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Female racing driver Aseel Al Hamad does a lap of honour to celebrate the end of Saudi Arabia's ban on women drivers

Female racing driver Aseel Al Hamad celebrated the end of Saudi Arabia's 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.

First lap of honour

On the same day that women celebrated being allowed to drive on the roads of Saudi Arabia, Aseel Al-Hamad, the first female member of her national motorsport federation, took the wheel of the same car in which Kimi Raikkonen won the 2012 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

WATCH: Saudi woman drives F1 car to mark end of ban

She was part of a Renault 'passion parade' hours ahead of the first French Grand Prix in a decade and the first to be held at the Le Castellet circuit for 28 years.

Aseel joined Jaguar in a call for June 24th 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.

"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," Aseel said.

An historic day

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.

                                                                     Image: Motorpress

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 comments: "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.

                                                                           Image: Motorpress

"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."

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