Historic drive by Saudi woman as driving ban lifts

Female racing driver Aseel Al Hamad on Sunday celebrated the end of the ban on women drivers with a lap of honour in a Jaguar F-TYPE.

Aseel, the first female board member of the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation, had never driven on a track in her home country before.

Aseel joined Jaguar in a call for 24 June to be known as World Driving Day – a day when finally, the whole world can enjoy the thrill of being behind the wheel of a car. On World Driving Day Jaguar invites people to share a memory of their best driving moment (image or anecdote) using the #worlddrivingday.

Aseel said: “Having loved cars since I was a child, today is highly emotional for me. This is the best driving moment of my life. What better way to kick off World Driving Day than a lap of honour in my home country in a Jaguar F-TYPE – the ultimate car to roar around the track.  I hope people around the world will share in our joy today by sharing their most memorable driving story using #worlddrivingday.”

By creating World Driving Day, Jaguar urges people to remember this historic day and what it means to women, to Saudi Arabia and to world progress in general. As part of its ongoing work with over 40 Universities and Academic institutions globally on future mobility solutions, the company will also be partnering with University in Saudi Arabia to join this global network. 

The partnership, to be announced later this year, will be a unique exchange to tap into the brightest young minds in Saudi Arabia to shape the company’s future innovations as it moves to ACES (an Autonomous, Connected, Electrified and Shared future). 

Jaguar Land Rover spokesperson, Fiona Pargeter, Customer Experience Director commented: “It’s easy to forget and take for granted the enjoyment of driving and just what a privilege it is to get behind the wheel of a car. World Driving Day is a commitment from Jaguar to celebrate this key moment annually for both men and women. This year, we’re really excited to collaborate with the brilliant students from Saudi Arabia to shape the future of mobility for people around the world.”

Aseel Al Hamad is a true pioneer with a huge passion for motorsports as the first female board member of the Saudi Arabian Motor Federation. She also serves as the Saudi Arabian representative at Women in Motorsport Commission for FédérationInternationale de l’Automobile (FIA). 

Aseel has driven all over the world. She loves fast cars and the thrill of the race track. She holds a degree in interior design engineering from Prince Sultan University and followed additional courses at the University of the Arts in London. 

Jaguar’s heritage of elegant design and breathtaking performance has excited and delighted the world for 80 years. Today’s world-class Jaguar family embodies the Art of Performance, with the remarkable, much admired and award-winning XE, XF and XJ saloons, the dramatic F-TYPE sports car, the F-PACE performance crossover – the fastest-selling Jaguar ever, the new E-PACE compact performance SUV and now I-PACE, the all-electric performance SUV that puts Jaguar at the forefront of the electric vehicle revolution.

SML Frontier Automotive is the sole agent of Jaguar vehicles in Sri Lanka.