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Nadia Khan and Abi Birch giving men a run for their money at Sodi World Series

Nadia Khan and Abi Birch giving men a run for their money at Sodi World Series

May has been a good month for female karting in the UAE, as two Dubai-based ladies have topped the Sodi World Series (SWS) international ranking for the first time since its inception a decade ago.

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Businesswoman Nadia Khan and schoolgirl Abi Birch featured prominently in the world rankings this month with Birch top placed and Khan third best in the standings.

The two are regular competitors in the male-dominated series, but are front runners in just about every outing at Dubai Kartdrome.

Birch is a 17 year old from Regent International School, who started karting at the end of 2013 and has rapidly made her mark in SWS and on the UAE Rotax Max karting scene, impressing enough to attract backing from TAG Heuer.

“It seemed extremely fun, my dad persuaded me to take part in an Arrive & Drive session at the Kartdrome with him. My first time was really slow, however, I become very interested in learning the lines and became fast quickly,” she said.

"Once the helmet goes on you are just another competitor"

Khan, who started karting in 2013, admits: “I love adrenaline sports, anything that gets the blood racing and karting does that for me. It challenges me mentally and physically.”

In most sports, males and females do not compete together, but not so in motorsport and thus the obvious question to the lady racers is: how is it to compete against men in a challenging sport such as karting?

Birch replied, “I don’t think it’s hard being a women in SWS. There is no drawbacks to being a women in motorsport. The fastest driver wins whether male or female.”

“As soon as I get out the kart the other male drivers come to talk to me about how I can improve, they show me the better lines to take to become quicker. They are generally very helpful,” added the teenager.

Khan agrees, “Once the helmet goes on you are just another competitor, gender is irrelevant. I am out there trying to win, and so is everyone else. To the other competitors, you are just another driver they are trying to beat.”


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