Reema Juffali secured a class podium on her GT4 European Championship debut in her home track in Jeddah, becoming the first Saudi woman to achieve a podium finish on home soil in an international motorsport event.
Reema Juffali enjoyed a highly positive weekend at the season finale of the GT4 European Championship powered by RAFA Racing Club, hosted in Jeddah. The Saudi racer secured a class podium finish in the final race of the year on her first-ever weekend in the series.
Juffali, who raced full-time last year in the GT World Challenge Europe—where she collected a pole position at Hockenheim and her first class podium at Valencia—joined the GT4 season finale for her home race, with the event being held in her home city, providing a great opportunity for her return to competitive racing.
Reema returned to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit after competing there during the F1 Academy season opener. This time, however, she was behind the wheel of a significantly different car: the Aston Martin Vantage GT4. It marked her first time racing in a GT4 and her first time racing a GT machine at this circuit, necessitating some adaptation to the new challenge.
Juffali teamed up with Ahmed Bin-Khanen to form an all-Saudi duo in the AM class.
At the start of the weekend, the team built up speed progressively during the pre-event test sessions, steadily improving lap times and climbing the AM classification.
Free practice on Thursday night was promising, with the Saudi drivers finishing fourth in class and 25th overall, recording a best lap time of 2:13.542. On Friday, the one-hour pre-qualifying session saw the #28 Aston Martin continuing to make strides, finishing fifth in class and 30th overall, with a best lap of 2:13.989.
Qualifying later that day consisted of two sessions: Juffali tackled Q1, leveraging her experience to secure fifth place in the AM class. Her teammate Bin-Khanen followed in Q2, delivering an impressive improvement during his final run with a 2:13.175. This effort placed the team third in the AM class, suggesting they would be contenders for podium finishes in the two races concluding the GT4 European Championship.
Under the Friday night lights, 35 cars lined up on the grid for the first race, with Juffali taking the start. As expected, the opening moments at turn 1 were chaotic; Reema cautiously navigated the situation, avoiding a spun Alpine by using the inside line. She completed the first lap in third place in class and 29th overall—a solid start.
While Benjamin Lariche took the overall lead on lap 2, Juffali worked to clear traffic from faster ProAm and Silver class cars in pursuit of her AM competitors. A collision involving the #12 Borusan BMW brought out the first safety car on lap 3. At the time, Juffali was running 27th overall and third in class, just ahead of Pascal Huteau’s Schumacher CLRT Alpine.
After the restart, Juffali advanced to 25th overall but lost her class position to Huteau on lap 6, dropping to fourth. She kept pushing and showed promise in the first sector, attempting to regain her position.
Unfortunately, on lap 7, the #5 Mirage Racing Aston Martin collided with the rear of Juffali’s car before crashing heavily into the wall. The incident triggered another neutralization. While Juffali managed to return to the pits, the damage sustained forced her to retire early from the race.
Saturday afternoon brought an opportunity for redemption. Bin-Khanen lined up in third place in the AM class and 28th overall, aiming for a podium finish in the final race of the season.
The start was relatively clean despite intense battles across the field. Bin-Khanen made an excellent getaway, gaining eight positions overall on the opening lap to move into 20th place and take the AM class lead. He led just ahead of the #55 Alpine driven by Laurent Hurgon, who applied significant pressure on lap 2.
Despite the challenge, Bin-Khanen held his ground, navigating traffic from cars in the Silver and ProAm classes. This allowed the Chazel Technologie BMW M4 GT4, driven by Jean-Mathieu Leandri, to leapfrog both AM leaders, as Bin-Khanen dropped to second but then opened a buffer as Hurgon fell back and eventually pitted with issues.
On lap 6, Bin-Khanen reclaimed the AM class lead just before a crash involving Aleksandr Vaintrub’s Mirage Racing Aston Martin triggered a Full Course Yellow. The cleanup kept the race under caution until lap 10. When the race resumed with 30 minutes remaining, Bin-Khanen retained the lead, now running just outside the overall top 20, with Leandri’s BMW close behind.
The pit window opened shortly after the restart; Bin-Khanen stayed out for a few more laps, clocking competitive times to extend his margin to over three seconds before pitting on lap 13. He handed over the car to Juffali, who rejoined the race in third place in the AM class, behind the GPA Racing Aston Martin, now driven by Kevin Jimenez, and the #317 BMW, piloted by Antoni De Barn.
Juffali immediately began to close the gap, setting the car’s fastest lap at 2:14.283. In two laps, she caught up to De Barn and initiated a battle for second in class. While navigating ProAm traffic, she maintained a consistent pace, staying out of trouble and steadily building a margin to the AM cars behind.
By the final lap, Juffali was engaged in a close fight, defending her overall position against Vladikhin while keeping up her pace with the ProAm cars. She crossed the finish line in 24th overall, securing third place in the AM class and earning a podium on her debut in the GT4 European Championship.
This podium finish marked a remarkable achievement for the Saudi Racing team, who entered the season finale on short notice and competed against some of the best GT4 drivers in the world at a very challenging and technical circuit.
“Podium in my hometown—words can’t even begin to capture what I’m feeling right now," Juffali stated. "Racing in front of my home crowd, hearing their cheers, and standing on that podium is a dream come true. A massive thank you to my teammate Ahmed Bin-Khanen, he gave it everything out there, and this wouldn’t have been possible without him!"
Juffali, the first Saudi woman to race in an international competition in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, now becomes the first Saudi woman to step onto the podium on home soil.
“I also want to express my deepest gratitude to the Ministry of Sport, the Saudi Motorsport Federation, and Saudi Racing for their unwavering support and for making moments like this possible", she continued. "To everyone who’s been with me on this journey, and to my country, this one’s for you.”
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