Franciacorta (Italy), March 26 Indian racing prodigy Atiqa Mir concluded a stellar performance in the WSK Super Masters with an impressive eighth place finish out of 53 drivers in the final of Round 5, ending her campaign in the premier karting series as the highest-ranked female.
Making a significant transition from the mini (age 8-12) to junior category (12-14) at the start of 2026, the 11-year-old demonstrated her special talent throughout the five-round series.
Racing in the OK-NJ class, the first Indian to be supported by the Formula 1 Academy, Atiqa achieved one podium, two fastest laps, eight top-6 finishes, and a sizzling P2 finish in one of the qualifying sessions during the WSK championship and the European leg of the COTFA series.
Besides being the highest-ranked female in the WSK series, she was also the best Indian driver.
The racer from Jammu and Kashmir faced some setbacks along the way that prevented her from achieving more podium finishes.
In her final weekend of the series, Atiqa set the seventh fastest qualifying time, which was only 10th of a second away from P3, highlighting the fierce competition.
In the heat races, she finished P5, P4, and P5, demonstrating remarkable speed and consistency against the best drivers in the world.
Atiqa finished sixth out of 53 drivers and started in P3 for the pre-final. She had a remarkable start to move to second place, but a driver pushed her off the track at Turn 4, denying her a front-row start for the finals.
She was 13th on the grid for the final but charged through the field to reach P7 at one stage before finishing a creditable 8th.
The race weekend reaffirmed Atiqa's status as the leading driver in the world of karting, who can compete against the best and even beat them.
She had made her OK-NJ debut at the La Conca Round in January. At only 11 years of age, Atiqa was among the youngest and least experienced drivers in the Italian conditions.
Despite the challenges, she showcased her raw speed, outperforming drivers like Mercedes Junior Nicolo Perico.
The final round at Franciacorta showed that Atiqa had come of age, as she achieved top-5 finishes in all heats.
Reflecting on her WSK campaign, Atiqa said, "I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to compete in such a prestigious series. I have been karting non-stop for the last 8 weeks at a very high level, and I have been able to adjust and adapt to many new things.
"I have learned a lot, and I am a better driver today than when I started in January. This was my best race weekend here at Franciacorta, until that driver pushed me off the track and he received a penalty for that. But nonetheless, it was a good race, and I achieved my best finish here, P8 on the road. I want to thank my sponsor RAISE for making this happen."