At an age when most children are still playing with toys, nine-year-old Atiqa Mir from Srinagar’s Nishat area is leaving grown men in her rear-view mirror on the racetrack. The young female Karting sensation continues to amaze the motorsports world with her blistering speed, laser-focus dedication, and remarkable results behind the wheel.
Atiqa Mir crowned Vice Champion at UAE IAME National Karting
In just her first full season racing in the fiercely competitive UAE IAME National Karting Championship Mini R category, the nine-year-old prodigy was crowned vice-champion. Against a stacked field of 26 international karters, many of them years older, Atiqa handled the intense pressure with poise. She finished runner-up with a scintillating pace across all seven rounds.
Atiqa’s astounding rookie campaign saw her become the highest-ranked female karter under 10 years old across any FIA or CIK national karting championship in the world. Kart racing, also known as karting, is a form of open-wheel motorsport that involves small, lightweight, low-powered vehicles called karts or go-karts.
#Watch: At 9, Kashmir’s Atiqa emerges as ‘Fastest Girl' in Karting World’ in #UAE pic.twitter.com/zyPbvHKjK9
— Greater Kashmir (@GreaterKashmir) March 31, 2024
All you need to Know about Atiqa Mir
Atiqa Asif Mir has taken the racing and karting world by storm. In her first year of racing starting at the tender age of 6 years in year 2021, Atiqa has stunned the racing fraternity in UAE with her speed, maturity and dedication. Taking part in 2 Karting Championships in the Bambino Category (aged 5 to 8 yrs) in the 2021-22 season, Atiqa didn’t take long to become a race winner. Atiqa in her rookie year beat established drivers with years of experience.
In a male-dominated sport, Atiqa has broken the taboo and wants to excel on the world stage. A role model for upcoming girls wanting to take up motorsport.
On turning 8 years of age in November of 2022, Atiqa was finally eligible to drive in the Micro Max and Mini x30 categories and took part in the UAE National IAME and ROTAX Championships. Although she started mid-way in the championships, she drove incredibly well as being the youngest and most inexperienced driver on the grid. Qualifying as high as 4th in Sharjah in a field of 20 karts and several Top 5 finishes followed.
Atiqa has been chosen to drive for the World Championship-winning team BIREL ART ITALY. Atiqa is being trained and moulded into a professional racing driver with a world-class team of trainers with top technical support to be the first-ever Female Driver in modern Formula 1.
Some of Atiqa’s accolades:
- Youngest and the only Female UAE Licenced driver in the UAE IAME x30 and Rotax Cship 2022-23 in Mini
- 2 runner up finishes in DAMC and MIDDLE EAST CUP 2023
- First Indian Female Driver to drive professionally at the age of 6 yrs old in an International Karting Championship
- First Indian Female Driver to win in an FIA International Karting Championship at the age of 6 yr
- 1st Indian Female driver to break a Lap Record at Dubai
- First Indian Female driver to finish in 2nd place overall at a Karting Championship internationally.
Atiqa is following in the footsteps of her father and former Racing driver Asif Nazir Mir who was India’s first National Karting Champion in the year 2000 and went on the race in Formula Asia with 6 wins, 8 Pole Positions, and drove in Barber Dodge Pro Series in USA.
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