JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s first female racing driver, Reema Juffali, was confirmed Tuesday as a wild card entry for the first round of the 2024 F1 Academy series at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
The series’ debut race in the Kingdom will take place during the fourth Formula 1 STC Saudi Arabian Grand Prix on the weekend of March 7 to 9.
“It is an honor and a privilege to be representing my country, especially in my hometown,” Juffali said. “The day F1 arrived in Jeddah was the clash of both my worlds and now I am actually going to be participating. I’m really looking forward to it and happy to share the experience with my friends and family who are based here.”
“As the saying goes ‘if you can’t see it, you won’t believe it.’ So, hopefully Saudi fans can see that there is a Saudi racing driver out there and it will get them to thinking that ‘this is something I can do.’ It is for this reason I have decided to take this challenge on. This is just the beginning.”
The second season of the all-women series will begin in Saudi Arabia on March 7 and finish in Abu Dhabi on Dec. 8. In addition to the hosts of the opening and closing rounds, Miami, Qatar and Singapore will all join the calendar for the first time, with Zandvoort and Barcelona returning for a second year.
Having developed an interest in cars at an early age, Juffali made history in 2018 by becoming the first female racing driver from Saudi Arabia.
Following a promising debut season in 2019, she became the first Saudi Arabian woman to compete in an international race in her home country, racing on the streets of Riyadh in the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY. This was followed by a stint in the GB3 Championship in 2021 before making her endurance racing debut at the 2022 Dubai 24 Hours where she finished second.
Juffali subsequently founded Theeba Motorsport to facilitate Saudi Arabian access to and participation in motor racing through a variety of educational opportunities and programs.
The team made its first appearance in the 2022 International GT Open and secured victory on its debut — an achievement which made Juffali the first Saudi Arabia woman to win an international motor race — before securing second place in the series’ Pro-Am class.
Last year Juffali participated in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe where she again made history by being the first female and the first Saudi Arabian driver to secure a pole position in the Sprint Cup.
Prince Khalid bin Sultan Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, chairman of the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation and Saudi Motorsport Company, commented: “We are delighted to confirm Reema Juffali as the wild card entry for the first ever F1 Academy race to be staged in the Kingdom. As Saudi Arabia’s first professional female racing driver — who also happens to be Jeddah born and bred — I couldn’t think of anyone better to represent the Saudi people on the racetrack during the biggest sporting and entertainment weekend of the year.”
“Reema’s formidable achievements on and off track have already helped to inspire a generation of young men and women, and she stands as a symbol of all that the people of Saudi Arabia can and will accomplish,” he added. “It is therefore fitting that she is participating in the inaugural Formula 1 Academy race in her hometown. We are excited to work together with Reema and look forward to making history together in Jeddah.”
The 2024 F1 Academy season will feature seven rounds, all of which will support the FIA Formula One World Championship. The calendar has been designed to span three continents, Europe, Asia and North America, and will feature a mix of street and traditional circuits.
