~Mira Erda Formula 4 driver
Racing isn’t just something I do — it’s who I am. Ever since I was 9, the race track has been my happiest place. For the past 15 years, I’ve poured my heart into this sport, pushing myself to go faster, work harder, and achieve my goals.
Racing, like any other sport, demands complete dedication, discipline, and passion. It’s not just about driving at high speeds; it’s about the countless hours of preparation that happen long before the lights go out. From spending time on the simulator and building physical and mental strength, to maximizing every lap of track time, every detail matters. We’re constantly striving to extract the best from both the car and myself.
What most people see is the race itself. What they don’t see is the relentless work, the late nights, the setbacks, and the small victories that lead up to that moment. Thus, when I got the opportunity to go race in the Levitas Cup at the JK Tyre National Racing Championship as Team TOPGEAR INDIA. I was all set to go race and take ya’ll along with me.
Before I dive into the race weekend, let me give you a quick brief about the Levitas Cup. The Levitas Cup is designed to make motorsports more accessible by bridging the gap between karting and premium car racing categories. Part of the JK Tyre National Racing Championship, it features 16 identical Maruti Suzuki IGNIS cars and two categories — Rookie and Pro — giving both young and experienced drivers an equal chance to compete purely on skill.
The Maruti Suzuki Ignis is a quirky little car — extremely easy to drive and, in my opinion, an ideal starting point for newcomers entering the world of racing. The Ignis used in the Levitas Cup is far from stock. It's fully race-prepped, built and tuned by experts to make it lighter, faster, and suited for competitive racing.
Under the hood, it runs a 1200cc engine producing 92 bhp, which, paired with its reduced weight, delivers a responsive driving experience. The car is equipped with performance racing coilovers, allowing for better handling through corners. It rides on flow-formed racing alloy wheels, which are both lightweight and durable. The Wilwood racing brake system complements the car perfectly, and I found myself adjusting to it quite comfortably.
Inside, the Ignis has been completely stripped down to reduce weight and fitted with a FIA-spec roll cage with padding for safety. A Cobra racing bucket seat paired with a six-point harness keeps the driver securely in place under heavy braking and cornering. An onboard fire extinguisher system adds another layer of safety.
One of the most valuable components of the car is the ECU and data logger system, which allows drivers to analyze their performance in detail. It records vital information such as lap times, RPM, brake pressure, throttle, fuel levels, and more — helping identify areas for improvement and enabling more precise, data-driven driving.
I’ve been racing at the Kari Motor Speedway for many years — it’s a track I know almost by heart. But this marked a new chapter: my first time stepping out of a single-seater and getting behind the wheel of a saloon car. There were mixed emotions at first, but I knew this was the perfect opportunity to test myself and see how my driving skills translate to a completely different racing format. I wanted to get some track time and thus I landed in Coimbatore on a Thursday morning and headed straight to the track.
As soon as I arrived at the track, my car was allocated to me — carrying my chosen competition number, 09. After meeting the team of engineers, mechanics, and my data engineer, I went straight to the car to get my seat and harness adjusted according to my liking.
Thursday was my first proper day behind the wheel, with four sessions of about ten laps each. My goal was simple: understand the car. I wanted to get a feel for its handling, find the right lines, gears, braking, and throttle points — basically, build confidence and get comfortable with the car.
With a few other drivers on track, I spent a few laps following them to establish my reference points for each corner. In my first session, I set a lap time of 1:33.1, while the overall best stood at 1:25.1 — a clear indication of the ground I needed to cover.
By the second session, I began trusting the car more and focused on refining my braking technique. That alone helped me bring the lap time down to 1:28.2. Once the braking felt right, I knew the next step was to start braking later and carry more speed through each corner.
The third session was more experimental — I tried different acceleration points, which resulted in a slightly slower lap time by about 1.5 seconds, but it provided valuable insight and data for analysis.
And in the final session, with all the data I had collected and understood after experimenting a bit, I was able to put everything together in a lap and brought it down to a 1:26.7, making me just 1.6 secs off the fastest. And that definitely gave me a lot of confidence and satisfaction.
Overall, I was satisfied with the progress and the few seconds I managed to cut down. After every session, reviewing the data with my engineer helped me understand exactly where to improve and comparing my fastest laps with the overall best gave me a much clearer understanding of where I stood and what to work on next.
Friday is the official start of the race weekend. The day had three practice sessions, followed by registration and scrutiny — a crucial process before race day. After registration, a team of scrutineers inspect both our racing gear and cars, ensuring everything complies with the FIA standards and FMSCI regulations.
