Interview With Rally Racer – Shardul Sharma
Some people are born with the die-hard spirit to follow their passion and Shardul Sharma is one of them. Shardul is a super cross racer by passion and profession. People know him as ‘SHAS’.
Below is a Q&A with him :
How has motorcycle racing occurred in your life?
You can say, “I was born to be a rider. “I still remember I use to crazily wait for the show MotoGP racing when I was 4-5 years old. I was so fascinated by watching the racers that I started popping wheelies in the neighborhood on bicycles. As I belong to a typical north Indian family of Garwalis the reaction from my parents after knowing my passion was the same I expected. A big NO!
What did you do when everyone didn’t want you to pursue motorcycle racing?
I started neglecting their unacceptance towards my passion, I kept on practicing stunt riding with my friends and became the first guy to perform with Chris Pfeiffer when he came to India and opened the show in Delhi when I was 14. I performed stunts with him.
How did your family respond once you showed them what you can do?
On noticing the fact that I was continuously blooming in stunt riding my dad asked me to study properly and said that he will start supporting me only then. I worked hard and got through Delhi University. My dad started supporting me and I bagged my first trophy at Gulf monsoon scooter rally taking one step forward in my journey. From there started the journey of full-time race motorcyclist.
How has been the experience int he latest rallies?
I won the 3rd prize at ‘Raid de Himalayas’- the highest rally in the world, same year. In 2014, I dominated the speed sprint, finishing longest desert rallies of India twice. In 2015 I finished my graduation and started training physically spending much time in the gym and tracking my diet. I won two trophies at Oya motocross Chandigarh and had a huge crash at raid the Himalayas hitting my head.
Have the crashes and injuries been able to pull you down?
All these crashes and injuries have made me strong as I always made a more powerful comeback than before.
Hows your current practices going on?
At present, I am leading the ‘Indian national rally championship’ with highest points in my kitty and preparing with full power for the finale. This is one of the most difficult phases of my life as I have very few sponsors to support me.
Motorsports is an expensive affair how are you tackling that along with the right team?
As you know Motorsport is an expensive sport hence it becomes difficult for me to maintain my bike and myself due to lack of resources. I would like to convey my heartfelt thanks to Mr. Jagadish V from “Lbs racing” for tuning my bike and keeping it ready for every race. Also, I would like to thanks, Mr. Mohan Pawar and “Kute Supercross track” that helps me to train insanely for each race by allowing me to practice on their tracks. I hope that in coming years, I will breakthrough in the international races and will make our country proud by winning the title.
Thank you Shardul. And we would love to share with you that we are here to support the sport and promote athletes like you who are not just representing cities in Nationals but also representing India in international level.