Motorsport has been part of Abdul Latif Jameel Motors‘s identity for nearly three decades — a thread running alongside the company’s 70-year Toyota distribution operation that has grown from a single sponsorship in 1997 into a formalized brand, Jameel Motorsport, with activities spanning six motorsport disciplines.

Rally Jameel is the most visible expression of that commitment. The event began as a Saudi-based rally and has, with each edition, become more international in both participation and ambition. The fourth edition crossed the border into Jordan for the first time, with participants starting at Petra — a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most recognizable archaeological locations in the world.

The choice of Petra was deliberate on several levels. Jordan has one of the longest motorsport histories in the Middle East, hosting the World Rally Championship in 2008 among the region’s first nations to do so. Central Trade and Auto Company, the Jordan-based Toyota and Lexus distributor, supported the Rally Jameel proposal and helped stage the event across two countries for the first time. Its CEO, Nadim Haddad, noted that Petra, where women are believed to have held significant authority historically, was fitting for a rally that places women’s participation at its center.

The third edition of Rally Jameel had already broken ground by welcoming women participants from around the world, drawing a record number of applications. Hassan Jameel has described that inclusion as rooted in his own experience. After watching Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda personally compete in races under the name Morizo, Jameel trained in rally driving with a professional driver. He has said it was the most fun he has ever had, and that the experience reinforced his belief that putting women behind the wheel of competitive motorsport is a genuine act of empowerment.

“I want the world to see that Saudi Arabia is an open country,” Jameel said.

Rally Jameel illustrates what the company values beyond the balance sheet. Just as a stock yard driver’s idea to reassign lanes reveals an organization that listens to the people doing the work, an international rally that opens its doors to women from around the world and starts at a Jordanian World Heritage Site reveals an organization that takes its social commitments seriously.

Jordan was selected for the Rally Jameel partnership for three stated reasons: historical ties between Saudi Arabia and Jordan rooted in the Nabatean Kingdom; Jordan’s established motorsport infrastructure; and the existing Toyota and Lexus distribution relationship that made logistical coordination across borders more straightforward. The organizers’ broader aim is to make the event more global with each iteration.

Saudi Arabia now holds a prominent position on the global motorsport calendar, drawing investment in infrastructure, events and tourism across multiple disciplines including boat sports and gaming. Jameel Motorsport’s stated purpose is to develop Saudi talent capable of competing nationally and internationally, in line with Vision 2030’s goals for sport as a driver of social and economic development.

Away from the rally course, Hassan Jameel has been equally active in positioning Abdul Latif Jameel within the broader transformation of Saudi Arabia — attending forums, signing mobility partnerships and making the case that the Kingdom’s openness is not just a policy position but a lived reality. Rally Jameel, crossing borders and welcoming women from around the world, is one piece of that argument.