A Bahraini all-female team will tackle the Bahrain International Rally, round two of the 2002 FIA Middle East rally championship, for the first time. The event begins in Manama on March 7.

Twenty-one-year-old Yasmin Alhilli and her co-driver Hanan Mohammed Ali are putting the finishing touches to plans to tackle the two-day, mixed surface special stage rally in a Subaru Impreza WRX.

Employed as a media assistant for the British Embassy in Bahrain, Yasmin has been actively interested in motorsport since she witnessed some drag racing in New Zealand and marshalled on the New Zealand round of the FIA World Rally Championship.

She co-drove for Bahrain's Hassan Sadadi in the UAE last November, is the corporate manager of the Bahrain National karting team and worked as assistant stage commander during last year's event.

"I am looking forward to the rally," said Alhilli. "At the gala dinner for last year's event I chatted with Mohammed bin Sulayem and Khaled Zakaria and they encouraged me to do something about my interest. Then I had a good talk with Hamed Al Wahaibi during the Qatar Rally last week.

"Ebrahim Busmait, a local Bahraini rally driver, helped me to read and write pace notes and he later introduced me to Hassan Al Sadadi." The pair finished sixth overall in the 2001 Dubai Rally.

"Times are changing," added Alhilli. "The Gulf area is known for being conservative and traditional culture is practised. But woman are now enjoying new responsibilities and freedom. This is what we want to show in the name of Arabia."

"It is a major boost for the sport in the region to see a new female team putting together plans to tackle the rally," insisted Sheikh Tariq bin Mohammed Al Khalifa, chairman of the Bahrain Motor Federation.

"Motorsport is becoming increasingly popular in the Middle East and I'm sure that Yasmin and Hanan will enjoy their participation in our premier event."

All-female crews have rarely tackled Middle East events in recent years, although the Jordanian driver Nancy Majali took part in several rounds of the series last year in a Ford and the British duo of Fiona Udale and Fiona Mulcahy competed several years ago.

Former Middle East co-driver Julia Rabbett, who finished competing in the region four years ago, now takes part in the FIA Asia-Pacific Rally Championship, with the leading Japanese driver 'Monster' Tajima and his factory Suzuki operation.