First Saudi Arabian female racing driver Reema Juffali explains the challenges of growing up in the country

Reema Juffali has revealed what it was like growing up in Saudi Arabia, a country known for its conservative views on women's rights. Reema is a professional racing driver who currently races in the Formula 4 division of motorsport.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, the 29-year-old spoke about the various challenges she faced as a female racing driver in a country which until very recently did not allow its women to drive, let alone race.

Reema Juffali is the first Saudi Arabian woman to hold a racing license. She became the country's first female racing driver to take part in an international racing competition in November 2019.

When asked about the various challenges she faced, Reema Juffali said:

"At the time when I was growing up here, I didn't have racing as an option for me. It wasn't something I could dream about. So I played a different sport, I had the passion for cars so I read and watched a lot about it. Racing really wasn't an option until I left home and was in university and started exploring new thing. It combined by passion of cars and sports. It took some time for me to udnerstad the sport and get my head around it. The 24 hours of Le Mans opened my eyes and made me realize there is place for all kinds of driver's, from amateurs like a 15 and 18 year old."

Since the sport is not very popular in Saudi Arabia, Reema Juffali couldn't start in go-karts, as is standard for all modern race drivers. She said:

"I was a lot older. You start karting at five or eight, but at 16 you move to cars. So I realized I was on the backfoot and took a different route and went into GTs first and went into single-seater stuff to get experience. Because I was competing with juniors who had more experience than I did but were almost half my age."

---

Reema Juffali is Race Ambassador for the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Reema Juffali was honored as the race ambassador for the ongoing Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jeddah. As ambassador, she will be present at events over the race weekend, both in the paddock and on the grid.