Reema Juffali makes GT4 Europe return with podium finish in sibling duo
- RACERS
- Oct 13
- 4 min read
Saudi racing star Reema Juffali impressed on her GT4 European Championship return at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where strong pace throughout the weekend culminated in a superb AM class podium, in her first race teaming up with her brother Ali.
Saudi racing star Reema Juffali returned to sportscar competition for the GT4 European Championship finale at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, sharing a car for the first time with her brother Ali. The Elite Motorsport duo showcased great pace all weekend in the AM class, and after a pole position in Race 1 went unrewarded due to a technical issue, the siblings fought back from a lap-one incident in Race 2 to stand on the class podium with a brilliant performance on Sunday.
Juffali had made her GT4 Europe debut at the 2024 finale on her home track in Jeddah, where she also claimed a class podium in Aston Martin machinery. After starting her career in single-seaters in the UK in 2019, Juffali successfully switched to GT racing in 2022, winning races in her debut GT3 campaign with her own Theeba Motorsport team in International GT Open. In 2023, she moved to the ultra-competitive GT World Challenge Europe, where she scored her first class podiums.
Following a wild card entry in F1 Academy on home soil in 2024 and a GT4 Europe appearance, Juffali also contested two rounds of the Asian Le Mans Series. Despite not having a full-season program in 2025, she teamed up with her brother Ali Juffali, who has been competing in the Protyre Motorsport Ginetta GT Championship, where he made notable progress.
Returning to competition after a year, Reema piloted the McLaren Artura GT4 run by British outfit Elite Motorsport, quickly re-adapting and showing strong form. The duo were sixth fastest in the pre-event test and fourth fastest in official practice, with Reema clocking a 1:52.363 lap. There was further improvement in pre-qualifying, as Ali recorded a 1:52.411, going third fastest in class.
Reema took on Q1 duties and immediately set competitive times: her first lap of 1:50.8 placed her third in class, before improving to 1:50.472, ultimately securing pole position in the AM category on her return to the series. In Q2, Ali continued the family momentum with a 1:50.775, placing second in class, in a strong showing for the Saudi duo.
Starting P21 overall and on AM-class pole, Reema Juffali launched cleanly at lights out, navigating chaos through Turn 3 where several cars tangled. While Kronberg gained seven places to take the AM lead, Juffali maintained position in second in class and P23 overall.
Further incidents—including contact between the #317 BMW of Leandri and #17 BMW of van der Ende—brought out an early safety car on lap 2.
The race resumed on lap 7, with Juffali maintaining her position, before another major crash between the #74 Racing Spirit of Léman Aston Martin and #44 Speedcar Audi triggered a full-course yellow. Before the caution, Juffali had managed to seize the class lead as Kronberg dropped to fourth.
The neutralization extended into the pit window, and when the race went green again on lap 13, the Saudi racer managed the restart well, staying ahead of several AM rivals. However, while attempting to extend her lead before pitting, Juffali suffered a rear suspension failure on lap 15, forcing her to retire after a highly promising run that had shown race-winning pace.
Sunday’s race however offered a chance for redemption. Ali Juffali took the start, aiming to capitalize on their strong pace. Unfortunately, he was involved in a first-lap collision, getting hit from behind into Turn 1, which sent his McLaren into the Porsche of Bolting. He returned to the pits with damage just as the race was red-flagged following Cindy Gudet’s heavy crash into the barriers after contact with the #98 BMW.
Following barrier repairs, the race resumed behind the safety car. The Elite Motorsport team had repaired the #77 Artura, and Ali rejoined from the pitlane—eventually being reinstated on the lead lap after the red flag.
When the green flag waved with 37 minutes to go, Juffali pushed hard, setting the fastest lap in class (1:52.981) and quickly catching the back of the pack. His strong pace saw him climb through the order, and by lap 8 he was up to fourth in AM, before overtaking the NM Racing Mercedes of Gatehouse for third—being the only AM driver to dip below the 1:53 mark.
After an excellent recovery drive, Ali cycled into the class lead during the pit window before stopping on lap 13 and handing over to Reema.
His sister rejoined the race second in class, immediately setting quick sectors as she closed in on the leader. The NM Racing Mercedes, now with Igor Sorokin behind the wheel, briefly overtook her for second.
With 8 minutes remaining, the #48 BMW of Davide Meloni stopped on the main straight, prompting a full-course yellow. On the restart, Juffali quickly reclaimed second place in class, showing excellent racecraft. She set her best lap in 1:54.064 and pulled a one-second gap to Sorokin, which she extended over the final laps.
While she couldn’t quite catch Max Kronberg’s Porsche for the class win, the Juffali siblings completed a remarkable recovery from a lap-one incident to finish second in AM class, sealing a well-deserved podium on Reema’s return to GT4 competitions, and on Ali's debut.
After securing two AM class podiums in two GT4 Europe participations, Reema Juffali once again demonstrated her strong pace and the partnership with her brother Ali proved highly promising—the latter showing exceptional speed and maturity in Race 2—and there is growing anticipation for a potential full-season program in 2026.
