15-year-old Tanika Shanbagh has made her first appearance in the 2017 Asia Motocross Championship and first girl rider ever representing India in a Motocross event abroad. The rider from Satara competed in the first round of the championship held in Malaysia
First round of the event she fell on the first lap and injured her leg so she missed the two Motos of Round 1.
For Round 2 Moto 1 she was 10th in the Junior MX and first in the women’s class, which was a good result after the disastrous start to the event. In Moto 2 Tanika finished 12th in the Junior MX and second in the women’s class.
The Indian rider from Satara was particularly pleased with the fact that she had managed to improve her own laptimes over the course of the event. Her fastest lap during Moto 2 was 15 seconds faster than her qualifying time, which showed a rapid improvement.
Tanika Says “Overall it was a fantastic experience and I am looking forward to race in the remaining rounds of the Asian Motocross championship. This wouldn’t have been possible without the support of my GrandParents, Parents, my mentors Shrikant Chavan sir & Shyam Kothari sir. I would like to thank Rustom Patel sir & Sandeep Konde Deshmukh sir for all the help on track in Kuala Terengganu and last but not the least Yuvraj Konde Deshmukh (Yuvi) for being a fantastic teammate”
