Reema Juffali, the first ever Saudi female racer, will step up to British Formula 3 as she signs with Douglas Motorsport for 2021 campaign after two seasons in British F4.
After two season in the British Formula 4 championship, Saudi Arabia's first ever female racing driver Reema Juffali is ready to step up to the BRDC British F3 and announced that she will join Douglas Motorsport for her rookie season in the series in 2021.
29-year old Juffali was always a car enthusiast and, after the ban on women driving in her home country was lifted in 2017, she entered the TRD 86 Cup and MRF Challenge championships. Reema moved to the UK in 2019, where she opted for the competitive British F4 Championship. Despite the steep learning curve, Juffali showed impressive progress and secured 10 top ten finishes in her maiden campaign.
2020 saw Juffali coming back to the UK-based F4 for her sophomore season; the Saudi driver continued to improve pace-wise and finished 12 more times within the top ten and with a best result of eighth in an increasingly competitive field.
The lady from Jeddah made more history in November 2019, when she became the first Saudi woman to compete on home soil: she was in fact entered in the Riyadh round of the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy, a support series of Formula E.
A front-runner team in both 2019 and 2020, Douglas Motorsport has more than 14 race victories and 60 podium finishes to its name in BRDC British F3. It also famously gave Jamie Chadwick her first victory in the series in 2018, at Brands Hatch.
Showing promising speed in a pre-season test with the team, Juffali will look forward to building on her experience and will be back on track for more outings in preparation for the new season in the coming weeks.
“I’m looking forward to taking this next step of my career with Douglas Motorsport", said Reema, who is currently in Saudi Arabia for the upcoming FIA Formula E event.
"I felt right at home with the team during the test and really enjoyed driving the British F3 car. I can’t wait to get behind the wheel again." - she added.
“We are delighted to be continuing in the BRDC British F3 Championship this season, added Wayne Douglas, team principal of the Corby-based outfit.
"It is one of the most competitive junior single-seater categories in Europe and we’re determined to be up there fighting at the sharp end of the grid once again."
“We’re looking forward to having Reema [Juffali] race with us this season. She showed fantastic progress across her two seasons in British F4 and impressed us with her speed during our first British F3 test together. We’re excited to see what she can achieve this season.”
With BRDC British F3 using the Tatuus BF3-020 chassis – an upgraded version of the Tatuus F4 car with improved bodywork and engine – Juffali might also have a good chance to make the most out of her experience in the 2020 Formula 4 UAE championship, where she finished eighth in the final standings and claimed four top-6 and two top-5 finishes. The UAE-based series has in fact employed the Tatuus chassis unlike the Mygale cars used in the British F4 championship.
The series will visit some of the most exciting recatracks in the UK – mostly haring the paddock with the popular British GT – and will benefit from the ITV4 coverage.
The calendar includes eight triple-header race weekends, starting from Brands Hatch on 22/23 May to its season finale at Donington on 16/17 October.
2021 BRDC Formula 3 calendar:
22/23 May - Brands Hatch, UK
16/26 June - Silverstone GP, UK
10/11 July - Donington Park, UK
24/25 July - Spa Francorchamps, Belgium
7/8 August - Snetterton, UK
15/15 August - Silverstone GP, UK
11/12 September - Oulton Park, UK
16/17 October - Donington Park, UK