Duba

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.

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"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.