Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi make Ligier European Series debut with podium in Barcelona
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Emirati sisters Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi made an impressive debut in the Ligier European Series at Barcelona, showcasing front-running pace, a strong recovery in Race 1, and claiming a podium in Race 2 as they kicked off their endurance racing careers.
It was a big weekend for women in motorsport, with the ELMS season opener at Barcelona providing plenty of remarkable stories. Among them was the debut of Emirati stars Amna and Hamda Al Qubaisi in the Ligier European Series—marking their first time in prototype cars and endurance racing after competing mainly in single seaters, from F4 to their recent stints in F1 Academy.
Both sisters have had strong careers in formula racing, with Hamda being the female driver with the most victories in mixed-gender Formula 4 competitions globally. She has secured six wins between F4 UAE and F4 Saudi Arabia, in addition to four victories and ten podiums over two seasons in the all-female, F1-promoted F1 Academy, finishing third in the championship in 2023 and fifth in 2024. Hamda has also raced in FRECA and Asian F3, but 2025 marks her first full season in sportscars.
Her sister Amna has an equally impressive résumé, having made history as the first Arab woman to stand on an F1 podium by winning the support round of the F4 UAE Trophy at Yas Marina in 2019. Like Hamda, she competed in the highly competitive Italian F4 and FRECA, scored points in Asian F3, and claimed two wins and four podiums in F1 Academy.
With just one race in LMP3 machinery under her belt—a one-off in the German STT series at Hockenheim in 2022—Amna is also taking on her first full season in sportscars. She will share the #88 Ligier JSP4 with Hamda for the first time in the increasingly popular Ligier one-make series, a competitive stepping stone to higher levels of endurance racing like the Le Mans Cup and ELMS.
In a career move that signals their long-term commitment to endurance racing, the Al Qubaisi sisters entered the season opener at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya in the top JSP4 class, racing under the banner of top team Virage.
Following testing at the venue in the lead-up to the first round, track action began with official practice sessions—and it was immediately clear that the sisters would be contenders for podiums, and potentially victories in the Ligier European Series. Amna set the third fastest time overall, a 1:45.855, just four tenths off the pace-setter. Hamda was close behind with a 1:46.022, making the Emiratis the fastest combined duo.
In the second practice session that afternoon, they were again third fastest, setting high expectations heading into Friday afternoon’s qualifying.
The Q1 session was disrupted by an early red flag at Turn 3, followed by another late red flag, cutting short the 15-minute session. Still, it was a strong debut for Hamda in her first qualifying session in prototypes. She improved steadily, ending up sixth fastest—just six tenths from pole—despite having her final flyer cut short by the red flag after setting a personal-best first sector. She completed only four laps but secured a solid starting position.
In Q2, Amna’s first representative time was a 1:46.3. She then went purple in Sector 2 and climbed to fifth fastest, improving further with a 1:45.775. As times continued to tumble, she slipped to eighth with two minutes to go. Amna bounced back with a 1:45.208, ending up fifth fastest. She had pace for a top-three grid spot but encountered traffic on her final attempt, ultimately starting from the third row.
Saturday morning saw Hamda take the start for Race 1, lining up sixth on the grid.
Hamda was boxed in at the start and, unfortunately, was tagged and spun at Turn 2, dropping to the back of the field.
Now in clean air, Hamda immediately went fastest on track and gained a JSP4 position when Caussanel pitted with issues on Lap 2. She cleared JS2R traffic including Therbo, Pedraza, and Romero, and kept improving her personal bests. When Stevens also pitted with issues on Lap 5, Hamda moved up to P13.
She continued climbing the field, passing Laura Villars in the sister Virage car on Lap 6. Her consistent 1:46 pace was among the top three, though she remained a minute behind the leaders due to the early incident. By Lap 9, she gained two more positions and was closing back on the JSP4 pack.
On Lap 12, a collision between Markiewicz and the prototype of Brookes sent the JS2R Trajectus Motorsport car into the barriers at Turn 9. After a few laps under local yellows, the safety car was finally deployed—a crucial opportunity for Hamda to catch the pack.
The pit window opened, and most JSP4 entries pitted for driver changes. Hamda pitted on Lap 15, with Amna taking over the #88 car and rejoining in P12 in class, P14 overall. The restart came with 20 minutes to go.
Amna immediately began picking up positions, passing Caldaras and then attacking Bulzacchelli. She completed the move on Lap 21 to enter the top 10. In the JS2R class, Lepesqueux and Riccitelli collided, with the former stranded in the gravel at Turn 4—triggering a second safety car. A quick recovery brought the race back underway on Lap 25. Amna got a great restart and passed Schell for ninth.
However, a third safety car was deployed when Pedraza and Cruz went off in the gravel with just four minutes to go. One final restart followed. Although Boeckler crossed the line first, a stop-and-go penalty for a short pit stop and an infraction during the penultimate restart demoted him to P12. Victory went to Maxwell Dodds.
Despite a disrupted second stint, Amna Al Qubaisi finished seventh in JSP4—a solid result in the Emirati sisters’ debut in sportscars, that inevitably left a bitter aftertaste following the opening lap contact. However, Amna and Hamda had one more opportunity for redemption later in the day.
There was a short turnaround before Race 2, held early in the afternoon. Amna Al Qubaisi lined up in P5.
At lights out, Dario Cabanelas took the early lead; Amna got a good launch and, after a cautious Turn 1, initially dropped to P6 before reclaiming the position and then passing Bertocco’s Iron Lynx car to finish the first lap in fourth.
She then overtook Peters for third and set a purple first sector on Lap 3, driving away from Peters and closing in on Boeckler. On Lap 4, a collision between Poulet and Steed at Turn 2 left two cars stranded, prompting a safety car. The interruption came just as Amna was building a gap.
The restart on Lap 8 with 40 minutes to go saw Boeckler overtake Cabanelas for the lead, with Amna right behind and putting pressure on the #1 Virage car. Once again, Amna was quicker than Peters and even faster than Cabanelas, consistently one of the fastest cars on track.
The pit window opened and leaders stayed out. Amna extended her stint by a couple of laps before pitting on Lap 15 and handing over to Hamda. Hamda Al Qubaisi soon moved up to second, five seconds behind race leader Boeckler in the #22 Loire Valley Racing car.
By Lap 19, Hamda was starting to match and beat Boeckler’s times. Just a few laps later, the #17 JS2R of Henrique Cruz spun and got stuck in the gravel at Turn 5, triggering the second safety car—just as Hamda was closing in.
The green flag flew with eight minutes remaining. Iko Segret had the better restart and passed Hamda for second at Turn 1. Hamda then had to defend from Pianezzola and Vic Stevens.
When Simone Riccitelli’s #7 JS2R suffered a broken steering arm and went off at Turn 3, the safety car came out again with four minutes left.
The race ended under caution, with Romain Boeckler taking the win ahead of Iko Segret and Hamda Al Qubaisi—putting the Emirati sisters on the podium in their first ever weekend in the series.
It was a remarkable start to their endurance careers for Hamda and Amna Al Qubaisi, who returned to the podium and showed impressive pace across all sessions. Despite the unlucky start in Race 1, the Emirati drivers battled at the front of the JSP4 class and quickly found strong form in the new car—an encouraging sign for the rest of the season. They now sit fourth in the championship standings with 21 points.
The next round will take place at Circuit Paul Ricard, in the South of France, again in support of ELMS, on 2–3 May.
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