RIYADH: Theeba Motorsport founder and Saudi racer Reema Juffali was full of praise for her team as they finished runners-up in the Pro-Am Championship at the International GT Open’s finale in Spain.
In the last race of their debut season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, lead driver Juffali and team-mate Adam Christodoulou ended their campaign strongly, taking Theeba Motorsport to a third-place finish and their sixth class podium in the championship.
Juffali described the feat as a “fantastic achievement.”
“What a race. It feels like yesterday since we started this journey, and I can’t quite believe that Theeba Motorsport’s first season is complete,” she said.
“Given the different challenges we’ve faced this season, finishing as the runners-up in the Pro-Am Championship is a fantastic achievement, and it just shows the value of the hard work that goes on behind the scenes before and after each race. I’m extremely proud of everyone.”
The result, which came 24 hours after their third-place spot in Race One, meant they finished second overall in the class with 57 points, and sixth overall in the competition.
Following their podium finish in the opening race, Christodoulou fronted qualifying and secured a competitive seventh on the grid with a 1:44.385 lap time.
He started the 60-minute race but slipped to eighth on the opening lap following an early duel with the #63 Oregon Team Lamborghini of Benjamin Hites.
The Briton was locked in battle with the #3 Aust Motorsport Audi of Max Hofer throughout his stint and after losing position in the sixth minute, repassed the Austrian during the safety car restart, caused by a spin for Alex Villanueva.
Rising to fourth after the pit window opened, Adam handed over to team-mate, Juffali, 24 minutes from the finish, with the team rejoining seventh overall and third in-class after jumping the #777 Olimp Racing Audi in the pit lane.
She maintained her class position in a clinical run to the chequered flag to seal the runner-up position in the Pro-Am Championship in only Theeba Motorsport’s first season of competition.
Juffali said: “Adam (Christodoulou) did a great job in qualifying and drove an awesome first stint to put us in contention for the podium. With a quick stop, we managed to jump into the top three and from there, we just had to bring it home.”