Passion for Motorsports
Motor racing: Aramcon goes from spectator to scrutineer
Aramco’s Najwa M. Sharyoufi chases Grand Prix dreams.
Since childhood, Najwa M. Sharyoufi, a HR employee from Aramco’s Drilling and Workover Support Services Division, has been attending Bahrain’s Formula 1 races — enjoying the adrenalin and exhilaration of motor sport.
But Sharyoufi had never contemplated being anything more than a spectator. Until, that is, she visited a Dammam racing track in 2019, where she met the deputy chief scrutineer for the Saudi Motorsport Marshals Club who happens to be a lead assistant engineer at Aramco.
Sharyoufi’s passion for the sport was clear, and she was invited to become a part of the Marshals Club as a scrutineer — A role that involves ensuring that competing vehicles in a racing competition comply to the established technical regulations to promote safety and fair competition for everyone.
“Entering this world was a dream for me, but it was difficult to find the best discipline within the Marshals Club,” said Sharyoufi. “I was really nervous to be a scrutineer back then, since I didn’t have much technical knowledge.”
The chief scrutineer and the Saudi Automobile and Motorcycle Federation, welcomed Sharyoufi and provided the guidance and training needed.
I’m really lucky to have a supportive team. They encourage everyone with passion, and because of their support, the work that used to take me 20 minutes to do now takes just five minutes.
— Najwa M. Sharyoufi
Sharyoufi was part of the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jiddah and said being involved was a dream come true — especially since she was assigned as a garage scrutineer for Team Aston Martin.
The club also participates in many different motorsport events within the Kingdom. “It’s an amazing world to be involved with,” Sharyoufi added. “I have the chance to visit parts of the Kingdom I never thought I’d see, and inspect vehicles I never thought that I’d know about.”
This role comes with huge responsibility: “We report everything to the Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA), our participation can affect the outcomes of the race.”
In true Aramco style, she doesn’t shy away from the responsibility: “The only way to make sure that everyone has a safe and fair competition is by doing our work in the best way,” Sharyoufi concluded.
Caption for top photo: Najwa Sharyoufi was assigned as a garage scrutinizer for Team Aston Martin at the 2021 Saudi Arabian Grand Prix in Jiddah.