Reema Juffali wins Michelin 992 Endurance Cup in ProAm on Theeba Motorsport return
- RACERS
- 9 hours ago
- 8 min read
Reema Juffali made a winning return to sportscar racing as Theeba Motorsport secured ProAm honours in the third edition of the Michelin 992 Endurance Cup’s 12-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps, with Juffali sharing the Porsche 992 Cup with her brother Ali Juffali and 992 specialist Paul Meijer.
Reema Juffali made a winning return to sportscar racing as Theeba Motorsport secured ProAm honours in the third edition of the Michelin 992 Endurance Cup’s 12-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps, with Juffali sharing the Porsche 992 Cup with her brother Ali Juffali and 992 specialist Paul Meijer.
The result marked the Saudi driver’s first competitive outing since her GT4 European Championship appearance last year and capped a strong comeback for Theeba Motorsport, the team Juffali created with the aim of developing Saudi motorsport, as the trio overcame a difficult qualifying session, multiple drive-through penalties and a late-race technical issue to finish first in class and second overall.
Juffali had built a successful career across both single-seaters and GT racing since beginning her motorsport career in the UK in 2019, switching to GT racing in 2022 and immediately winning races in her first GT3 campaign with her own Theeba Motorsport team in International GT Open.
She stepped up to the massively competitive GT World Challenge Europe in 2023, securing her first class podiums, before making her GT4 European Championship debut at the 2024 season finale in Jeddah, where she also competed in an F1 Academy wildcard. After a year away from full-time competitions, she returned to racing in the final rounds of 2025 GT4 Europe alongside her brother Ali, with the siblings showing strong pace in the AM class, before reuniting with Ali and Meijer for Theeba Motorsport’s return to the track in 2026.
The Spa event represented a new chapter for the team, with Theeba Motorsport fielding a Porsche 992 Cup for the first time in partnership with EST1 Racing. Reema, Ali and Meijer were initially entered in the AM class, although the trio’s pace throughout the weekend subsequently saw them reclassified to ProAm.
That pace was immediately evident in Friday practice, when the Porsche topped the AM class by more than two seconds with a 2:20.627 lap, providing an encouraging indication of the potential of the package ahead of the 12-hour race, despite some mixed weather practice sessions.
Qualifying proved considerably more complicated. In Q1, Reema Juffali was unable to set a representative time after all of her laps were deleted for track-limits, leaving the team without a usable result from the opening session. Ali Juffali then produced a strong run in Q2, while Meijer went fastest in Q3, but the absence of a valid Q1 time meant the team could not produce the required average to progress into the top-five shootout for pole position. The Porsche therefore started eighth overall and second in ProAm.
Ali Juffali took the opening stint for Theeba Motorsport and immediately put the Porsche on the attack from eighth on the grid. He made a clean getaway through La Source before passing Meurrens and then Angelo Fontana’s #17 AF Motorsport Porsche by lap two to take the ProAm lead.
Juffali settled into a strong rhythm, circulating in the 2:28.0s and gradually pulling away from the cars behind him, while continuing to make progress through the overall field. His lap times continued to improve and he eventually passed Seth Gilmore to move into fifth overall, closing rapidly on the group ahead featuring Leandro Martins and Jean-Mathieu Leandri.
Tom Meurrens subsequently recovered and repassed Juffali for fifth overall, although the Saudi driver remained comfortably ahead in ProAm. When Leandri served a penalty, Juffali moved back to fifth, while another penalty for Rik Breukers elevated the Theeba Porsche to fourth overall.
Breukers soon returned to the fight, producing a three-car battle involving Martins and Juffali, before Martins made a small mistake at Raidillon that allowed both Breukers and Juffali through. The race then took another turn when overall leader Conrad Tox Leveau lost a wheel around 30 minutes into the race. Remarkably, he managed to avoid a major accident and brought the damaged car back to the pits.
The incident promoted Juffali to third overall while he continued to build his advantage in ProAm, with the gap to his closest class rival reaching seven seconds. As the chaotic opening phase settled down, Juffali began gaining ground on Leandro Martins ahead, although Fontana’s #17 Porsche was also closing behind, reducing the gap to around five seconds.
At the first round of pit stops, Ali Juffali brought the Porsche in and handed over to his sister Reema, who returned to the track from third overall and with a five-second advantage over Andre Fernandes in the ProAm class.
Reema immediately settled into a strong rhythm, pulling rapidly away from Fernandes and extending the ProAm lead to more than 20 seconds, while lapping more than three seconds per lap faster than her closest class rival. She soon broke through the 2:28 barrier as the Theeba Motorsport Porsche continued to run near the front of the overall field.
Her progress was interrupted on lap 42 when she was handed a drive-through penalty for track limits from the previous stint, but the advantage she had built was sufficient to retain the ProAm lead. She rejoined with a 26-second margin and was by then the second-fastest driver on track.
By the two-hour mark, Juffali had continued to build the gap, with more than 40 seconds separating her from second place in ProAm by lap 50. However, another drive-through penalty followed, this time for a refuelling-regulation infringement.
Juffali served the penalty on lap 56, once again using the substantial advantage she had created to emerge from the pit lane still in third overall and first in ProAm. Although the gap quickly recovered to around 20 seconds, the penalties had cost Theeba Motorsport significant ground to the overall leaders, with the Theeba Porsche now almost a lap behind at the front of the race.
Reema completed another fuel stop approximately two and a half hours into the race before handing the car to Paul Meijer, who immediately demonstrated the pace that would become one of the defining features of Theeba Motorsport’s race.
