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- Juffali and teammate Adam Christodoulou impressed at Paul Ricard by finishing first in the Pro-Am class in the second race and taking fifth spot in the opening race
RIYADH: Theeba Motorsport founder and Saudi driver Reema Juffali said 鈥渟he couldn鈥檛 be happier鈥� after her team clinched its first victory in the Pro-Am class in the second round of the International GT Open in France.
At the Circuit Paul Ricard, Juffali and British teammate Adam Christodoulou capped off the weekend on a high as they battled to first place, and third overall, in race two after qualifying in 13th.
A day earlier, the pair had finished fifth in their class and seventh overall in race one, scoring their first solid points having taken pole position. Juffali was thrilled with how the weekend went for her team, which only launched last week.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a first overall podium for the team and first in class, so I couldn鈥檛 be happier,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 really proud of what we have achieved as a team in such a short space of time.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very different being purely a driver compared to a driver who manages her own team, but I think it makes it more exciting,鈥� she added.
鈥淎dam did an amazing job today, keeping it clean and getting us across the line despite the handicap. Now it鈥檚 about getting our head down and building on what we have achieved this weekend. I鈥檓 already ready for the next race.鈥�
Christodoulou described the victory as the 鈥渃herry on top鈥� of the weekend.
鈥淎s far as races go, they don鈥檛 get much better than that. We had a third overall and a win in class, so a brilliant weekend overall,鈥� he said.
鈥淩eema drove really well, the team were great and the car felt perfect all weekend. To fight for the win was the cherry on top.鈥�
In race two, Juffali made short work of her rivals at the rolling start of the hour-long contest, gaining two places to move into 11th.
Opting for an early pitstop, Juffali switched with Christodoulou on lap 11, who, despite rejoining in 15th, began a superb charge up the order.
The timing of the pitstop proved perfect when the leading seven made their later stops, with the team鈥檚 undercut pushing Christodoulou up to 10th, and sixth in the Pro-Am class.
Christodoulou then moved up to fifth in class before a late push saw him complete the job to take the lead.
In the opening race, after Christodoulou managed to put the Mercedes AMG GT3 EVO onto the front row, the Briton continued his rapid pace into the start swiftly, pulling away and establishing a commanding lead over the field.
His solid work was undone by a safety car when Dino Steiner stopped on track, just several minutes before the pit window opened.
Despite the setback, he re-established a solid lead before handing over to Juffali. Having served a 20-second success penalty as a result of victory in Estoril last time out, Juffali battled hard to hold on to fifth in class and seventh overall after holding off Alain Valente.
Juffali and Christodoulou will next be in action June 18-19, when the third round of the International GT Open moves to Belgium at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps.