Aashi Hanspal named ‘Most Deserving & Impressive New Driver’ by FIA-WIM

We carried the news a few months ago of Aashi Hanspal from Mumbai being shortlisted for the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile – Women In Motorsport programme aptly named Girls On Track – The Rising Star initiative. This event, set up under the aegis of the global governing body for women in motorsports, is also supported by established motorsport brands like Scuderia Ferrari and Pirelli. As the only Indian to be afforded this opportunity, Aashi put in her best, and was one of the top 20 in the shootout held on October 12 and 13 at the Circuit Paul Ricard in France.

Now, though she could not progress ahead within the program, the 13-year-old racer is upbeat, having got back from what was a memorable experience. Her consistent performance on track saw her conferred the title of the ‘Most Deserving & Impressive New Driver’ by the jury of the FIA-WIM. She also garnered special appreciation and a personalised letter from the FIA-WIM chairperson Michele Mouton, who praised Aashi for showing the highest improvement, fairness and fighting spirit. The jury awarded Aashi another special prize, in the form of all-weekend paddock passes for one of the rounds of Formula 1 race of her choice in 2021.

For her part, Aashi is back home now and already in the thick of things, having placed third in Race 2 of the second round in the Junior class of the National Karting Championship X30 Class held over the past weekend (October 17 and 18) at Meco Kartopia, Bengaluru.