Meijer set a 2:23.162, the fastest lap of the race at that stage, and immediately began reducing the deficit to the cars ahead. With the AF Motorsport ProAm rival delayed while Christian Potolicchio was in the car, Meijer was able to maintain third overall while extending the class advantage.
By the three-hour mark, Meijer had established roughly a one-minute advantage over Paul Trojani behind, while simultaneously taking more than five seconds per lap out of Tom Meurrens ahead. He was the only driver consistently circulating in the 2:23s, cutting the deficit by around 30 seconds over the following 20 minutes.
With eight and a half hours remaining, the gap had fallen to approximately 30 seconds, and Meijer’s charge continued.
By lap 96, with four hours completed, Meijer had completely erased the 90-second deficit to the overall leaders and moved into second overall after passing Mick Meurrens. One lap later, Theeba Motorsport took the overall lead when Meijer passed Ivo Breukers at Blanchimont. However, the move was subsequently judged to have been completed outside track limits, resulting in another drive-through penalty for the Porsche.
Despite the setback, Meijer had already demonstrated extraordinary pace, setting a 2:21.847 lap — the fastest overall lap of the race at that point — before serving the penalty on lap 99.
Once back on track, the Dutch driver immediately resumed his recovery and retook the overall lead on lap 106 by passing the Red Camel-Jordans Porsche of Breukers. With seven and a half hours still remaining, Theeba Motorsport had established almost a four-minute advantage over its closest ProAm rival.
Meijer remained in the car through the next stint and rebuilt an advantage of approximately 40 seconds over Breukers before making the next pit stop on lap 121. He handed the Porsche back to Ali Juffali, who returned for his second stint with the car holding a 43-second overall lead and a full lap advantage over Dylan Pereira in the #17 AF Motorsport Porsche in the ProAm battle.
Ali rejoined third overall, still leading ProAm, and moved into second as Meurrens made his pit stop. He immediately settled into a 2:24 pace and was soon back into the overall lead when the Red Camel-Jordans Porsche stopped for fuel and a driver change on lap 127.
At halfway distance, Ali was circulating in the 2:25s and managing the advantage effectively, although Rik Breukers began to close the gap slightly.
Juffali eventually brought the Porsche into the pits from the overall lead on lap 147 for fuel, having built almost two laps of advantage over the nearest ProAm rival before the stop. Reema took over once again, rejoining third overall during the pit cycle, although the cars ahead had yet to make their own stops.
As the pit sequence unfolded, Reema moved back into second when the MM Racing Porsche of Meurrens stopped with five and a half hours remaining. Breukers then entered the pit lane on lap 160, leaving Juffali approximately one minute behind the overall leader.
Reema maintained a consistent 2:27 rhythm throughout the stint. Fabian Danz, running in the leading car, was quicker, but Juffali remained competitive and held her advantage over the cars behind, maintaining a gap of almost 30 seconds to Meurrens while the closest ProAm challenger had once again fallen more than a lap behind.
Juffali remained in second throughout her stint before handing the Porsche back to Meijer on lap 180, with four hours and 15 minutes remaining. The Dutch driver immediately went on the attack, setting a 2:21.8 lap that was around five seconds faster than the overall leader on that particular lap. He soon returned to second overall following the next pit cycle and began the long pursuit of Danz, who held an advantage of approximately three minutes.
As Luc Breukers subsequently pitted from the lead, Meijer continued to reduce the deficit, consistently circulating in the low 2:23s and gaining more than two seconds per lap.
However, Meijer was now also dealing with an electronic problem that required him to shut the car down every two or three laps, allow it to roll and then restart it. The procedure cost several seconds on each affected lap, adding another challenge to an already demanding final phase of the race.
Meijer made his next pit stop on lap 206 from second overall, handing the car back to Ali Juffali with three hours remaining. Despite the ongoing issue, Ali continued to circulate competitively in the 2:25s, maintaining third overall and a commanding ProAm advantage.
Ali remained solid through the next stint, holding second overall while Theeba Motorsport was now one lap behind the overall leader but still one lap ahead of the nearest car in ProAm.
He pitted again on lap 233, with two hours remaining, handing the Porsche back to Meijer. The Dutch driver continued to lead ProAm by a full lap over Dylan Pereira, although the priority was increasingly to manage the problem and ensure the car reached the finish.
Even with the issue, Meijer’s pace remained extraordinary. On lap 237 he set a 2:21.7, one of the fastest laps of the entire race, while catching Steve Meurrens and passing the #23 MM Racing Porsche for second overall.
He was also gaining almost four seconds per lap on Fabian Danz, although with now a five minute deficit to close, the task was becoming increasingly difficult.
With one hour remaining, Meijer had cut the gap to the leader in half. Darkness was now beginning to fall over the Ardennes, with the headlights of the Porsche 992 cars illuminating the circuit as the race entered its final phase.
Meijer made his final pit stop on lap 262 after a 29-lap stint, taking on fuel and a fresh set of tyres while remaining behind the wheel. Despite continuing to nurse the issue, he remained one of the fastest drivers on the circuit for much of the stint and successfully brought the Porsche to the chequered flag.
Theeba Motorsport ultimately finished 4:21 behind the #9 Red Camel-Jordans Porsche, which took the overall victory, but the result was more than enough for the Saudi team to claim ProAm honours, finishing a full lap ahead of the #17 AF Motorsport Porsche.
The result marked a successful return to competitions for Reema Juffali and Theeba Motorsport, with the Juffali siblings and Paul Meijer overcoming a series of setbacks to take the ProAm victory in the 2026 Michelin 992 Endurance Cup at Spa-Francorchamps.
For Juffali, the class win provided an especially strong comeback after her time away from full time racing, while for Theeba Motorsport it represented a successful return to the track in its first collaboration with EST1 Racing.
