First female Saudi rally drivers to open door for more women to join team ‘SHERO’

The first Saudi women's rally team set to participate in the Saudi Dakar Rally in 2022 has announced their intention to open registrations for Saudi women to join their team.

Founders of the “SHERO” team, Dania Akeel and Mashael al-Obaidan, said they aspire to bring sponsors to finance the team's project to achieve its goals and future plans.

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“I established the team with Mashael al-Obaidan and the Duust Polish racing team of Philp and Mark Dabrowski who both have experience in rally car racing. It was our first meeting in Dakar Rally 2020, where we received training focused on encouraging women to enter the Dakar Rally Championships rally and international competitions and local championships in various types of rallies,” Akeel told Al Arabiya.

Al-Obaidan said she is proud and excited to participate in the Dakar Rally 2022 in Saudi Arabia, adding that the SHERO team’s plan for the long-term is to open the field and attract more Saudi women to join in the field of motor racing.

Both Akeel and al-Obaidan will make history by joining Reema Juffali, who marked her own place in the history books in 2018 when she became the first Saudi female race license holder to compete in the TRD 86 Cup at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi.

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