Aishwarya Pissay Becomes India's First-Ever FIM Bajas World Champion

Indian rally racer Aishwarya Pissay has become the first-ever Indian to win the FIM Bajas World Championship. The TVS talent participated in the Women's Category and led the leaderboard having secured podium finishes in two out of four rounds in the championship. The last and final round of the championship was held in Hungary over the weekend and saw the 23-year-old finish fourth. Having started the Hungarian Baja with a seven point lead, the rider managed to maintain momentum through the race bringing home herself and the bike after a gruelling 590 km of special stages.

(Aishwarya secured two podium finishes out of four rounds at the 2019 FIM Bajas Rally)

A total of five riders participated in the 2019 FIM Bajas World Cup in the Hungarian Baja. Dakar veteran Rosa Romero led the final round even as Pissay started in the lead, followed by Sara Garcia Alvarez coming in second and Rita Vieira in third place. Pissay managed to finish fourth bagging crucial points to seal her victory overall.

The Indian completed the rally with 65 points overall, winning the title by a margin of four points over Rita Vieira. After winning the opening Dubai Baja earlier in the year, Pissay bagged third place in the second round in Portugal that was followed by a fifth place finish in Spain for Baja Aragon. Post the previous round, the racer decided to stay back in Europe and train for the final round. It is indeed an incredible feat considering this is her maiden attempt in the championship and the Dubai Baja was her very first international rally.