Atiqa Mir Joins Kart Republic for Next Step in Karting

Indian karting driver Atiqa Mir has signed with Kart Republic (KR), the team owned by Italian karting veteran Dino Chiesa, in a mid-season move that marks another significant step in her developing racing career. The 11-year-old from Srinagar will begin her journey with the team at the FIA World Cup in Italy.

Mir joins KR after performances in multiple karting series in Europe caught Chiesa’s attention. The move gives her a place within one of karting’s established operations as she prepares to compete in the OKJ category over the next two years alongside drivers from around the world.

A mid-season move to Kart Republic

Kart Republic is a leading racing-kart manufacturer and its Factory Racing Team has won more than 25 major international FIA Karting titles. Those achievements include 15 FIA European Karting Championships and 12 World Championships, with the organisation highlighting technical preparation, professional race engineering and driver development as central parts of its programme.

For Mir, the signing provides a new platform after a season in which she produced notable results in the Champions of the Future Academy series. Earlier in the campaign, she outqualified Mercedes F1 junior Niccolo Perico for pole position in Round 3 of the series in Italy. In May, she completed a sweep of COTFA Round 2 in Greece.

“I’m really excited to be joining KR and starting this new chapter. It’s a dream come true for me,” Mir said. “I’m looking forward to working with the team, learning as much as possible and pushing myself to become a stronger driver. I’m grateful to everyone who continues to support me, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Chiesa said he had followed Mir’s progress for the past two years and pointed to what he had seen from her in both mini and big kart competition. He described her as one of the best female drivers around and said she has the potential for a major career.

“I have tracked Atiqa over the last two years. She has shown speed in both mini and big kart,” Chiesa said. “Potentially, she has a big career ahead of her. She can even be better. You have to make the right move at the right moment, and don’t forget she is only 11. It is normal to be conservative, but she is someone special.”

Building toward the OKJ category

Mir’s switch comes with an eye on the OKJ category, which is for drivers aged 12 to 14. Her next two years are set to feature competition against a broad international field, with KR offering a team environment that has worked with a number of drivers who went on to Formula 1.

The list of Formula 1 drivers connected with KR and Chiesa includes Lando Norris, George Russell, Oscar Piastri, Kimi Antonelli and Arvid Lindblad. Chiesa also played a role in the careers of Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg. Those associations underline the significance of Mir joining a team with a long record in junior driver development.

Mir is aiming to become the first woman to reach Formula 1 since 1992. Her early European results and the move to Kart Republic place her next races under added attention, beginning with the FIA World Cup in Italy. The signing is a notable milestone for the young Indian driver as she enters the next phase of her karting programme.