Aashi grabs 2 podium finishes in Dubai Endurance Karting Championship

Dubai: Mumbai's rising kart racing star Aashi Hanspal created a record of sorts by taking part in the prestigious 24-Hour Dubai Endurance Karting Championship and also clinching two podium places along with her teammates in the overall championship.

Aashi became the only Indian girl to compete in the World Series event held over the weekend in Dubai's Motorcity.

The all-Indian team, featuring Arjun Manjunath (Bangalore), Rachit Singhal (Delhi), Jamie (Mumbai), Aditya Swaminathan (Bangalore) and Aashi, grabbed the second position in the overall championship as well as the first position in the Nations Cup.

Aashi, who was chosen for the Outstanding Women in Motorsports Award by FMSCI in 2019, had also become the only Indian girl to take part in the FIA Girls on Track 'Rising Stars' initiative in France in October earlier this year.

"I was thrilled when DojoMoto Racing invited me to race for Team EBC Brakes along with fellow racers from India. We worked well as a group and won two trophies, one of which as a Team India representative," Aashi, 14, said.

The annual Dubai Endurance Championship consists of four rounds, with the last one being the 24-Hour Championship held this weekend in Dubai. In Round 1, teams raced against each other for 400 laps, in Round 2 for six hours non-stop and in Round 3 for 12 hours non-stop.