Pakistan’s only professional bike racer Muhammad Usman Ghani started the 2021/22 season with a podium finish representing Pakistan at the Waleed Al Shemais National Sportsbike Championship at Dubai Autodrome.
In the first race of the season 2021/22 featuring international racers, he could finish P3. “I had been preparing for this race form past week after my motorbike arrived. I had to make a lot of changes to get it smooth during the race,” said Ghani. “Still, my bike had some electrical issues in the last three laps that made me end P3; otherwise, I would have finished P2.”
He further added that the race was one of the toughest in his career, and he had to defend hard to keep his position. “I put my best to defend my third position. I was able to do that because of the practice and track days that I had during the past week,” he said.
In the second race of the same championship, Usman had a crash while making a turn due to a motorbike’s technical failure. “I was doing well in the second race, but then all of a sudden motorbike had a failure, and I crashed. Just had a minor injury in the right arm,” he said.
The 27-year-old Ghani had been representing Pakistan in the international circuits for the past three years. He is the only professional sports bike racer who is the Pakistani to gain a Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) Race License and is also a certified coach.
In the three years since Ghani has also won 10 Podium finishes overall – P3 in the last championship and P3 in Rookie Championship in his first year. He also became the first-ever Pakistani who could strike back-to-back podium finishes in the SuperStock Championship based on piloting the MotoTech Yamaha R6.
Talking about Pakistan’s representation in the international races, he said, “Currently, I am the only one with Pakistan’s flag on the racing suit in the races. I want to see more racers in the future. I had been to Pakistan lately, and I have seen many talents there who don’t have the opportunity to display their skills.”
He added that as there is no racing track in Pakistan, the racers don’t have a place to race professionally and end up taking on the road. “I aim to help the government and the private investors to build Pakistan’s first-ever multi-purpose track that can be used for a different type of races,” he said.
Explaining the need for the track in Pakistan, he said, “The talented racers in Pakistan are either racing or dying while racing on the road. Racing on the road and without a helmet is not safe. The bikers in Pakistan are quick and talented, but they need a platform to showcase their skills.”
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