Eleven-year-old Atiqa Mir made a remarkable start to her European karting career by qualifying second on her debut in the WSK Super Master Series in Italy, becoming the first Indian to achieve the feat in the highly competitive championship.
Competing in the OKNJ category for the first time after stepping up from the Mini class, Atiqa was also among the youngest drivers in a 37-strong, all-male field.
Supported by the Formula 1 Academy, she showed strong pace and composure throughout the weekend.
Atiqa delivered her standout performance in qualifying, where she clocked a lap of 49.76 seconds. She was briefly on course for pole position before Finland’s Leo Latinen edged ahead late in the session with an additional flying lap. Atiqa eventually secured second place, finishing just a tenth of a second behind, a historic result for Indian motorsport at this level.
She carried that momentum into the heat races, starting on the front row in all three. She finished fourth, sixth and seventh, and set the fastest lap in the opening heat.
Sunday proved challenging.
A mechanical issue on the pre-grid forced her to start 18th in the pre-final, and contact at Turn 1 dropped her further down the order. Despite the setbacks, she recovered to finish 14th.
Reflecting on her debut, Atiqa said the weekend exceeded expectations despite limited track time. Her father, former racer Asif Mir, praised her speed and composure against more experienced competitors.