty good job in terms of finishing overall so that's the best finish that any girl has ever had.

 

 

 

 

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In a cross country rally, and I also finished second with the boys. And first in the women's class, we achieved that. And I went to this race with my TVS bike on my own, my team wasn't there supporting me. So my coach was helping me service the bike. This was more me doing it individually.

And then coming from there, from the Himalayas to a very hot place and that's Hampi and riding a completely different bike. It was definitely a very hot weekend. But I think we did very well. And we finished overall 22nd. And we finished first in the women's class, there were about 83 riders. And like, in that I finished overall 22nd was a good finish for a team. So a great experience jumping from bike to bike. Because in the Himalayas, I was riding a 450. In the INRC, I ride a 200. So it's two different bikes.

 

 

 

 

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How do you look at injuries nowadays -- part and parcel or they bring frustration -- because you have been winning probably everything?

I mean, honestly, this accident has just made me stronger. Looking at my performance, it's way better than what it was last year. And considering that, you know, the rally of the Himalayas is one of the most difficult races of India. If I could do that, and my hands were holding up well, and if I performed so well, that means that this made me stronger. Okay. And I look at it from the same perspective. You know, it just makes me stronger and stronger every time.

So the period of being down and frustrated so stating that is true to everyone. I'm human too, but you know, but don't let that, or I mean, pull me down or deter me from following my goals. And having the right ecosystem around me, my coaches, my mental fitness coach -- all these people were very essential on my recovery. And I think all of them being by my side and cheering, and my manager from TVS racing is probably helped me get back stronger.

Does being 'the first Indian to win a world title in motorsports or motorcycle' bring the pressure of expectation or have you made peace with it since it's been two years?

What I achieved was two years ago, I cannot let that stress me out or dictate how I perform or how my mental state is at a race. So me and my coach, we work on this whole thing of you know, what's gone is gone. Now it's time to make more. And that's the mindset that I go in. And I'm every race looking at doing better performance, better results, and that's the focus, it doesn't matter what I've achieved. It's about what I can do today at that race, that matters the most.

Is there all physical strength? And how much diet plays a role?

It's a holistic approach that I try to do with things because, you know, it's not just about being physically strong. And you know, especially fueling right has been one of the most crucial things that I've been working on. Also in this sport, people don't speak about the mental fitness aspect of things. But I do have a mental fitness coach that I work with, because as much as important it is to be physically strong, it's also important to be able to work on our mental fitness.

So, for me, it's a holistic approach throughout the year, it's not something different I do just before a race. But it's the everyday effort that I put into doing my training that you know, results up to my performance at a race.