Reema Juffali showcased strong pace and racecraft on her Asian Le Mans Series debut, securing an outstanding qualifying results, leading laps, and battling through setbacks, demonstrating good potential on her first Aston Martin GT3 outing.
Saudi racer Reema Juffali completed her first weekend in the Asian Le Mans Series with two 14th-place finishes, competing in a highly competitive 28-car GT3 field at Dubai Autodrome for the third and fourth rounds of the season aboard the #19 Blackthorn Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
Juffali delivered an impressive qualifying performance, securing sixth and third place on the grid for the two races, in what was one of the highlights of the weekend. The team looked strong for a top-ten finish in both 4-hour races, but an unfortunate series of circumstances prevented them from achieving the results they deserved.
At the start of Race 1 on Saturday, Juffali was boxed in as she had to avoid incidents ahead but recovered well, making several strong overtakes to re-enter the top ten. However, a track limits penalty set them back again. A lengthy red flag added further challenges, and despite a solid effort from Jonathan Adam in the closing stages, the team ultimately finished P14.
On Sunday, Juffali started from third and had a remarkable launch, taking an early lead in class before battling for the top three in a spectacular opening stint. Unfortunately, another penalty set them back after the first hour; a series of safety cars disrupted the strategy, putting the team off-sequence. Despite cycling through the top ten at various stages, they again finished 14th.
Juffali, 33, has been a trailblazer for Saudi Arabia in motorsport since making her single-seater debut in 2019. She continued to make headlines with class victories and standout results after transitioning to GT3 racing in 2022. Following a strong campaign in the International GT Open, she stepped up to GT World Challenge Europe, where she won the 24 Hours of Spa in the Bronze class in 2022.
After taking a step back from full-time racing in 2024, she made history as a Wild Card entry in the F1 Academy season opener in Jeddah, her home circuit, narrowly missing out on points. Towards the end of the year, she returned to the Jeddah Corniche Circuit for her first-ever GT4 race, securing a class podium in the highly competitive European GT4 Championship.
Juffali kicked off her 2025 season by returning to Dubai Autodrome, joining Haupt Racing Team for the Creventic Dubai 24 Hours. Despite an overnight technical issue preventing a top-five finish in the GT3 AM class, the Saudi racer was back in GT3 and eager to compete at the highest level once again.
She then made her Asian Le Mans Series debut at the same circuit, joining Blackthorn Racing alongside silver-rated Charles Bateman and platinum-rated Jonathan Adam in the #19 Aston Martin Vantage GT3.
The strong lineup immediately showed top-ten pace in pre-event testing, with Juffali setting a 2:01.2 lap early on. The momentum continued in practice, where the #19 Aston Martin ended the second session in eighth place, with a best lap of 2:00.267 recorded by Adam.
As the bronze-rated driver, Juffali was responsible for qualifying duties—and she delivered a spectacular performance.
With a massive 28-car GT3 field in the second round of the Asian Le Mans Series following the Sepang opener, Juffali was making her series debut on a tricky, sandy, low-grip track at Dubai Autodrome.
In the 15-minute session determining the grids for both races, Juffali was third on her first representative lap, just seven-tenths behind the #14 Climax Racing Mercedes. As times began to tumble, the #87 Origine Porsche dipped below the two-minute mark.
With four minutes remaining, Juffali momentarily went to the top with a stunning 1:59.300 lap. However, the #81 Winward Mercedes and the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari soon improved their times.
In the final minute, the #82 AF Corse Ferrari suffered a big crash, bringing out a red flag that ended the session early. This secured a double pole for Dustin Blattner’s #74 Ferrari, ahead of the #81 Winward Mercedes and the #28 AF Corse Ferrari.
Juffali finished sixth in qualifying for Race 1, just four-thousandths of a second off the top five, and an outstanding third for Race 2—an incredible effort in her debut weekend in the series.
RACE 1
Juffali was back in the car for the start after a brilliant qualifying session, lining up on the third row of the GT3 class grid. At the green flag, chaos erupted among the LMP3 class at Turn 1, with several cars spinning. The GT3 field had to take evasive action, and Juffali got caught in the congestion, dropping to 16th.
She fought back and executed a stunning pass around the outside of the #16 Car Collection Motorsport Porsche, driven by Bashar Mardini. Clearing some slower LMP3 cars, she focused on the next targets ahead.
Juffali then moved up to 13th when the Optimum McLaren pitted with a technical issue. However, she then got caught in LMP2 traffic, briefly falling behind the #2 Climax Racing Mercedes before picking up the pace once again.
On lap 16, she made another strong move, overtaking Célia Martin’s Iron Dames Porsche.
Forty-five minutes into the race, the first round of pit stops began for LMP2 cars.
Unfortunately, Juffali received a drive-through penalty for track limits and served it on lap 20 while running 12th in GT3. She rejoined in 16th.
One hour into the race, the safety car was deployed after the #8 Dragon Racing Ferrari hit the barriers at Turn 6. After a few laps under the safety car, the race was red-flagged for barrier repairs.
Juffali had pitted just before the red flag when the pit lane opened, but the safety car sequence trapped her one lap down in 17th, as she was held at the pit exit by the red light.
The race remained under red flag conditions for an hour before restarting behind the safety car with two hours to go.
Fortunately, cars that had been stuck in the pit lane were allowed to pass around and regain their lost lap, putting Juffali back on the lead lap. As soon as the race resumed, pit stops began immediately for the prototype classes, leading to a busy pit lane. One lap later, Juffali pitted for her driver change, handing over to Charles Bateman, who rejoined in 13th.