Once all racing gears and the car passes inspection, we get the official “OK” sticker, allowing us to go race on Saturday and Sunday.
The Levitas Cup driver coach, Sandeep Kumar — a multiple-time national champion and a close friend — joined us on Friday. Before heading into the first practice session, we sat together to review my data and onboard footage from Thursday. Sandeep analyzed each corner in detail and gave me targeted feedback: braking later into C1,early throttle before the apex at C4, and showing more patience through the tricky fast right.
We also tried different tyre pressures, which is one of the few adjustments drivers are allowed to make according to personal preference. With Sandeep’s inputs in mind, I went out for my first session determined to apply everything I’d learned. The results showed immediately — I managed to cut down seven-tenths of a second, clocking a 1:26.0 lap time.
I was completely in the zone, focused and confident. In the second session, I broke into the 1:25s, setting a 1:25.9, and by the final session, I managed to bring it down further to 1:25.6. With consistent improvement, we decided not to make any more tyre pressure changes and finalized our preferred setup for Saturday.
At the end of the day, each driver is supposed to fill out a setup sheet, noting any issues faced or adjustments desired for the following day. It was a productive and satisfying close to an intense day of preparation — a perfect lead-up to race day.
I started the day with some visualization - picturing every corner, braking point, and throttle input, right up to a perfect qualifying lap and clean race starts. It’s a routine that always helps me stay calm, focused, and grounded.
In official practice, I set a 1:25.151, placing 2nd overall, just a tenth off the leader. My fastest lap came on the 10th lap, suggesting the tyres were heating up too slowly, so for qualifying, we increased the pressures slightly — and it worked perfectly. I secured POLE POSITION with a 1:25.0!!!!! With an optimal lap showing 1:24.7.
We had two races on Saturday, and I was starting both races from pole.
In Race 1, I made a rookie mistake, I had a jump start, which earned me a 10-second penalty. But instead of dwelling on it, I focused on consistent laps, managed to create a gap to those behind, and finished 2nd overall, 1st in Pro Category!!!!! I had mixed feelings about this one but I made sure to celebrate and soak in the emotions and then got back to work and mentally prepared myself to not repeat that mistake again.
In Race 2, I made no mistakes. A clean start, strong pace, and controlled race saw me take the WINNN!!! While leading, I even managed to clock the fastest lap in the car - 1:24.720, making it the perfect race to end the day on a high. Now this was a race I celebrated 100%.
Sunday was tougher, but honestly, so much more fun. We had two races again, and thanks to the reverse grid rule, I started 7th and 8th. It basically flips the top 8 finishers from the previous races, so I knew I had some real work to do.
Race 3 was pure chaos — rookie drivers up front, a lot of risky moves, close battles everywhere and a few close calls. Somehow, I managed to stay out of trouble, stayed patient, used my experience, and waited for the right moments to overtake. It paid off well! I finished 4th overall and 2nd in the Pro category, which felt pretty satisfying given how wild that race was and adding another podium to the weekend.
Race 4 started strong from 8th - I was making overtakes almost every lap and closing in on the top 2. Then something broke in the car. I didn’t feel much change, but I knew something wasn’t right. I did think about pulling into the pits, but with just three laps left, I told myself to hold on. I knew it was worth trying, I just had to keep up with the drivers in front. On the last lap, with two corners to go, an over ambitious move by a driver created a moment for me to grab onto — and suddenly, I was through to 2nd overall! Watching the replay later, I realized I was this close to a photo finish for 1st overall. What a way to end the weekend.
I’m beyond happy to be taking four trophies home this weekend. Truly grateful to the entire Levitas Cup team for giving me such a strong car. A huge thank you to Shravanthika, the promoter of the Levitas Cup, for creating this incredible platform, making it easily accessible and for being there through every step of the weekend.
Big thanks to Shyam uncle for his constant support and encouragement - it really kept me going. I couldn’t have performed this well without my friends, especially Sandeep, whose guidance was spot on every single time. Having coaches like him makes a world of difference for all new drivers as well as experienced drivers participating in the championship.
And of course, massive respect to the engineers and mechanics - the true backbone of the championship - who worked tirelessly to ensure every car was ready and every driver had an equal shot at racing their best.
Last but not the least, my videographer Rushi, who was not just covering the whole event with me, but was also helping me out whenever I needed, especially coming on the start grid with my hydration drink and making sure i had all the support.
