Motor racing-First female Saudi racer ready for British F4 debut

Saudi Arabia's first female racing driver Reema Juffali says she is ready to be thrown in at the deep end when she makes her British Formula Four debut at Brands Hatch this weekend. The 27-year-old, who will be racing for reigning champions Double R Racing in the FIA-sanctioned series, has only a few single-seater races to her name having started racing after June last year when Saudi Arabia lifted a ban on women driving.

"For me, someone who has no experience, I think it's a good place to be put on the edge and be thrown out in the deep end," she told the series website (www.fiaformula4.com). "To be here today is quite unbelievable and to have done it in such a short space of time, I'm very grateful and happy about that," she added.

"It's a good time in Saudi to be doing such a thing and all the support I've gotten from friends, family, people I don't even know, has been fantastic and it's only been pushing me to do better." Juffali became the first Saudi female licence holder to compete in a series at the TRD86 Cup in Abu Dhabi last October.

She has also competed in the MSF Challenge series in India. Saudi Arabia hosted a round of the all-electric Formula E series last December, with a number of women drivers testing there afterwards. (Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Christian Radnedge)