Coimbatore: At the age of eight, when most girls outgrow dolls and move into board games, Bengaluru-based Harshitha Raj Gowda fell in love with a small motorcycle custom-made for her by her father. While she initially threw a tantrum to get on it, once she got the rhythm, there was no looking back.Gowda is now a part of a small tribe of women bike racers in the country, who are not only making a mark in the once male dominated field, but also setting new records. She is one of the four women bike racers, who reached the city in the weekend to participate in the MRF two-wheeler rally.She broke into the field of racing at the age of 12 when she began car racing as part of Auto Cross, where she would get a one-day license from the Federation of Motorsports Clubs of India (FMSCI).Nine years later, Gowda became the first Indian woman to participate in the Asia Pacific Rally, with her father as the navigator. She is the first Indian woman to participate in both bike and car racing. She is also a regular on the car racing circuit, participating in the CEDIA 2,000 cc races and Baleno 1,600 cc categories.She took up bike racing two years ago, says the 21-year-old, who now rides a Hero Honda Impulse."I had to quit racing because of a spinal injury and many accidents. But my daughter is living my dream," said her father Raj Gowda.Unlike Gowda, most of the women bike racers got into the sport by sheer chance. "I moved onto a proper motorcycle around three years ago. I was at a bike mechanic outlet to change my bike handles. That was when a bike racer, Jose Sebastian, suggested that I participate in a bike race. I participated in my first race eight months ago and stood first. There was no looking back since then," said 26-year-old fitness trainer, Fazila from Kochi. "For a girl from an orthodox Muslim family, racing a bike gives the freedom that is hard for you to even imagine otherwise," she said. "My family is still not excited but are slowly coming around."Gujarat-based swimming coach Gurmail Kaur and 26-year-old Shreya Sundar Iyer from Bangalore first had the opportunity to try riding a motorcycle belonging to their brothers and friends during their teenage years. Soon, the motorcycle became their preferred choice of ride. "Once when I was riding on the road, a racing coach stopped me at the signal and suggested I try bike racing. After talking to him for 10 minutes and getting his number, I attended his academy and began practising with boys," said Kaur. "I participated in a lot of dirt track races across Gujarat, Kerala and other places and managed a podium finish," she said.Iyer, a freelance architect and playback singer, got noticed when she became the only Indian woman to participate in a desert bike riding challenge in Dubai. When she returned home, she was offered a contract with TVS Racing and has been racing for the past two years. "Last year during the same race in Coimbatore, there were 59 boys and I was the only girl. Now I'm glad I have three other girls for company," she said.Despite bike racing still being considered a male dominated sport, the girls say the scope for them entering the field is growing. "Many automobile majors with racing teams like TVS, Hero Honda are giving contracts for women. Sponsors are also slowly coming by. So, the chance of it turning into a viable sport and a career is growing," said Iyer.The recce for the annual two-wheeler MRF Rally of Coimbatore, which is also the fifth round of the MRF MoGrip FMSCI National Rally Championship for two-wheelers, was flagged off from AR Hall in Puliyakulam on Saturday noon.Organised by the Coimbatore Auto Sports Club (CASC), the route includes a mix of dirt and gravel stages at Kethanur near Palladam. The total distance of the rally is approximately 114.56km with a special stage distance of 56.90km. This year's event will have two special stages - the LMW stage (14.50 kms) and the Premier stage (13.95 kms), which will be run twice. Forty-seven racers will participate in the rally on Sunday.

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