Valencia [Spain], May 11 : Indian racing sensation Atiqa Mir exceeded expectations on her FIA European Championship debut, finishing a stellar sixth in Race 2 in the "pinnacle" of karting.
Awarded a wildcard for round two of the championship, considering her special talent, the 11-year-old was once again thrown at the deep end and yet again she was able to navigate the majority of the challenges that were posed by the best in the business, as per a release.
Atiqa, India's first Formula 1 Academy-backed driver and also the highest-ranked female in the OKNJ class (age 12-14) in the FIA ranking, had to deal with more powerful equipment in the OKJ category and a tricky set of Maxxis tyres for the first time against 92 world-class drivers with much more experience.
Qualifying position is often decisive in a heavily populated field, but Atiqa fought her way into the Super Heats of the FIA (world body for four-wheel racing) sanctioned series, showing a lot of fight and speed after starting 15th on the grid.
Atiqa's best race finish of the weekend was P6 in Race 2, and she also got the coveted Fastest Lap in Race 5. A few crashes and penalties notwithstanding, the Indian with roots in J&K qualified for the Super Heats on her debut and attracted the attention of the entire paddock.
Voluntarily competing in the higher age category, Atiqa showed she belonged there and collected invaluable experience for the season ahead. Aiming to become the first female in Formula 1 since 1992, Atiqa would also be taking part in the FIA World Cup later in the year.
Reflecting on the special weekend, Atiqa called the weekend a dream come true, saying she had a strong pace throughout, raced hard, learned a lot, and enjoyed competing against the field.
"It's really special driving in a FIA series, it is a dream come true for me. My pace was good the entire weekend. I raced hard and learnt a lot this weekend. It is fun mixing it up with these guys," she said.
Atiqa's father, Asif Mir, a former India racer himself, was happy with her performance considering the enormous challenge at hand.
"A standout performance from Atiqa. She was a Wild Card entry and amongst the youngest and it was her debut in this category. She had to contend with more power, different tyres and a new team which she handled remarkably well. Qualifying P15 in a massive field and finishing P6 in one of the heat races were among the highlights," said Asif.
Atiqa would travel to Greece later this month to take part in round two of COTFA International.
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