Rally Jameel: First off-road women’s race in the Kingdom

Saudi Arabia’s first off-road rally to feature a field of women competitors is almost here. 

The 1,600-kilometer Rally Jameel will start from AlUla before traveling to Hail and then Al-Qassim, passing by historical landmarks. Supported by FIA Women in Motorsport, the second Rally Jameel will be held to coincide with International Women's Day on March 8.

Test of navigational ability

The rally is designed to test the navigation, checkpoint management and planning skills of drivers. Each two-woman team will be driving four-wheel- or all-wheel-drive vehicles. To ensure competitors' safety, Rally Jameel will be using a state-of-the-art tracking system and helicopter medics.

Race route

Each stage will be 300 to 500 kilometers a day, with details kept confidential until the night before the next stage. Forty-one teams from 25 countries will participate in the race. The AlUla leg runs from March 7-8, the Hail leg from March 9-10, and finally the Qassim leg on March 11.

Rally Jameel

Rally Jameel is an off-road navigation rally that does not focus on speed but navigational mastery. Teams of two each will use state-of-the-art navigation equipment and digital road books to compete on a pre-defined route through the beautiful deserts of Saudi Arabia using normal off-road cars. They must find hidden waypoints to collect points. The team that accumulates the most points wins the rally.

Rally Jameel runs from March 7-11.