NEW DELHI: Faridabad may not be an obvious cradle of motorsport prodigies, but for Arshi Gupta, geography has never been a barrier.At just nine, she has already etched her name into Indian motorsport history, becoming the youngest national karting champion after winning the 2025 Indian National Karting Championship (micro max category, ages 8 to 11) and emerging as the only female karting champion in Asia in a mixed-gender format.Karting, by design, makes no distinction: Boys and girls line up together, helmets on, engines roaring. Talent alone decides the outcome, and Arshi’s talent has spoken loudly.Her rise may appear meteoric, but behind the trophies lies a routine that would test even seasoned athletes. “I wake up at 5 am, have breakfast, and I’m on the track from 8.30am to 4 pm,” Arshi says. The long hours are not an occasional grind but a way of life. She embraced the schedule even more intensely before leaving for UK to train. “She kept doing it because she enjoyed it,” her relatives say.Arshi began karting at seven. Two years later, she stood atop the national podium — her journey built on discipline, sacrifice and relentless preparation. During the 2025 national season, she delivered multiple victories, including commanding wins in Chennai and Bengaluru, and excelled on neutral tracks where drivers are given equal practice time.“Neutral tracks bring out pure skill,” says her father, Anchit Gupta. “That’s where Arshi performed exceptionally well.”Recognising the limitations of India’s short racing calendar, the family looked abroad to sharpen her competitive edge. She trained extensively in UAE for five months, immersing herself in a high-intensity environment.The move paid off. Arshi secured a third-place finish at IAME UAE Championship, becoming the youngest Indian on an international karting podium. She followed it up with a strong fourth-place finish at Asia Pacific Motorsports Championship in Sri Lanka, competing against older and more experienced drivers.In UK, too, she adapted swiftly, steadily closing the gap to seasoned front-runners within weeks. Through it all, she has drawn inspiration from former Formula 1 world champion Max Verstappen. “He trains very hard, and he is really professional in the way he prepares for races,” Arshi says of her favourite driver, a reflection of the standards she has set for herself.Despite the punishing training schedule and frequent travel, academics are still firmly in her focus. “I study on flights after races or whenever I have time. My mom teaches me,” she says. The balancing act has earned her a principal’s gold medal in school for excellence in academics and co-curricular achievements.What stands out most, however, is Arshi’s composure. “I don’t get nervous. I just enjoy the sport and give my best,” she says, betraying a mindset rare for her age and invaluable in a sport where fractions of a second define outcomes.With her selection to the F1 Academy programme, which will support her development through 2026, the road ahead looks bright for Arshi. At nine, she is not just racing competitors twice her age. She is racing against time, expectation and history. And so far, she is comfortably ahead of the pack.
