Mira Erda - 'The Speed Queen of India'

India has produced some very good race drivers like – Narain Karthikeyan, Karun Chandhok, Gaurav Gill, Armaan Ebrahim, and Aditya Patel all of whom have gone on to represent India at the international level and perform well. Out of these drivers, only Narain Karthikeyan and Karun Chandhok have participated in F1. India’s next-gen drivers like – Mira Erda, Arjun Maini, Kush Maini, Jehan Daruvala, Akhil Rabindra, Sohil Shah have very good potential and are well on their way towards a lot of success in their careers.

Mira discovered her love for racing at the age of 9 when she first tried her hand on a go-kart at her father’s go-kart track in Baroda. Mira’s father Kirit Erda, recognized Mira’s potential and motivated her to take up competitive racing. Mira’s first tryst with competitive racing came in 2010 when she participated in the JK Tyre National Rotax Max Championship…with only 25 days of training! Later that year Mira participated in her first international race – the Plus Yamaha SL International Challenge in Malaysia.

In 2011, Mira got her first race wins and podiums. That year she won the Most Improved Driver Award, there has been no looking back ever since. Consistency is the key to success; Mira lives by this mantra and dedicates a lot of her time perfecting her craft be it on the race track or fitness while in the gym. Her consistent performances and undeniable potential paid off when she made her way into the 2014 JK Racing Championship, becoming the youngest female Formula 4 driver. There is no denying that Motorsport is male-dominated. Mira realized this very early in her career as a majority of her competitors across various races were male. She recounts a lot of her competitors wrote her off, but instead of this demoralizing her she took this up as a challenge and was determined to beat them all, thereby fuelling her desire to be the best version of herself and give it her all.

For a race driver, the transition from a go-kart to a race car is not an easy one. Race cars are bigger, heavier, and more powerful. They have different driving dynamics, body control, and braking when compared to go-karts. Mira too found it difficult initially to transition and adapt to a Formula race car. With constant practice, guidance from her mentors like Akbar Ebrahim, Mira successfully mastered the formula-style race car. When asked about her inspiration Mira replies “I want to be the best version of myself!”. Mira may only be 19 years old, but her approach and mentality speaks volumes and showcases her maturity, understanding, focus. Current F1 driver Max Verstappen from Red Bull Racing is someone Mira looks up to. Mira favors Verstappen’s aggressive driving style, risk-taking ability and driving skill. She tries to incorporate the same in her driving, but being an experiential learner, she has understood the importance of maintaining a fine balance between an aggressive driving style and a composed one that is very crucial for success.

The year 2016 was a great one for Mira, she became the Formula 4 rookie champion of the year and was also honored by the FMSCI the governing body for Motorsport in India with the Outstanding Woman in Motorsport Award. In 2017, Mira took part in the Euro JK Series – one of the highest classes of Formula racing in India and became the first Indian woman to do so. An outstanding feat at such a young age! Unfortunately, Mira faced issues with her car and was not able to give her best but, the experience did not deviate from her main aim and focus – to be an F1 driver. From her experience at the Euro JK Series she realized while competing with the best Indian drivers that there was a lot more room for improvement. She set out to improve her driving, technical skills, and better understand her car. Mira believes in constant improvement and is an avid learner. Throughout her career, Akbar Ebrahim, often regarded as the ‘Father of Indian Motorsport’ along with Sanjay Sharma – Head of JK Tyres Motorsport has been mentors for Mira. Their guidance, motivation, and support has always been well received, appreciated by Mira; hence making her the driver she is today.

In 2019, Mira made it to the top 50 who qualifiers of the inaugural W Series by the FIA. The W Series is an elite all-women driver championship where 18 of the best women drivers would do battle to be the best. Mira traveled to Austria for the qualifiers and along with fellow Indian racer Sneha Sharma was the only other representative from India. The qualifiers were a real challenge for Mira as she was not used to driving in variable weather conditions like snow and ice, the car to be driven was a production left-hand drive car. Being used to driving on the right-hand side in India, this posed as a challenge to Mira. The added pressure of going up against the best women drivers goes without saying. While the experience at the W Series qualifiers wasn’t exactly what she had hoped for Mira took this in her stride and regrouped herself, committed to being the best at what she loves doing – racing.

Her amazing performances got Mira a seat on in the AD Racing team at the inaugural 2019 X1 Racing League in India. Mira grabbed the opportunity with both her hands and drove very well to help her team to podiums. Her experience at X1 Racing League helped Mira network with and compete against top drivers from all over the world (both male and female).

Mira Erda is an inspiration, not only for women but all aspirants wanting to get into racing. She has achieved so much during her relatively young career, resonates with the potential she posses and the bright career she has in front of her. With an aim of driving in Formula 3 and securing a seat at the W Series finals in the near future, Mira is poised to take the next step in her career. The future for Indian motorsport is bright and the ‘Speed Queen of India’ Mira Erda is one of the leading torchbearers.