News DeskDubai, UAE – The UAE’s first female racing driver, Amna Al Qubaisi, has taken the Porsche 911 Dakar for a thrilling ride to the Liwa Tal Moreeb Festival, one of the region’s most popular desert events. The 23-year-old, who won two races in the F1 Academy championship last year, swapped the racing circuit for the sand dunes, testing the off-road capabilities of the 911 Dakar, a sports car inspired by the legendary 1984 Paris-Dakar rally winner.
Al Qubaisi started her journey from Abu Dhabi, driving the 911 Dakar in its Roughroads livery through the city streets and then onto the fast paved roads leading to Liwa, some 220 kilometres south. Along the way, she made a stop at an Emirati home, where she was warmly welcomed and congratulated for her achievements in motorsport. She then continued to the Liwa Tal Moreeb Festival, a week-long celebration of the UAE’s heritage and culture, featuring various types of high-performance driving, camel and horse racing, and other activities.
The 911 Dakar, which will make its official debut at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November, is the first two-door sports car to offer outstanding off-road capabilities. It features a specially developed lift system that offers 191 millimetres of ground clearance at speeds of up to 150 km/h, as well as stiffer engine mounts from the GT3, rear-axle steering and PDCC active roll stabilisation. Al Qubaisi was impressed by the car’s performance and stability, both on the road and on the sand.
“Driving the 911 Dakar on the road is very smooth, fast, and stable,” she said. “With the steering, it’s reactive, but also has a good balance. But on the sand dunes, it was so much fun. You can go all out and not worry about losing control. The car is so stable. This was my first drive of the 911 Dakar, and first time driving a Porsche to the Liwa Festival. The experience went way beyond my expectations!”
Al Qubaisi, who comes from a family of racing drivers, said she felt at home behind the wheel of the 911, as the first time she ever watched a motor race was when her father competed in the Porsche Carrera Cup. She said she was proud to represent the UAE and inspire other women in motorsport, as she is the first Arab woman to compete in Formula 4 and to take part in a Formula E test.
When she arrived at the Liwa Tal Moreeb Festival, Al Qubaisi and the 911 Dakar attracted a large crowd of admirers, who were curious to see the car and meet the driver. As the sun set behind the towering Moreeb Dune, one of the world’s highest sand hills, Al Qubaisi and the 911 Dakar blended in with the rugged and highly modified off-road vehicles that gathered for the festival. It was a sign of the times, as the UAE’s desert tradition meets the latest innovation in sports car engineering.
