First Saudi Woman To Race Car In Male-Dominated MotorSport, Reema Juffali
Twenty-seven-year-old Reema Juffali is good to go to break the stereotype and cut away a new path for herself as she outfits to get behind the wheels as the first Saudi lady to race in the Kingdom.
Juffali is the leading lady to challenge participants in the male-ruled motorsport.
Until June a year ago, such accomplishments for ladies were incredible in the ultra-preservationist Islamic Kingdom. As a part of Crown Prince Mohammed Salman’s wide-running improvement drive, the world’s only restriction on female motorcyclists was overthrown.
27-year-old Juffali who made her motoring debut only months after the decades-old boycott finished will contest Saturday and Friday in the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY, an all-electric vehicle race in Diriyah, near the capital Riyadh.
“The boycott was lifted a year ago, and I never expected to race professionally,” said Juffali, sitting in her dark and-green Jaguar I-Pace, an electric sports car.
“The way that I am doing it… is astonishing,” Juffali, clad in a dashing racing suit, advised AFP in a meeting near the hustling circuit in Diriyah.
Juffali hails from Jeddah and has studied in the United States. She will take an interest as what coordinators call a “celebrity” visitor driver, turning into the first Saudi lady to race on home soil.
Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia’s games authority boss, has touted it as a “watershed” minute for his country.
“Reema will have thousands supporting her as an expert racing driver,” the ruler told AFP.
Juffali has prior shown up in serious racing at the F4 British Championship and has months of expert racing experience added to her portfolio.
The AFP report says Juffali grew up watching Formula One and has consistently had an enthusiasm for fast racing vehicles.
She is among the not many ladies in Saudi Arabia who have gotten a “racing permit” in their nation of origin, a necessary prerequisite to racing professionally.
Indeed, even outside the Kingdom, just a couple of Saudi ladies have raced professionally.
“For a lot of ladies who haven’t had the chance to figure out how to drive, to get in the driver’s seat of a race car is certainly something alarming,” clarified Juffali.
“For a lot of ladies in Saudi, it’s something so far away.”
Juffali tries to race at Le Mans – a 24-hour rivalry in France that is one of the world’s most praised and difficult competitions.