Atiqa Mir produces overtaking masterclass to finish 6th on FIA World Championship debut

LA CONCA, ITALY Indian racing prodigy Atiqa Mir produced a special rearguard performance charging through the field to gain 16 places and finish sixth in the opening race on her FIA Karting World Championship debut here. The 11-year-old Atiqa, who is the first Indian to be backed by the Formula 1 Academy and competes in the 12-14 age category, is known for giving the more experienced drivers a run for their money. Her craft came to the fore once again in the opening race of the biggest karting competition held over the weekend.

A commendable P6 in a world class field came after a heavy setback in qualifying, where two drivers who had crashed, blocked Atiqa while rejoining the track and ruining her hot lap. The incident put her down to second last in her group and 83rd out of 87 drivers overall. With only three heat races to make up the places, Atiqa had her task cut out and the gritty girl from Srinagar, representing the Kart Republic team, didn’t let the situation faze her.

Prior to qualifying, Atiqa had zoomed to P3 in the Qualifying Sim Practice Session.