Theeba Motorsport wants to bring Saudi Arabia to the 24 Hours of Le Mans

The International GT Open meeting at Paul Ricard marks the competitive debut of Theeba Motorsport. The Saudi Arabian team set up by Reema Juffali entered a Mercedes-AMG GT3 for herself and Adam Christodoulou, her coach since several years. The pairing was already on track at the season opener in Estoril with SPS automotive-performance. From now on, we are talking about Theeba Motorsport. For the new entity, the objective is clear : the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

What is Theeba Motorsport ?

As the International GT Open’s newest team, Theeba Motorsport is already tied to success but the origins of our name long precede our own foundation. Since 1992, founder and driver, Reema Juffali, has been making her mark on motorsport and has disrupted the status quo to become a role model for female racing drivers and athletes around the world.

Theeba shares its origins with her own trailblazing story – one of sheer determination, pure ambition and an unyielding aspiration to change the world around her. “Theeba is a name that was essentially created for me by my friends when I was still at school,” explains Reema. “When you’re a kid, you might get up to all sorts of mischief and if you do something cool, you might be called something like an animal or a beast by your friends. If I was in that situation like that, my friends would call me ‘Theeb’ but within that context, the word is male. There was no female equivalent. They then started to call me ‘Theeba’ instead and created this word for me. It roughly translates to ‘she-wolf’ and as a teenager who was trying to break the mould, that name really resonated with me and my personality. Theeba represents a youthful spirit finding where the limits are and that’s something that I definitely identify with when I race.

“I forgot about the name for a time but when I started racing full-time, I remembered it again. Since then, I’ve carried it along with me and Theeba Motorsport feels like the perfect name for our mission to elevate motorsport talent in Saudi - it embodies what we want to achieve as a team. I’ve been brought up to follow my heart, to work hard and I’m lucky enough to be able to dedicate myself to my passion. Theeba Motorsport is going to help more people on this journey, inspiring the next generation of Saudi motorsport talent to push boundaries and challenge the status quo.”

Who is Reema Juffali ?

Born in Jeddah on 18 January 1992, Reema Juffali has been passionate about motorsport since she was a child. She made history in 2018 by becoming the first female racing driver from Saudi Arabia. After a promising first season in 2019, Reema Juffali took part in the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY meeting on the streets of Riyadh. In the same year, she raced in GB3, a single-seater championship in England. 2022 saw her race in the Dubai 24 Hours in a Mercedes-AMG GT3, which she finished second in GT3-Am. 

Objective 24 Hours of Le Mans...

The International GT Open is on the programme for the year with a Mercedes-AMG GT3. The next step is the 24 Hours of Le Mans under Saudi license. Theeba Motorsport aspires to improve access to motorsport by providing a space to learn and participate through a variety of educational opportunities and programmes. The mission is also to improve opportunities, representation, diversity and inclusion in motorsport.

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