Reema Juffali made history on Friday by becoming the first Saudi Arabian female racer to drive competitively in the Kingdom.
Juffali, 27, participated in the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy, an all-electric race in Diriyah, close to the capital Riyadh.
"Many (people) are surprised by all the changes happening in Saudi.
"Seeing me in a car, racing, for a lot of people it's a surprise, but I am happy to surprise people," she said.
Juffali, who made one of her first appearances in competitive racing at the F4 British Championship at Brands Hatch in April, has only about a year of professional racing experience under her belt.
But she has had a passion for fast cars since her teenage years and grew up watching Formula One.
On another note, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman, deputy premier and minister of defense, witnessed on Friday the second round of ABB FIA Formula E Championship for Electric Cars at Diriyah City.
The event is being organized by the International Automobile Federation and has sparked the start of events of the Diriyah Season Festival, the state-owned Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.
On arrival of Prince Muhammad at the race course, in the presence of Prince Salman Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, Bahraini Crown Prince, deputy supreme commander and first deputy premier; Sheikh Nasser Bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, representative of the King of Bahrain for Philanthropic Work and Youth Affairs, national security adviser, chairman of the Youth and Sports Supreme Council and chairman of the Olympic Committee, the national anthem was played.
The event’s launch was attended by former Italian Prime Minister Mateo Renzi, Sheikh Seif Bin Zayed Al Nahayan, UAE deputy premier and minister of interior; Sheikh Abdullah Bin Nasser Al-Sabah, and Sheikh Fahd Bin Nasser Al-Sabah, chairman of the board of directors of the Kuwaiti Olympic Committee; Speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly Marzouq Bin Ali Al-Ghanim, and several other officials.
