Alisha Abdullah is still smarting from the disappointment she suffered in the National Rotax Max Karting Championship held in Hyderabad last year. She finished number seven in a track filled with male racers.

“All the guys on the track overtook me last time. I am very egoistic and determined to win it this time around and get my own back. I have a professional racing team backing me as well,” affirms the 23-year-old speed junkie who is touted to be India’s first ever woman superbike racer with records in car, kart and bike racing. She will be competing for the title in the city this weekend.

Alisha is presently honing her skills on the Rotax Max go karts, considered to be one of the fastest go-karts in the world. These 30 bph-powered, 125 cc two stroke engines hit speeds in excess of 100 km per hour.

“In every lap, the drivers need to hit 120 km/ph consistently. If you drop the speed even a little, you’ll see 8-10 competitors zoom past you in a matter of seconds,” says Alisha adding, “To be zipping past at such high speeds a couple of feet above the ground is a pretty exhilarating experience.

If you hit the curve, you break your ribs for sure!” This diminutive racer began go-karting from the time she was eight years old and was winning races from when she was 11.

She won the national go-karting championship at 13 and claimed the best Novice Award in the open class of Formula car racing as well. Her tryst with bikes began when she was 15. Her dad RA Abdullah, a former national bike champion, has been instrumental in initiating her into the fast lane.

“My dad gifted me a 600 cc superbike on my 18th birthday and told me you are going to race. As excited as I was, it was huge 240 kg machine and I was like, ‘Are you are kidding me?’ He wasn’t.

My dad took me to Singapore and got me my first racing suit and taught me all the skills. I struggled initially, but soon I got better and began winning,” recalls the Chennai girl, who switched to racing cars three years ago.

However, Alisha still trains with her bike “even if it is just to show off” her custom made racing suit. Alisha will get on to her superbike to take part in an unprecedented all-woman superbike race to be held in Spain in October this year. “It’s a huge event. Woman bikers from all over the world will be taking part in this first-of-its-kind race.

All the racers will be training for a few weeks before the race kicks off,” shares Alisha, who’s also got a couple of other big races to look forward to this year.

Next week Alisha will be racing in the National Racing Championship (Saloon Class) to be held in Coimbatore. “I will also be racing in the Formula BMW series as well later this year,” adds Alisha, who will be the lone Indian in the circuit there as well.

She is often the lone girl on the track too. This pint sized racer admits to “hate losing to men,” who admittedly never lose an opportunity to remind her of being the only girl on the race track.

“I love to tickle the male ego and know exactly how to deal with them. I might look small but can give any man a run for his money in the fitness stakes,” she declares.

At a recent national fitness camp held for racers in Coimbatore she outdid all the boys clocking 69 push ups a minute!

“When zooming past the track at speeds in excess of 200 kilometers an hour, you experience G-force and unless you are extremely fit, it’s hard to maintain focus.

I am a fitness fanatic and train religiously for five hours every single day,” shares Alisha, who is proud of her four pack abs and her toned, athletic body.

So, has she found love on the track too? Alisha retorts, “I would never date a fellow racer. I am too competitive for that and would hate to date a racer. I can’t think of doing anything other than beating them on the race track!”

source: http://www.articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / Home> Sports> Racing> Racer / by Karthik Pasupulate, TNN / July 14th, 2013