JEDDAH: Saudi Arabia’s Nada Hambazaza and Inas Hamza are all geared up to show their navigation and driving skills in the Gulf’s first-ever all-women off-road rally covering some of the Kingdom’s toughest terrain.
The Advisor Team’s partners had earlier this week at Square Track, in front of an audience that included family, friends and members of the media, announced their plans to enter the race.
“We will take on the challenge and push ourselves to the limit,” said first driver Hambazaza. “It is a new experience for us and (we) hope we (will) reach our goal.”
“The challenge of getting through the desert and getting to the finish is what attracts me to the sport,” she said. “I am really looking forward to riding our own trails and beating others.”
Car enthusiast Hambazaza is a well-known auto consultant and social media personality, with a weekly program on her YouTube channel that passes on her expertise to the Kingdom’s newly empowered female drivers. Speaking to Arab News, she said that she and her co-driver were busy adding last-minute touches to their MG HS car in preparation for Rally Jameel which runs from March 17 to 19.
Hambazaza said: “This is a big opportunity for Saudi women to show what they have in such a rally. Believe me, this is not just fun, we are very serious and determined to achieve a very high score and hopefully we will win.”
Co-driver Hamza comes with years of local experience on the karting circuit.
“Our team is one of the 33 teams at the Rally Jameel, and Nada and I will make a formidable team even though we have never partnered before,” she said.
Hamza remains realistic about the target.
“I am a beginner so getting to the finish is our only goal,” she said. “I am just looking forward to starting the competition. It will be an exciting experience, and hopefully, we will make our families proud of us.”
Rally Jameel’s lineup has participants from 15 countries. Saudi Arabia has 22 teams carrying the flag for the Kingdom, mostly from Riyadh and Jeddah.
The rally will start in the northcentral city of Hail, taking in the sites of Al-Qassim city and then heading to the capital Riyadh via hidden checkpoints and challenges.
Each team will feature two ladies driving road-legal four-wheel or all-wheel drive vehicles without the need for a roll cage. The event is not designed to determine the fastest drivers, but will instead test navigational skills over a route of between 300 kilometers to 500 kilometer per day. Each day’s route will only be revealed the night before.