At what age did you realise that you wanted to race professionally? Could you take us through your journey?

I think it all started when I was in 11th grade, but because of my height everyone laughed at me and never took me seriously. It was like racing was never meant for short people. My journey started back in 2010 when the Bajaj Pulsar 180 had just launched and a couple of my friends owned it. They used to go racing illegally, but I loved watching them race. This made me want to learn to ride professionally. However, no one would let me ride their motorcycles as I was short and back then, women barely rode motorcycles. At the time, motorsports  in India was known to be a man's game. I was able to convince my parent's to buy me a motorcycle and eventually booked a Yamaha R15. To my bad luck, I met with an accident before my bike arrived and my parents cancelled the booking of my YamahaR15 and booked a Honda Dio scooter instead. I was so heartbroken that I did not ride my new scooter for a week after it arrived. I was struggling to collect my pocket money to buy a bike back then and used to be so stressed about it. Today, I own more than five motorcycles.

My journey has been tough as I am a woman trying to compete in what was traditionally a male dominated sport. I have hopped from team to team and tried my luck, but when you’re a woman trying to grow in a male dominated sport, you get to hear all sorts of things that send chills down your spine. I came to a point where I was going to quit racing and give up. But my mother kept reminding me that ‘every cloud has a silver lining’ and that kept me going. I was placed 2nd among 47 male racers in 2017 in Bangalore for the India Speed Week National Championship, and in the Valley Run races in 2019, I was placed 3rd among 45 male racers. I am now looking forward to my next race at the MMRT track in Chennai.

Of all the different types of motorsports, what made you choose drag racing?

Drag racing has a different kind of adrenaline rush. When the gushing wind touches my skin, I feel powerful. The faster I go, the more powerful I feel. It’s a general misconception that drag racing happens only on an empty strip of road where all you are supposed to do is race straight and just tap through all the gears. It sounds very easy, right, but trust me it's way more intense than any other type of motorsports. Firstly, it’s very important to have a technician who understands the engine well. Then you need someone who can source parts from across the globe to make the bike go as fast as possible. The rider needs a lot of practice and riding a drag bike is not a joke. Imagine riding a motorcycle on thin race tyres at a top speed of 170 kmph. If your launch is not perfect, you lose precious micro seconds and if your shifting is not precise, your clocked time suffers.

 Racing predominantly is gender biased and there are many misconceptions  about female drivers. What are your thoughts on this, based on your experience in racing so far?

Motorsports is mainly known as male dominated sport, but it definitely depends on the upbringing you’ve had. There are many male racers and colleagues who actually support me and want to see me grow in this field. Many women including me suffer during races as some of the male riders never want to be beaten by a woman on the track. I face a lot of sarcasm and other racers think it’s a joke when I pull up to race against them. I have had people tell me "Tere mom dad kuch boltey nahi hai kya?". Also, "Humari ghar ki ladkiyaya bahu log kabhi race karti to hamare baap dada kaat ke rakh dete". You can imagine how sentences like these can demotivate you and bring you down.

 Being a racer, how do you take care of tyres?

Tyres are the most important part for us racers and I literally take care of my tyres by using different products. I sometimes end up changing my tyres after every race because I want the traction to be at the top level. Motul being my official sponsor, I use their tyre repair kit which is really good and it helps me a lot. Also, during the time after the race and the time before the next race, I just don't let my bike stand – I use it at times so that the tyre health is good.

 Has there been any instance where you felt a set of tyres was just not right or worked really well for racing?

Definitely, there have been instances where I should have used a set of tyres but ended up using another and it completely ruined my race. Tyres play a vital role and are very important during a race. I used to use normal road tyres for my races but always landed up with the rear wheel spinning out, which ruined my race and affected my race timing. Then I started using Vee rubber tyres which gave me amazing traction and helped me achieve high speeds without any hiccup – and "boom" I won. That’s how important tyres are in a race. You can have your motorcycle set up perfectly, but if the tyres aren’t right, it could cost you the race.

Apart from racing, what do you do and what is the future plan?

I am currently working for Cathay Pacific Airways in the Regional Team. A fact that most people don't know about me is that I am an animal rescuer and have many rescued animals living with me. I have planned to complete my diploma in veterinary science or medicine while continuing to race in my free time. I am also planning to race in Thailand hopefully next year.

What do you tell to women who want to try their career into racing?

For all the women out there, if you love bikes and love speed, do not think twice – Just go for it. Life does not give you many opportunities, so make the fullest of whatever you think is best for you. People will always try and bring you down because your growth is going to hurt them, but you need to follow your dreams. Being scared is no option; it's either your way or the highway!

Make it happen, girls!!! (TT)

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The European Commission has approved a €71.6m Hungarian state aid measure to support Hankook Tire & Technology Co. Ltd. in establishing a new tyre manufacturing line, in a project aimed at boosting employment and industrial capacity in central Hungary.

The aid, equivalent to HUF28bn, will support the construction of a truck and bus radial tyre facility in the Central Transdanubia region. The investment forms part of a broader €538m project to expand Hankook’s existing plant in Fejér County, which currently produces tyres for passenger cars and light trucks.

The measure will be provided as a direct grant and is expected to create 469 jobs, primarily in manufacturing.

The Commission assessed the scheme under EU state aid rules, notably Article 107(3)(a) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Regional Aid Guidelines. It concluded that the measure is necessary and appropriate to support economic development, competitiveness and employment in a disadvantaged region.

The Commission also found that the aid has an incentive effect, noting that the company would not have undertaken the project within the European Economic Area without public support. It further determined that the measure is proportionate and limited to the minimum necessary, remaining within the aid intensity thresholds defined in Hungary’s regional aid map.

