Al Juffali becomes first Saudi woman to race competitively

Abu Dhabi: Reema Al Juffali, Saudi Arabia’s first female racing driver and one of just three GCC women to hold a race licence, became the first woman to race in a championship over the weekend, finishing second and third in the silver category of the TRD 86 Cup’s season-opener at Yas Marina Circuit.

“It’s a historic day,” she said. “I’m here as the first Saudi female racer and it is an honour for me. It’s something I’ve always wanted to do and to be able to do it in the region, in the Gulf, is even better.

“Being on the podium for the first time was also amazing,” she added. “I went up there and I was just taking it all in. I’m very happy to be here and it’s a dream come true.

“The race was great, it has been very close and bumper to bumper almost. We have been fighting for every single corner, I made some mistakes, which is fine. It’s the first race and I still have room to learn. Overall, I am so happy and still processing it all to be honest, it’s been amazing, I have such great support here, which helps and everyone has been great.”

Spain’s Kepa Carmona took the top spot overall with 36 points by winning race one and finishing third in race two.

Last year’s winner Saif Al Ameri finished fifth in race one but won race two and now sits third overall behind Ahmad Al Moosa.

Al Tareq Al Ameri, Chief Executive Officer of Yas Marina Circuit, said: “It has been a historic weekend at Yas Marina, with the addition of Reema Juffali to the starting grid, and we welcome all the new and returning drivers to the series.

“It has been a thrilling first round of racing, with the drivers all aiming to prove they have what it takes to push themselves and their cars to the limits around our iconic track. We look forward to more great racing action unfolding in the latest edition of the Yas Racing Series in the weeks to come.”

Round two of the seven round series will take place at Dubai Autodrome on December 8-9.