A 12-year-old karting racer is on track to becoming the first ever Sikh driver to race in Formula One, her supporters reckon.
Sukhmani Khena, who races across the country, gained an academy place at the Formula One racing team Alpine meaning she is being trained to become a star on the track from professionals.
Motorsport UK, which is the sporting authority for motorsport, said she continues to grow from strength to strength after winning an award with the British Women Racing Drivers Club.
The year eight pupil is currently competing in the Trent Valley Kart Club Championship taking place in Grantham.
She said: “My dad used to use a lot of remote-control cars, and I used to watch a lot of F1 on the TV, so one day he took me to an indoor kart track.
“I did a bit of indoor racing and then I got my first second-hand car, and it sort of went from there.”
Her desire to perform at the highest level was replicated in her performance, as she began filling up her trophy cabinet very quickly.
She said: “In my first Superone event, I won my first karting trophy. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing or whether I was imagining it all. Then it all started to make sense, I want and need to keep that feeling going.”
Then came her biggest breakthrough moment when aged 10, Formula One team Alpine asked her to become a driver at their academy.
However karting and racing is extremely competitive with a lot of obstacles to try and overcome. This can then prove to be quite daunting for a parent to invest a lot of time and money into it without a guarantee of success.
Despite this, her dad Simon Khera said: “It was a natural progression to push her as much as we can.
“We started very small in bambinos and then as she grew in that and started winning a few trophies, you could see she had something, and we have not stopped from there to be honest.”
Yet, these challenges were met with more for Sukhmani.
The aspiring driver hopes to become the first ever Sikh to participate in the FIA Formula One World Championship. Furthermore, she aims to become the first consistently competitive female Formula One driver.
But with this, comes a lot of pressure to perform. At such a young age, some may think it can be overwhelming to keep a level head when all eyes are on you, but having seen her results, it is clear to see that this is not affecting her too much at all.
In the recent championship taking place in Grantham, the youngster – from Walsall – has just completed round two where she finished in an impressive twelfth place after qualifying in 19th.
This put her in fourth place in the overall point standings across the first two races, and with another two races to go on the Grantham track, she will be looking to grab that top spot
Round three takes place at the beginning of June, with the final round taking place on the 6th of July.
The Lincolnshire venue is a difficult and strenuous challenge, with tight bends and the 32 other racers on the track keeps it really tight and has little room for error. But this is where Sukhmani proves why Alpine are investing their time and money into making her their next big star.
Despite being one of the only girls in the paddock on a race day, she said: “I don’t really think about being the only girl, I just try to beat everyone on the track.”
With a lot still to come in her career, the talented driver looks to be well and truly on the way to the very top.
