Al Ain (UAE): Young Indian racer Atiqa Mir tore through the field to secure a well-deserved podium in the final of RMC Invitational karting event at Al Ain Raceway here.
In qualifying, 10-year-old Atiqa was on course to finish on pole but had to settle for second place by just one tenth of a second due to traffic on her lap.
Starting on the outside row is a disadvantage here and due to that, the Akcel GP driver ended the heats in fourth place and in the pre-final she got involved in an accident that pushed her back to eighth place.
Starting from eighth on the grid for the final on Sunday, Atiqa put up a storming drive, passing five cars to finish third.
The Dubai-based driver is the first Indian to be financially and technically supported by Formula 1, through its F1 Academy DYD program.
Atiqa’s podium extended her stellar run of late, having finished fourth in a round of Champions of the Future Academy (COFTA) in Slovakia and on top of the podium in DAMC series earlier this month.
“I wish I didnt have the crash in Pre Final which put me back in 8th place. Starting so far back I knew I had to be aggressive on the first two laps. I made up five places by Lap 2 but by then the leader had already pulled out a gap. I wanted to win this one but had to settle for third place,” said Atiqa reflecting on her weekend.
Atiqa’s father Asif Nazir Mir, who is India’s first National Karting champion, was pleased with her daughter’s effort considering the challenges involved.
“Atiqa had a challenging weekend but she dealt with it with aggression and positivity. We must not forget that Atiqa changes classes almost every weekend which means she has to adjust to the track, kart make, tyres, teams and she is doing a top job.
“This is designed to improve her adaptability and is part of her long-term learning process,” he said.
