Sports: Breaking A Male Bastion

Achiever
Lani Zena Fernandez

This ace biker from Puducherry is breaking the male domain

Meet Lani Zena Fernandez! This is her story!

This year among 40 boys she was the only girl to race in the nationals

She is the first girl racer in the country to do an elbow down on bike

She  came in 5th place for the first time racing in boy’s category! 

And all the teams came out of their pits to cheer for her!

As it is, biking is no common passion. Definitely not normally what girls do. But Zena had her own ideas. Ask her mother Leela Swamidoss Fernandez, and she endorses this – “I always have known Zena has had this passion for racing since childhood, ever since she won an inter-team go-karting competition in an under 10 league while she was the youngest at 6…In her final year of college, she participated in TVS selections, where out of 220 participants across India, with her first time on track racing, she was selected in 8th position among 16 finalists.”

Daring one may say when watching Zena on the racing track!

Leela says as a mother there’s naturally a fear and the butterflies in the stomach every time she hits the race track. “But my adrenaline rush and excitement seeing her on track overcomes this fear. I feel proud when Zena is called the gutsy woman on the race track, the one who goes for that gap, with her constant & consistent progression.”

FIRST PERSON – THE LITTLE CHAMPION’S TAKE:

“Being the only girl riding in a fully packed grid among 40 boys gave me truck loads of learning and some real racing experience. The struggle was real initially, but I enjoyed every bit of it. Finishing 5 out of 8 races in the top 10 and hitting my personal best in a complete ‘STOCK’ bike. And that’s a wrap for 2020. God’s been with me throughout.

Biking, specially for me it was a sport way beyond what I could afford, but when your desire is so strong odds are fought and ways are made.

Never did any conversation appear at home that racing was a man’s domain, but it was all about how I can better construct my life without an aorta of gender contrast. This helped me find my wings and my own sky and have my story to tell. In the winding roads of dreams, today I have completed a few laps and I can assure you the finish line is far, as there is so much more to achieve.

As a young aspiring racer there were quite a lot of challenges on my way. The talent was unleashed when I was 5 as I got into a go-kart and zipped and there on won an internal team Championship at 6. Due to financial constraints, could not pursue the sport.

Few years down the line as I got into bikes, initially my parents were not up for the idea of me racing bikes due to the huge risk involved in motorsports. The thirst and yearning for racing however made take that first step. I participated in the selection process for the TVS One Make Championship. As I aced the competition without any prior experience or training, my parents warmed up to the idea of me racing and have supported me the best way they could, ever since.

Motorsport being an expensive sport, we had faced financial struggles, literally at every step. To ride the national championship, I had to rent a bike and to manage the expenses I worked part time as I was also pursuing my Masters in Psychology, still not being able to meet the ends, my dad being a motor mechanic sold the bike he loved most & we had to mortgage jewels to pay the race entry fees and training fees.

Struggling through all these difficulties, as I entered the National Championship in 2019, we struggled technically, again as we lacked financial support, we couldn’t get the bike done for race, however I managed to race with the same bike and progressed every race. 

In my last round of National Championship, I had fractured my finger due to the crash I had the previous day, riding the race with literally one hand while the other was bandaged, I was able to finish the race second beating riders who had 5 to 15 years of experience, that’s when I faced the politics in racing and struggled to overcome that.

While I am still in the process of learning, I realised that its time to bring more talents and young girls to the sport, to make it better and the competition healthier, for racing is to compete and win and not just in the winning.  Hence, I started a series, ‘Road Racing In India’ on YouTube, which guides young aspiring riders to enter racing.

I realised to be the best racer in the world, I needed to be the best human being first, hence I focussed on getting better and making myself better than yesterday, every day.  Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I fail, but I constantly try and don’t give up, for progression is the ultimate goal.

To empower other women, I would like to be an example, motivating women to dream, identify their skills, nourish the thoughts, follow their dream by working at it, fighting all odds until they achieve. Talk to them, mentor them personally and professionally, motivate them and inspire them. Build their mental & emotional strength. Help them understand and unleash their skills and dreams for passion is the only driving force and fills our purpose of life.

I was once invited as a guest speaker at SSN Engineering college in Chennai to deliver a motivational speech, considering I was the youngest to do so the college crowd was apprehensive but I believe I got the loudest & longest applause as I could relate to them better. I could do that more often with given opportunities to create an awareness and inspire young talents. I believe that the more I give, the more I get!

I chiefly want to be a better person by the day, to hold the right moral and ethical values in life, be sincere and honest in what you do, and give back to society as a social responsibility. I really don’t believe in the concept of helping others instead understand that it’s one’s moral and social responsibility to assist, & lift another. Everybody has to start somewhere, and I would love to be the reason, simply because it makes me happy.

The companies I am associated with are just two:

The team I ride for: Speed Demonz Motorsports, who were responsible to identify the talent and coach me so progressively in one year that every team on the grid who initially quoted enormous fee for coaching me when we approached, that we couldn’t afford wanted me to ride for their team, free – the following year with a stipend too. We stuck to loyalty. My team has been my backbone through every inch of progression, they have struggled along with me to get me the best they could at every step.

The design team: Leroc Media Services Pvt Ltd, who my mom works for have offered to work on creating my logo, profile, brochure.

There also is a flip side – since this is a super expensive sport, with exhausted resources, it’s quite difficult to surge ahead. It is truly a very hard task to get sponsorships. My parents have always helped and encouraged me and this is how I keep going.”