New Delhi: There are not many who have made a name for India in motorsports at the international level. In a country obsessed with cricket, there have only been a handful of norm breakers, who have gone on to pursue professional racing and made the country proud. Female drivers have been even rarer making Humaira Mushtaq’s achievements even more special.
Humaira, a racing trailblazer, is the first professional and currently the only female car racer from Jammu and Kashmir. She has been making a name for herself in the global racing circuit while breaking stereotypes and doing what no Indian female racer has done before. Humaira created history last year when she became the first female Indian driver to take part in the prestigious British Endurance Championship in London.
She became the first female driver from South Asia to obtain an ITCCC licence last year which allowed her to take part in the British Endurance Championship where she competed against some of the best male and female racers from around the world, earning praise for her ground-breaking achievement.
View this post on Instagram
It has not been an easy journey for Humaira, who is a native of the Bathindi area of Jammu and comes from a conservative Muslim family. However, the racing trailblazer has turned out to be an inspiration for many after challenging societal norms to pursue her dream of professional car racing. She has already represented India at multiple international events and hopes to make the country proud with her achievements in the future.
Inspired by her father
Humaira’s father was her hero growing up and he was the one who motivated her to pursue professional racing as a career. Coming from a family of doctors, there was significant pressure on Humaira as far as academics were concerned. However, it was her father, who played an instrumental role in shaping her racing career by helping her learn to drive from a very young age.
Humaira started racing when she was just four with go-karts before shifting to Rotax karting at the age of six. There was no looking back for her as she started driving single-seaters, touring cars, GT as well as Formula 2 and Formula 3 cars. She started her professional journey in 2019 with JK Tyres before racing with MRF.
While racing remains her first love, Humaira also qualified the NEET examination to take admission to BDS course and is now also a dentist by profession. There was a time when the 26-year-old had doubts about her racing career but her father’s last words kept her going.
“Don’t stop racing… become a professional driver. Allah will help you. You have a rare talent; go reach out to the world, create an example, and move mountains,” her father, whom she lost at the age of 13, had told her. His words kept her going and motivated her to secure funding and revive her racing career.
Humaira currently represents India primarily in the European and middle-eastern circuits as she continues her pursuit of excellence in motorsports.
