Mangaluru, Nov 15 (IANS): Defending champion Aishwarya Pissay claimed her third consecutive victory in the third round of the FMSCI Indian National Rally Championship (INRC) 2021 for two-wheelers in Puttur.

"I thank my team, TVS Racing and the mechanics for giving me another winning bike. I also thank Hyperice, the equipment that helps me to recover and maintain my fitness levels. The terrain is challenging and it is good for the National Rally because only such difficult terrain can prepare Indians for the tougher International rallies," said the six-time national champion.

Aishwarya finished overall 20, among 55 bikers that took the start and was ahead of 29 men and six women, who all competed on different bikes in various classes.

Bengaluru's Aishwarya claimed a solid win at Hampi and went on to take another facile victory in Round 2 at Bengaluru, conquering the technically challenging slushy terrain, and now leads the table in the woman's category after her third win from three rounds here.

Aishwarya, the Dakar prospect, who began on a ferocious note registering a blistering pace in the short 5.2-km Karambi Special Stage, lost crucial time in SS2, the 15.1-km Karikala stage, but falling back on her vast experience she extracted the best from her bike in the next four stages to bounce back brilliantly and played safe thereon, with regulated aggression on the slippery track to emerge triumphant in 50minutes 38.849seconds.

The fourth round, the Rally of Chikmagalur is scheduled for next Sunday and after two more rounds in Coimbatore and Nashik, the topper with more points is declared as the National champion. Aishwarya is well on her way to bag her sixth bike rally National title. She also won two coveted Road Racing titles.