Saudi Dania Akeel’s Baja Cup win inspires Arab women in motorsports

Saudi Arabian driver Dania Akeel won the prestigious FIA Middle East Baja Cup with her performance in a Dubai race on Sunday, as motorsports’ popularity rises among women in the region.

The cup consists of a series of off-road races held in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Jordan. Akeel, 36, won the side-by-side vehicle category in the final leg of the series in Dubai, securing victory in the overall cup. She is the first Saudi woman to hold the trophy.

The Jeddah-born driver had a strong series, finishing on the podium in all four of the events and leading all vehicles at the Qatar race for a period.

Akeel began racing motorcycles in 2019, becoming the first woman to receive a motorcycle circuit racing license in the kingdom. She moved into rally racing following a motorcycle accident, according to her website. Saudi women gained the right to drive in Saudi Arabia only in 2018.

Akeel is one of several Arab female drivers to achieve success in motorsports in recent years. Reema Juffali, Saudi Arabia’s first female race car driver, finished second in the PRO-AM class of the 2022 International GT Open, a series of races held on race tracks. Amna Al Qubaisi became the first Emirati woman racer driver in 2018 and entered the all-women F1 Academy competition last year.

Toni Breidinger became the first Arab American woman to race in NASCAR in 2021. She is of Lebanese and German descent.

Formula One is rising in popularity in the Middle East, including among Saudi women. A Tuesday study from the television data firm Nielsen Sports found that female interest in the sport rose 11% in Saudi Arabia this year, compared with 10% for men. Overall interest rose 6% in the UAE. A total of 41% of the sports' fans worldwide are women, according to the study.