The Commission said the scheme would have a limited impact on competition and trade within the EU and therefore approved the measure under state aid rules.

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Pirelli has entered into a strategic agreement with Swedish technology firm Univrses to integrate artificial intelligence-based computer vision systems into its Cyber Tyre platform. As part of the deal, Pirelli has acquired a 30 percent stake in Univrses, with an option to increase that share to a majority holding. The collaboration will embed Univrses’ 3DAI technologies into Pirelli’s existing Cyber Tyre solutions, creating a unified system aimed at producing safer and higher performing vehicles.

The combined technology has potential applications in advanced driver-assistance systems and autonomous driving. It also generates timely, actionable data for road management, helping authorities make better decisions and deploy resources more efficiently. This could lead to fewer road accidents and saved lives. The system uses onboard cameras and tyres to collect feedback on road conditions. Pirelli’s Cyber Tyre, the first integrated hardware and software system of its kind, gathers data from tyre sensors, processes it with proprietary algorithms and communicates in real time with vehicle electronics and the cloud.

Univrses originally developed its technology to help cars understand their surroundings, but it has since been adapted to turn vehicles into AI-powered road monitoring agents. The Swedish company’s 3DAI Engine provides autonomous vehicles with perception capabilities including 3D positioning, mapping and spatial deep learning. Its 3DAI system digitises roadside infrastructure using data from vehicle-mounted sensors like cameras.

A pilot project is already active in Italy. In 2025, Pirelli and the Puglia Region launched a road network monitoring system to create an updated map of infrastructure conditions. The system analyses data from tyres via the Cyber Tyre platform alongside visual data from cameras interpreted by Univrses’ technology.

Andrea Casaluci, CEO, Pirelli, said, “The agreement with Univrses further enhances our Cyber Tyre™ platform, thanks to advanced AI‑based artificial vision technologies. The collaboration between Pirelli and Univrses will make a significant contribution to the ongoing transformation of cars into true software‑defined vehicles.”

Jonathan Selbie, CEO, Univrses, said, “Continuous monitoring and data are becoming the new foundation for infrastructure asset management, and Univrses technology is able to provide powerful analytical capabilities based on reliable and frequently updated data. In this context, we are pleased to welcome Pirelli as an investor and to take our partnership to the next level: we will join forces to deliver increasingly advanced services and products.”

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ZC Rubber is preparing a major European-focused showcase at THE TIRE COLOGNE, scheduled to run from 9 to 11 June 2026. The tyre manufacturer will occupy Booth C050g in Hall 8.1, highlighting its WESTLAKE and GOODRIDE brands with a clear emphasis on products tailored specifically for regional market demands.

The display will blend imminent and future innovations. Products destined for a European launch in the latter half of 2026 will appear alongside the company’s current truck and bus radial lineup. Selected previews of developments planned for 2027 will also be on view. A featured attraction is the Westlake Sport RS2, a drift-proven ultra-high-performance tyre praised for its grip, precision and 180 treadwear rating. A renewed rubber compound, developed through work with the Red Bull Driftbrothers, now delivers steadier traction under severe driving conditions. Appearing at the stand, Red Bull Driftbrothers driver and engineer Elias Hountondji will illustrate how motorsport data directly refines ZC Rubber’s product engineering.

Additional new passenger car radial models for Europe in the second half of 2026 include the Westlake ZuperFlex Z-137, Goodride RideMax G-147, the all-season Westlake Zuper4S Z-411 and the off-road focused Westlake Terra Legend SL399 and Goodride Mud Legend SL388. On the truck and bus side, already available tyres such as the Westlake WSL2, Westlake WDL2+ and Goodride S2, D3 and D4 will be exhibited, covering steer and drive axle needs for long-haul and heavy-duty transport.

A sneak peek at 2027 offerings will feature the Westlake Z-301 commercial van tyre, Goodride All Season G-721, Goodride SnowComfort G-518 and new TBR models including the Westlake WTL2, Westlake WTR OEM and Goodride M2. ZC Rubber’s team will remain on-site throughout the event, welcoming visitors and partners to the booth for meetings and professional discussions.

Leo Liao, General Manager, ZC Rubber Europe, said, “This year’s showcase reflects a much broader and more complete portfolio for Europe. From UHP and all-season tyres to all-terrain, mud-terrain and TBR solutions, we are bringing new developments across almost every major segment. This reflects how seriously we take the European market: we are listening to local needs, investing in the right products and building a portfolio that better matches the needs of our European partners.”

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Magna Tyres has launched the MA801 TR, a new solid tyre engineered for extreme operating conditions in recycling facilities and heavy industrial settings. Designed to maximise equipment uptime while supporting high load capacities, the tyre is built to deliver dependable performance in harsh environments. The official debut of the MA801 TR will take place at IFAT 2026 in Munich, scheduled from 4 to 7 May 2026.

The new model is intended for compact wheel loaders and telescopic handlers, featuring a flat-free solid construction. Its extra-deep non‑directional tread is reinforced by a triangular structural design, which enhances traction and stability on surfaces littered with sharp debris. Available in sizes 13.00‑24 and 14.00‑24, the tyre prioritises puncture resistance and reduced maintenance needs.

Thanks to its robust architecture and deep tread profile, the MA801 TR offers an extended service life and consistent performance across demanding work cycles. By eliminating the risk of flats, Magna Tyres positions the tyre as a reliable solution for recycling and industrial operations where continuous heavy loads are standard.

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