Theeba Motorsport is a Saudi Arabian motor racing team founded by the Kingdom's first female professional racing driver, Reema Juffali. The team competes in the GT World Challenge Europe sportscar series using the Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO.[1]
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| Founded | 2022 |
|---|---|
| Founder(s) |  Reema Juffali |
| Current series | GT World Challenge Europe |
| Former series | International GT Open |
| Current drivers | Reema Juffali Fabian Schiller Ralf Aron Alain Valente Yannick Mettler |
| Website | www |
History
editFoundation
editTheeba Motorsport was founded by Reema Juffali in 2022 to facilitate Saudi Arabian access to and participation in motorsport through a series of engineering, mechanical and commercial internship and apprenticeship programmes.[2]
The team aspires to one day compete at the prestigious Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race under a Saudi Arabian racing licence.[3]
International GT Open
edit2022 season
editTheeba Motorsport joined the International GT Open Pro-Am grid for the 2022 season with Juffali and Nürburgring 24 Hours winner Adam Christodoulou forming the team's driver lineup.[4]
Racing a Mercedes-AMG GT3 EVO, the team tasted victory on debut by securing back-to-back class victories at the Circuito do Estoril in Portugal.[5] With this result, Juffali became the first Saudi woman to win an international motor race. The team scored its first pole position one weekend later at the Circuit Paul Ricard and secured its third class victory at the French venue.[6]
After retiring from races at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps and Hungaroring, the team bounced back at the Red Bull Ring to score its fourth Pro-Am victory of the season.[7][8][9]
In the final race at the Red Bull Ring, Juffali was involved in a weekend-ending accident after being rear-ended by Dominik Schraml.[10] As a result, the team was forced to withdraw from the penultimate weekend of the season at Monza due to ongoing repair work.[11] Juffali and Christodoulou returned for the 2022 finale at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya and secured back-to-back class podiums by finishing third in Races One and Two.[12]
Despite missing three races in the 13-race campaign, Theeba Motorsport finished as the runners-up in the Pro-Am Championship with 57 points and finished sixth overall with 51 points.[13]
GT World Challenge Europe
edit2023 season
editFor 2023, Theeba Motorsport joined the GT World Challenge Europe Bronze Cup grid, to compete in the series' Sprint and Endurance Cups.[14] In March 2023, it was confirmed that 2015 Italian F4 champion, Ralf Aron, and Switzerland's Alain Valente would join Juffali to form the team's driver lineup.[15] Yannick Mettler later joined the team for the 24 Hours of Spa, while Fabian Schiller filled in for Aron at the Misano, Hockenheim, and Valencia Sprint Cup rounds.[16][17]
With Juffali at the wheel, the team secured its first series pole position at Hockenheim.[18] On the following weekend at the Circuit Ricardo Tormo, the team secured its first Sprint Cup podium, with Juffali and Schiller finishing second in class.[19]
Theeba Motorsport finished seventh in the Sprint Cup's Bronze category with 30.5 points and was classified 30th in the Bronze Endurance Cup.
Results
editInternational GT Open
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Superscript indicates overall position) (* indicates season still in progress.)
| Year | Car | Class | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | Pro-Am | Reema Juffali Adam Christodoulou
|
EST | LEC | SPA | HUN | RBR | MNZ | CAT | 2nd | 57[20] | ||||||
| 14 | 13 | 57 | 13 | Ret | Ret | DNS | 13 | Ret | WD | WD | 38 | 311 | ||||||
GT World Challenge Sprint Cup
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Superscript indicates overall position) (* indicates season still in progress.)
GT World Challenge Endurance Cup
edit(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Superscript indicates overall position) (* indicates season still in progress.)
| Year | Car | Class | Drivers | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | Pos. | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo | Bronze Cup | Reema Juffali Ralf Aron Alain Valente Yannick Mettler
|
MNZ | LEC | SPA | NUR | BAR | 7th | 30.5 | ||
| 1538 | 527 | 1452 | 1950 | Ret | 729 | 1136 | ||||||
References
edit- ^ Goodwin, Graham. "Theeba Motorsport Step Up To Full Season In GT World Challenge Europe". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ^ Smith, Damien. "Reema Juffali, the Saudi racer starting her own team: 'It's about sharing – it's not my story anymore'". motorsportmagazine.com. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ Watkins, Gary. "Saudi female racer Juffali starts sportscar team, targeting Le Mans". Autosport.com. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ^ "Reema Juffali launches Theeba Motorsport". racers-behindthehelmet.com. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ "Two class wins for SPS Automotive Performance in International GT Open in Estoril". automobilesport.com. Archived from the original on June 27, 2022. Retrieved 12 September 2022.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - ^ "Saudi racer Juffali delighted as Theeba Motorsport triumphs on International GT Open debut in France". ArabNews.com. Retrieved 13 June 2022.
- ^ Goodwin, Graham. "Pulcini & Hites Take Championship Lead After Spa Enduro Win". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ Goodwin, Graham. "Team GT AMG Takes Race 1 Win At Hungaroring". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ "Saudi's Reema Juffali battles to Pro-Am victory in Austria for Theeba Motorsport". arabnews.com. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ Goodwin, Graham. "Just A Point In It For Championship After Race 2 At Red Bull Ring". dailysportscar.com. Retrieved 21 September 2022.
- ^ "ACCIDENT DAMAGE RULES TEAM OUT OF INTERNATIONAL GT OPEN MONZA WEEKEND". theebamotorsport.com. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
- ^ "Saudi's Reema Juffali helps Theeba Motorsport to Pro-Am runners-up spot in debut season". executive-bulletin.com. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ "Saudi's Reema Juffali leads Theeba Motorsport to Pro-Am runners-up spot in debut season". arabnews.com. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
- ^ Le Mouëllic, Pierre-Louis. "Theeba Motorsports sur la saison complète en GT World Challenge Europe". endurance24.fr. Retrieved 25 January 2023.
- ^ Lloyd, Daniel. "Weekly Racing Roundup (3.20.23)". sportscar365.com. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
- ^ "YANNICK METTLER TO JOIN THEEBA MOTORSPORT AS FOURTH DRIVER FOR SPA 24H". theebamotorsport.com. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ "THEEBA MOTORSPORT CLOSE TO PODIUM FINISH IN FANATEC GT WORLD CHALLENGE SPRINT CUP AT MISANO". theebamotorsport.com. Retrieved 17 September 2023.
- ^ Redford, Liam. "GTWC: Reema Juffali breaks new ground at Hockenheim". racers-behindthehelmet.com. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ Redford, Liam. "Reema Juffali claims first ever GTWC Europe podium". racers-behindthehelmet.com. Retrieved 6 December 2023.
- ^ "Championship Classification" (PDF). gtopen.net. Retrieved 23 January 2023.