Back under green flag conditions, Bateman maintained a consistent pace, improving his best lap times to 2:01.5 and then 2:01.3, but eventually dropped to 15th. He continued running between P15 and P16.
With one hour remaining, the final round of pit stops began: Bateman climbed to 14th before pitting on lap 60 to complete his driving stint. Jonathan Adam took over the #19 Aston Martin from 15th in class and immediately pushed hard, setting the car’s best lap at 2:00.1 before breaking into the 1:59s with a 1:59.8, also recording purple sector times.
Despite his quick pace, he faced a 20-second gap to the #12 Car Collection Motorsport Porsche of Nico Menzel.
On lap 80, Adam gained a position when Michelle Gatting pitted with less than 10 minutes to go, moving up to 14th.
At the checkered flag, Jonathan Adam brought the #19 car home in P14—an unfortunate result given the team's strong pace, but a promising sign of their potential for Race 2 on Sunday.
RACE 2
On Sunday morning, under sunny and warm conditions, Dubai hosted the fourth round of the 2025 Asian Le Mans Series. After a stunning qualifying session, Reema Juffali started from third in the GT3 class, presenting another great opportunity to showcase her talent in a highly competitive field.
And it was indeed an outstanding start for Juffali, as she took the lead at Turn 1 with a clean getaway. Soon, however, she encountered traffic from the slower LMP3 cars while trying to navigate through without taking unnecessary risks. This allowed the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari, driven by Dustin Blattner, to sneak past and take the lead.
On the back straight, the Iron Dames Porsche was involved in an incident, scattering debris across the track. The Winward Mercedes and the two Optimum Motorsport McLarens also sustained damage, prompting a Virtual Safety Car.
Juffali, stuck behind some LMP3 cars, settled into P4 in class before the race was fully neutralized. After a full Safety Car phase, the race went back to green on lap 10.
Juffali immediately put pressure on the GetSpeed Mercedes of Steve Jans and the #87 Origine Motorsport Porsche of Bo Yuan in a tightly fought battle for the top three, while Blattner tried to extend his lead.
Running strong laps in the 2:02s, Juffali gradually improved her pace and went under the 2:02 barrier, keeping the pressure on the #9 Mercedes.
Unfortunately, Juffali—along with Takeshi Kimura and Johannes Zelger—was handed a drive-through penalty for a starting infringement. This setback dropped the #19 Blackthorn Aston Martin out of the leading group after a strong first hour. Reema served the penalty on lap 20, rejoining in P13.
Despite the setback, she continued to display impressive pace, quickly working her way back into the top 10. By lap 26, she had climbed to seventh in the GT3 class as the first round of pit stops began.
During the pit cycle, Juffali moved up to fourth, running consistent and competitive laps on old tyres, just 13 seconds behind the leaders.
After briefly running as high as second, she headed to the pits on lap 34 for fresh tyres and refueling, opting for a different strategy in hopes of making up lost ground.
Shortly after, a VSC was deployed for debris, which later turned into a full Safety Car period as several GT3 teams pitted for their first driver changes upon completing the mandatory bronze driving time. Juffali, meanwhile, had cycled back to 12th.
When the race resumed, Juffali was back on the attack, hunting down Antares Au in the #10 Manthey Porsche for P11. She executed a brilliant overtake, clearing the Porsche and re-entering the top ten as the race approached its halfway point.
On lap 50, the Saudi driver pitted and handed over the car to Charles Bateman.
The stranded Prime Speed Sport Lamborghini between Turns 1 and 2 brought out a Full Course Yellow with two hours remaining.
Bateman rejoined in 14th and faced stiff competition from quick silver-rated drivers. Despite this, he managed to hold his own, running solid laps in the 2:01s and maintaining a good margin over Casper Stevenson in the Car Guy Ferrari. With a best lap of 2:01.0, he continued to improve the car’s pace and climbed back into 12th.
Another VSC was deployed when the #35 Ultimate LMP3 car of Leonardo Colavita came to a stop at the final corner. The resulting neutralization prompted many teams to pit, but Blackthorn opted to stay out, allowing Bateman to move up to 11th before another full Safety Car period was called.
The race restarted with just over an hour to go, and Bateman soon pitted, handing the car over to platinum-rated Jonathan Adam, who rejoined in 18th in the GT3 class.
Adam wasted no time setting blistering laps, dipping under the two-minute mark with a 1:59.186, the car’s new best lap.
He maintained a consistent pace in the 1:59s and caught Giacomo Altoè in the Dragon Racing Ferrari, overtaking him to move into 16th with 45 minutes remaining.
In the final stages, Adam made up significant time, closing an over 10-second gap to the #14 Climax Racing Mercedes of Lucas Auer. However, he ultimately fell just 1.5 seconds short.
The Blackthorn Aston Martin crossed the finish line in 14th place for the second consecutive day. Despite the final result, Reema Juffali showcased strong potential on her Asian Le Mans Series debut, as well as in her first race with the Aston Martin GT3 platform.
The final rounds of the Asian Le Mans Series are scheduled in just one week, this time at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.
A promising debut for Reema Juffali, indeed. The article highlights her qualifying performance, but I'm curious about her race pace and strategy. Accessing reliable sports coverage is key to following her progress. If you're struggling to find consistent updates or race schedules, maybe call ESPN customer service to inquire about their motorsports programming. How do you think her experience in Formula E will translate to endurance racing?