Dyaanesh Barguje is a veteran Motor Cross rider. He has been participating in professional competition since 1987, when he was 19. At that time he participated in the novice class.

Asked how he felt to get back to the race track after a break of  five years because of an injury, he replied, "In the beginning I felt that I had wasted five years, so I started afresh and wanted to see whether I could race again. At the moment I do not even have a bike. The only practice I get on my machine is 8 days before the competition at the Suzuki factory in Bangalore."

He is the current leader in the National Motor Cross Championship, in Motor Bikes - Foreign Category. He is leading his team mate and fellow Team Suzuki rider Nippinder Singh Jassi by 4 points.

When asked how he felt on the competition this year, compared to the earlier ones, he said, "New and better riders are coming into the event and therefore the competition is getting tougher by the day."

To get better practice for the newcomers, he has designed and set up a racing track on Sinaghad Road. When asked why he undertook such a project, he replied, "Earlier the newcomers coming into the field had no place to practice. My friends and I hit upon this idea. As the motor cross championship revs up and more and more people get ready to participate in the event, this track gives the new riders a chance to try out their skills."

He is also a successful businessman, and when asked how he managed both business and racing, he replied, "Racing is a passion. I concentrate on my business and whenever I get time off I take part in races."

By Rahul Surkund