Saudi driver Reema Juffali prepares for first full GT3 season

Saudi Arabia's female racing star Reema Juffali is all set for her first full season in a GT3 series as she lines up for this weekend’s International GT Open Championship in Portugal.

Last season, Juffali made her debut in the British F3 Championship where she competed in seven of the eight rounds - 21 races in total - which included her best-ever finish of fourth position.

This year, Juffali will again be part of the SPS Automotive Performance team for the season-opening race in Estoril, which will be her first competitive outing since finishing an impressive second in the GT3-AM class in January's 24 Hours of Dubai.

She will alternate at the wheel of the Mercedes-AMG GT3 car #18 with British teammate Adam Christodoulou, an experienced GT3 driver and winner of the 2016 Nurburgring 24 Hours.

With a strong field confirmed for the competition, Juffali is embracing the challenge.

Juffali, who was the official race ambassador for the inaugural F1 Saudi Arabia race last year, said: “It’s going to be great being behind the wheel again with SPS Automotive Performance this weekend in Estoril for the opening round of the GT Open Championship. It’s been a couple of months since my second-place finish at the Dubai 24 Hours earlier this year, which is one of my proudest achievements to-date.”

She added: “GT racing is something that I’m really excited about and like every race that I have taken part in, every competition will provide challenges and opportunities to learn and the International GT Open Championship will be no different. I know that I need to be at the top of my game as there’s some strong competition but I’m excited to get started.”

This year’s International GT Open consists of seven-rounds with France (Paul Ricard),