<p class="title">Sliding behind the wheel of a sleek electric SUV, Reema Juffali is set to blaze a trail in male-dominated motorsports as the first Saudi woman to race in the kingdom.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Such adrenalin rushes were unimaginable for women in the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom until June last year, when it overturned the world's only ban on female motorists as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's wide-ranging liberalisation drive.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Juffali, a 27-year-old who made her motoring debut just months after the decades-old ban ended, will compete Friday and Saturday in the Jaguar I-PACE E-TROPHY, an all-electric race in Diriyah, close to the capital Riyadh.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The ban was lifted last year and I never expected to race professionally," said Juffali, sitting in her black-and-green Jaguar I-Pace, an electric sports utility vehicle.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The fact that I am doing it... is amazing," Juffali, clad in a racing suit, told AFP in an interview close to the racing circuit in Diriyah.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Juffali, who hails from the western city of Jeddah and was educated in the United States, will participate as what organisers call a "VIP" guest driver, becoming the first Saudi woman to race on home soil.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's sports authority chief, has touted it as a "watershed" moment for the kingdom.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Reema will have thousands cheering her on, as a professional racing driver," the prince told AFP.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But she has had a passion for fast cars since her teenage years and grew up watching Formula One.</p>.<p class="bodytext">She passed her driving test after she moved to the United States to study some years ago, and is now one of only a handful of a Saudi woman to have obtained a "racing licence" in her home country, a mandatory requirement to race professionally.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Even outside the Kingdom, only a few Saudi women have raced professionally.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"For a lot of women who haven't had the opportunity to learn how to drive, to get behind the wheel is definitely something scary," explained Juffali.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"For a lot of women in Saudi, it's something so far away."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Juffali said her dream is to one day race at Le Mans -- a 24-hour competition in France that is one of the world's most prestigious and gruelling competitions.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In Riyadh, she will be racing against the season's veterans but will not score any points.</p>.<p class="bodytext"> Prince Mohammed has sought to shake off his country's ultra-conservative image by allowing greater freedoms for women, including easing so-called "guardianship" rules that give men arbitrary authority over female relatives.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But alongside reforms, he has also overseen a sweeping crackdown on dissent.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Around a dozen women activists who long campaigned for the right to drive are on trial after being arrested last year, sparking widespread condemnation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Some allege they were tortured and sexually harassed by interrogators; Saudi authorities deny the allegations.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The driving reform has been transformative for many Saudi women, freeing them from dependence on private chauffeurs or male relatives.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Newly mobile Saudi women are now embracing what has previously deemed a male entitlement -- fast cars.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Many are defying the perception that only dainty cars in bright colours are popular with women drivers.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Auto showrooms tapping women clients have rolled out a line-up of cherry red Mini Coopers, but sales professionals say many exhibits an appetite for muscle cars like the Chevrolet Camaro or the Mustang convertible.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Some women are taking up drifting -- oversteering the car to slip and skid or even spin, and other high-speed daredevilry -- which is illegal in public but tolerated in the controlled environment of some theme parks.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Clad in skinny jeans and Harley-Davidson T-shirts, some women are also training to ride motorbikes at a Riyadh driving school, a scene that is still a stunning anomaly in the conservative petrostate.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Many (people) are surprised by all the changes happening in Saudi," said Juffali.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Seeing me in a car, racing... For a lot of people, it's a surprise, but I am happy to surprise people."</p>
<p class="title">Sliding behind the wheel of a sleek electric SUV, Reema Juffali is set to blaze a trail in male-dominated motorsports as the first Saudi woman to race in the kingdom.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Such adrenalin rushes were unimaginable for women in the ultra-conservative Islamic kingdom until June last year, when it overturned the world's only ban on female motorists as part of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's wide-ranging liberalisation drive.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Juffali, a 27-year-old who made her motoring debut just months after the decades-old ban ended, will compete Friday and Saturday in the Jaguar I-PACE E-TROPHY, an all-electric race in Diriyah, close to the capital Riyadh.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The ban was lifted last year and I never expected to race professionally," said Juffali, sitting in her black-and-green Jaguar I-Pace, an electric sports utility vehicle.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"The fact that I am doing it... is amazing," Juffali, clad in a racing suit, told AFP in an interview close to the racing circuit in Diriyah.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Juffali, who hails from the western city of Jeddah and was educated in the United States, will participate as what organisers call a "VIP" guest driver, becoming the first Saudi woman to race on home soil.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal, Saudi Arabia's sports authority chief, has touted it as a "watershed" moment for the kingdom.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Reema will have thousands cheering her on, as a professional racing driver," the prince told AFP.</p>.<p class="bodytext">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.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But she has had a passion for fast cars since her teenage years and grew up watching Formula One.</p>.<p class="bodytext">She passed her driving test after she moved to the United States to study some years ago, and is now one of only a handful of a Saudi woman to have obtained a "racing licence" in her home country, a mandatory requirement to race professionally.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Even outside the Kingdom, only a few Saudi women have raced professionally.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"For a lot of women who haven't had the opportunity to learn how to drive, to get behind the wheel is definitely something scary," explained Juffali.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"For a lot of women in Saudi, it's something so far away."</p>.<p class="bodytext">Juffali said her dream is to one day race at Le Mans -- a 24-hour competition in France that is one of the world's most prestigious and gruelling competitions.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In Riyadh, she will be racing against the season's veterans but will not score any points.</p>.<p class="bodytext"> Prince Mohammed has sought to shake off his country's ultra-conservative image by allowing greater freedoms for women, including easing so-called "guardianship" rules that give men arbitrary authority over female relatives.</p>.<p class="bodytext">But alongside reforms, he has also overseen a sweeping crackdown on dissent.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Around a dozen women activists who long campaigned for the right to drive are on trial after being arrested last year, sparking widespread condemnation.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Some allege they were tortured and sexually harassed by interrogators; Saudi authorities deny the allegations.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The driving reform has been transformative for many Saudi women, freeing them from dependence on private chauffeurs or male relatives.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Newly mobile Saudi women are now embracing what has previously deemed a male entitlement -- fast cars.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Many are defying the perception that only dainty cars in bright colours are popular with women drivers.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Auto showrooms tapping women clients have rolled out a line-up of cherry red Mini Coopers, but sales professionals say many exhibits an appetite for muscle cars like the Chevrolet Camaro or the Mustang convertible.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Some women are taking up drifting -- oversteering the car to slip and skid or even spin, and other high-speed daredevilry -- which is illegal in public but tolerated in the controlled environment of some theme parks.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Clad in skinny jeans and Harley-Davidson T-shirts, some women are also training to ride motorbikes at a Riyadh driving school, a scene that is still a stunning anomaly in the conservative petrostate.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Many (people) are surprised by all the changes happening in Saudi," said Juffali.</p>.<p class="bodytext">"Seeing me in a car, racing... For a lot of people, it's a surprise, but I am happy to surprise people."</p>