Reema Juffali, Saudi Arabia’s first female racing driver, will make her return behind the wheel of a GT car at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit in the GT4 European Series season finale, marking her return to her home track after a Wild Card entry in F1 Academy earlier this year.
Saudi racer Reema Juffali, the first ever Saudi woman to compete in an international racing event on home soil, will return behind the wheel for the GT4 European Series Powered by RAFA Racing Club season finale, hosted at the Jeddah Corniche street circuit.
Juffali, who switched her focus on GT competitions in 2022 and quickly made a name for herself in GT3 racing in International GT Open as well as GT World Challenge Europe, made a return to single seaters in 2024, as she entered the F1 Academy season opener at her home track in Jeddah.
As the first Wild Card of the all-female series, Juffali impressed in race 1, finishing eleventh and just missing out on a top ten finish, three years after last racing in single seaters.
After her F1 Academy appearance in March, Juffali took a break from competitions - but that hiatus is about to come to an end as the 32-year-old Saudi racing star will return in the driving seat.
With the SRO Europe season finale held in her home city of Jeddah, Reema is set to join Comtoyou Racing aboard the #28 Aston Martin Vantage AMR GT4, in an AM class entry alongside compatriot Admed Bin-Khanen. It will be her first official race in the GT4 platform.
After becoming the first Saudi female racing driver, she moved to the UK to pursue a professional career and competed in the British F4 Championship in 2019, where she secured ten top-10 finishes. She then achieved another milestone by becoming the first Saudi woman to race on home soil during the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY support series for Formula E in Riyadh.
Her development continued with campaigns in F4UAE and British F4 in 2020, followed by a step up to British F3 in 2021, where she scored a fourth-place finish at Silverstone and debuted in GT racing with a podium in the Dubai 24H endurance race.
In 2022, Juffali launched her team Theeba Motorsport, a groundbreaking project focused on building a springboard for Saudi professionals in the sport. Competing in the International GT Open, she claimed ProAm class wins at Estoril, Le Castellet, and Red Bull Ring, ultimately finishing second in the championship with six podiums and four class victories.
In a one off appearance, Reema claimed Bronze-class victory at the 24 Hours of Spa.
Building on her success, Juffali entered the prestigious GT World Challenge Europe in 2023, where she showcased her talent by securing a pole position at Hockenheim and her first class podium at Valencia.
In her return to sportscars at the very fast 6.2km Jeddah Corniche street circuit, Reema Juffali will tackle a 35-car field of some of the most competitive GT4 racers in the world, in a new challenge that will see the Saudi driver once again representing her country in a major motorsport event.
Testing and practice will be contested on Thursday 28th November, while Pre-Qualifying, Qualifying and the first race will follow on Friday. The final race of the year is scheduled for Saturday afternoon.
Opmerkingen