Dubai: Indian racing prodigy Atiqa Mir put behind a stroke of bad luck to gain as many as 18 places for an impressive top-10 finish in round one of the IAME UAE Karting Championship here.
On her debut for the AKCEL GP Academy Team, the 10-year-old had a mixed weekend following a podium finish in the RMC Invitational the previous Sunday.
The Formula 1 Academy-backed driver topped the official practice and qualified in seventh place out of 32 drivers in a male dominated and highly-competitive field.
In heat 1, Atiqa gained three places to finish fourth. In the pre-final, she was forced out of the race due to a crash while attempting an overtake for third place, leaving her with a broken kart and injury to her hand and elbow.
For the final, the accident put her on the back of the grid but that did not deter Atiqa’s ever fighting spirit.
Despite the injury, Atiqa vowed to put on a show and her determination saw her climb to 10th from 28th place in the final.
It was not a surprise that she was the highest mover in the field, overtaking her opponents one by one in a clinical and aggressive drive.
“I was on pace and a win was possible but for the crash in the pre-final. These things happen and are a part of racing. But it left me too much to do from 28th place. I drove my heart out and had a great time overtaking 18 drivers,” that was how Atiqa summed up the weekend.
