ORECHOVA (SLOVAKIA): India’s racing prodigy Atiqa Mir came agonisingly close to a historic podium, finishing a superb fourth in Round 4.1 of the Champions of the Future Academy (COFTA) karting series at the Slovakia Karting Centre.

The 10-year-old displayed outstanding race craft, putting herself in contention for a famous victory for most of the action-packed race before narrowly missing out on the podium. She crossed the line just 0.32 seconds behind the race winner in the fiercely competitive mini category, making her the first Indian ever to secure a top-four finish in the championship’s history. It was also the highest finish by a female driver in the ongoing season.

Atiqa, who earlier this month clinched victory in the DAMC series in Dubai, is the first Indian to be supported by Formula 1 and part of the F1 Academy DYD program. Her performance in Orechova underlined her growing stature as one of India’s brightest motorsport prospects.

In the second race of the weekend, Atiqa was running strongly in third when a collision on lap seven pushed her off the track, dropping her to 11th.

Reflecting on the weekend, the AKCEL GP driver said: “I was so close to the win and the podium, but I’m happy with my progress and performance against this top European grid. It’s nice to see all the hard work and training paying off.”