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Nine-year-old Arshi Gupta of Delhi Public School, Faridabad, created history by becoming the first-ever female racer to win a National Karting Championship title in India. Competing in the Micro Max class in a mixed grid of boys and girls, Arshi clinched the 2025 FMSCI National Karting Championship at the Meco Kartopia circuit at Bengaluru, a release said.
Born on October 18, 2016, in Faridabad, Arshi races under Leapfrog Racing and has achieved this extraordinary feat in just her second year of competitive racing. Earlier in the season, she stunned the motorsport fraternity by winning Round 3 at the Madras International Karting Arena (MIKA), the FIA-homologated track at Irungattukottai, on August 31, 2025. And later won a double at Coimbatore too. Displaying remarkable poise and precision in the final round, Arshi won both the Pre-Final and the Final in the Micro Max class (8 to 12 years) and won the National crown. She charged from mid-grid to victory in the Pre-Final, then converted her pole start into a big win in the Final. This triumph makes Arshi the first girl to win a National karting championship in the 21-year history of the Indian Rotax series. And she was also the youngest to do so. Arshi made her National debut in karting in early 2024 after her father, Anchit Gupta, a Faridabad-based businessman, noticed her love for speed while cycling and took her to a local Gurugram track run by coach Rohit Khanna in 2023. "She loved karting from day one and would insist on going every weekend, then on. If I skipped once, I had to make it up the next week," recalled her father. Her mother, Deepti Gupta, a practising doctor, ensures Arshi balances studies and sport. Starting with the Meritus Cup in 2024, Arshi soon moved into the Rotax Nationals, making her the youngest female to compete in the National Karting Championship. A five-month racing and training stint in the UAE, from July to December 2024, sharpened her skillset. She also completed a 10-week racing and training stint in the UK between April and October 2025. The over 150 track days of training helped her further improve her race craft and become more consistent. She also holds a record in the India Book of Records as the youngest female to receive a National Karting License. In September 2025, she was selected by FMSCI to be part of Team India for the Asia Pacific Motorsports Championships in Sri Lanka, where she finished fourth in the Karting Sprint event in the Mini category for 8- to 12-year-olds. After clinching the title, an elated Arshi said while playfully riding a kid scooter on the track, "Yes, I'm very happy--and I want to race more!"(ANI)
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