Hamda and Amna Al Qubaisi score Ligier European Series pole position, improve personal best finish with second at Silverstone
- RACERS
- Sep 15
- 6 min read
Emirati sisters Hamda and Amna Al Qubaisi claimed their first pole position and secured a career-best second place at Silverstone, marking their third podium of their rookie Ligier European Series season and moving into third in the championship standings.
Hamda and Amna Al Qubaisi secured their third podium finish in the Ligier European Series, topping their previous best with a second place after claiming their first pole position, in a highly positive Silverstone round for the Emirati sisters in their rookie season in sportscar racing.
After two great qualifying sessions, the Team Virage duo were in contention for a podium in Race 1, but misfortune struck with a tyre puncture that dropped them just outside the top ten. They however found redemption in Race 2, as Hamda led her stint with great racecraft and Amna managed to cross the finish line in second place before the race was red-flagged for heavy rain in the closing minutes.
The Al Qubaisi sisters, after competing in some of the world's most competitive Formula 4 championships and both taking wins in mixed-gender series as well as in F1 Academy—where they raced in both 2023 and 2024—stepped up to sportscar racing in 2025, joining Team Virage aboard the #88 Ligier JSP4.
The series, considered the first step towards elite endurance championships, shares the calendar with the European Le Mans Series and visits some of the best racing venues in Europe. At the season opener in Barcelona, despite limited track time in the car, Amna and Hamda impressed with great speed—only missing out on a podium in Race 1 due to early contact. A third place soon followed in Race 2, their first silverware of the season. At Le Castellet, the Emirati sisters collected more valuable points with a double fourth place after recovering from an unfortunate qualifying.
They then had the opportunity to race on the legendary Circuit de la Sarthe at Le Mans, where they showed remarkable adaptability, charging from the back of the pack due to a red-flagged qualifying to secure sixth place with brilliant overtakes.
At Spa-Francorchamps, Hamda and Amna were again among the frontrunners, returning to the podium with another third place in Race 1, before taking fourth in Race 2—again securing strong points for the championship, moving them up into fourth overall after the first four rounds.
The fifth race meeting saw the Ligier European Series heading to Silverstone for the first time; a circuit new to both drivers, who had tested before the event, though some British drivers in the series enjoyed an experience advantage. Nevertheless, Hamda and Amna Al Qubaisi quickly familiarized themselves with the circuit and soon found it suited their driving style well. A fast, technical track where precision and rhythm are key, Silverstone allowed the sisters to battle at the front throughout the weekend.
In the Friday morning FP1, Amna started the session and was soon up in the top three with a 2:06.376. Hamda then took over and, in the closing minutes, clocked a 2:04.171 to go fastest overall. In the afternoon’s rainy FP2, the the sisters remained close to the top five before finishing tenth fastest.
Later on Friday it was qualifying time. In Q1, Amna went out first; her opening timed lap was a 2:08.568, good for eighth. As she tried to improve, the session was red-flagged with 7 minutes to go for Vic Stevens’ stricken #27 JSP4. When running resumed, Amna improved with personal best sectors, climbing to fourth overall with a 2:04.994, just three tenths from pole. She kept pushing, finding another four tenths on her final attempt with a purple middle sector, setting a 2:04.558 that secured fourth place on the grid for Race 1.
Hamda took over for Q2 and, just like her sister, was immediately quick. Improving lap after lap, she first set a 2:03.782 to go third with a purple sector, before lowering the benchmark to 2:03.312 with just over 3 minutes left. That stunning lap gave Hamda her first pole position in the Ligier European Series, placing the #88 Team Virage machine on top overall, while Amna’s strong Q1 performance meant the sisters would start for Race 1 from the second row.
“I’m really happy with the pace. I think this track is a very special one to me", Hamda Al Qubaisi commented. "I feel like it suits my driving style. It’s very high speed and long corners, which I really like. This is my first time driving at Silverstone. I think now this is my favorite track!"
"I’m happy to be able to put the car up there, and my sister and I are both very happy", she summarized. "We did a top 5 in Qualifying 1 and P1 in the second. So really happy and looking forward to tomorrow. I was praying for dry and I got it. I’ll pray for dry again tomorrow, and hopefully it will be dry again.”
Race 1 indeed got underway dry in the morning, with Amna starting from P4. Drama struck immediately when polesitter McCaughan spun on the formation lap but managed to regain his spot. At the rolling start, Amna got away well and snatched third at Copse; McCaughan and Ferri went side by side for the lead, with Ferri taking the top spot, and Amna then had to defend from Dodds on the Hangar Straight.
She later lost out to Boeckler, completing Lap 1 in fifth as track conditions proved tricky in the low grip.
Once her tyres were up to temperature, Amna quickly found her rhythm, setting a purple second sector on Lap 2. Chasing the top four who were battling hard, Amna and Bertocco pulled away from the rest of the field. Bertocco slipped past on Lap 3, but Amna kept close and even set the fastest first sector overall, extending her margin over those behind with consistent 2:04.8 laps.
Disaster struck on Lap 9, when Amna suffered a rear-right puncture and was forced to pit, her highly promising stint undone. Returning to the track, she immediately charged back, gaining over a second per sector, clearing the three JS2R class leaders on Lap 11 to climb to P13 as the pit window approached. Staying out longer than rivals, Amna cycled back into fourth before pitting on Lap 15 to hand over to Hamda.
Hamda rejoined in P12, more than 30 seconds adrift of the next JSP4 car. Despite needing a caution period to close the gap, none came, even when Tanaka lost a wheel and stopped. Hamda climbed to P11, setting laps over two seconds quicker than those ahead, but the deficit proved too large. Despite their pace, the sisters finished P11, an unlucky result that failed to reflect their speed. However, they would get another chance in Race 2 from pole position.
In Race 2, Hamda made a clean start from pole, holding off Brookes through Copse and the high-speed opening sequence. Brookes struck back on the Hangar Straight, going around the outside at Stowe, while Robinson also got through, dropping Hamda to third. Quickly back up to speed, Hamda repassed Brookes as the lead trio pulled away. Robinson held first, but chaos further down the field brought out the safety car.
On the Lap 4 restart, Robinson accelerated away but Hamda reacted strongly and was right behind, with Boeckler in third. Hamda’s pace was excellent; she set a new fastest lap of 2:05.053 on Lap 7 and attacked Robinson, while also fending off Boeckler. When Boeckler received a drive-through penalty, Hamda was now free to focus forward.
On Lap 10 she finally made the move stick at Stowe, taking the lead, though Robinson remained glued to her gearbox. As the pit window opened, Hamda pulled out a two-second margin before pitting on Lap 14 to hand over to Amna.
A perfect stop saw Amna rejoin still in the lead, 2.3 seconds ahead of McCaughan. The chasing driver closed in quickly, bringing the gap under half a second as dark clouds loomed. Amna defended hard into Stowe, but McCaughan made the move stick at the end of the Wellington Straight on Lap 17. Amna, however, refused to give up and stayed within striking distance.
Rain arrived on Lap 18, and with Caussanel’s #16 JSP4 stranded at pit entry, the safety car was deployed. Conditions worsened, particularly on the Hangar Straight, and race control soon displayed the red flag, ending the race.
It was a superb performance for both Hamda and Amna Al Qubaisi, who secured their best finish to date with a second place—their third podium of the season and their closest yet to a race win, which now seems just around the corner.
The 18 points scored at Silverstone moves them up into third place in the championship standings with 98 points, with one round remaining at Circuito do Algarve, Portugal, on 16–17 October.
