Interview with India's only Female Racer : Alisha

Alisha Abdullah

An Angel on the high speed lane. Its not an old retro arcade game or a record label for an old western hit, its the line thats best used to describe this biker on heels. At just fifteen years of age, she drove a Volkswagen rally car and managed to finish fifth in the JFK National Championship back in 2004.

Alisha has been fascinated by racing since she was a kid. As a nine-year-old, Alisha was drawn to go-karting. She was winning go-karting races by the time she was eleven. When she was just 13-years-old, she won the MRF National Go-Karting Championship and the Best Novice Award in the National level Formula Car Racing in the open class.

In every competition that she has entered, she turned heads. Success on the track saw her rise in the racing ranks and in reputation, when the big boys in Indian racing came calling, she grabbed the opportunity with both hands. The year she made her debut in Rally racing was also the same year that saw her switch wheels and settle for a 600cc Honda CBR Engine.

You can take away the driving wheel, the horse power of a rally engine, the manual gearbox, the comfort of her bucket seats and put her on two wheels, but you can never take away the racing genes from her. Alisha’s father RA Abdullah was himself a famous bike racer and a seven-time national champion.

Talking about her shift in gears, Alisha’s father said,

“The fact is formula car racing can get very expensive. Motorbike racing is easier to manage financially, and moreover, I know what is what in motorbike racing and I can guide her. So I asked Alisha to try bike racing.”

Sportskeeda’s Editor Leela Prasad (G.L) caught up with India’s only woman super bike racer and quizzed her on a few things. These are the excerpts from the interview

G.L : Since your first love was go-karting, why didn’t you sign up for Force India F1 Team Academy’s One From A Billion Hunt?

Alisha : Its actually because of my age, it was initially open to those in the age group of 14 to 17 years, but later it was widened to accommodate the 17 -19 age group. Anyways I should also let other girls from India to put their luck to test!!

G.L : Tell us about any hardships that you and your father might have faced in this sport?

Alisha : For starters, bike racing is also an expensive sport like Formula Racing. So its hard when you don’t have a sponsor initially and you put in your own money to perform. Since I am performing by gods grace, thankfully I’m still in the game.

G.L : While picking up a super bike, what usually do you look for in the bike?

Alisha : I would definitely go for the looks, but my favorite bike, Yamaha R1 (1000cc) looks more sturdy than classy. As a professional racer I also like my bike to reach top speeds, so any 10 second bike will be on my list.

G.L : Your all time favorite Biker movie that you can watch over and over again?

Alisha : That would be Torque starring Ice Cube. I never get bored watching it because it captures the true Biker’s spirit.

G.L : If given a chance to race in Moto GP, which team would you burn the rubber for and why?

Alisha : I would opt for the Repsol Honda team because it’s a small bike which is at a correct height for me to drive. I am always in love with the bike, I also own a Honda CBR (600cc).

G.L : why do you think they are not many women in Motor sports compared to other sports?

Alisha : It’s probably because a lot of women think that if they enter a sport they need to be at the top which is not possible, especially in a guys dominated sport. And trust me there are a lot of sacrifices one has to make in Motor sports, which I doubt many girls would give up.

G.L : What would you have become, if you did not take up motor racing?

Alisha : A Tennis player probably considering the following the game has got due to Sania Mirza or working behind the scenes with a F1 team as a race Engineer.

G.L : How would you inspire other women to take up racing as a career option?

Alisha : Racing is not just about having fun or getting an adrenal rush, if are seriously committed and want to let the world know who you are then you are ready to race. If you feel that you are born to do this, then don’t hesitate, because in the end we live only once.