At a GameX drifting competition in April in Cairo, murmurs rippled through the crowd. A young woman in a helmet stepped up to the starting line. “What is she doing here?” someone from the crowd scoffed. Moments later, Wafaa ElFarmawy launched into the track, kicking up dust – and expectations.
At just 22 years old, Wafaa, a graduating senior at The American University in Cairo, is redefining what it means to be a woman in motorsports in Egypt. With a calm confidence and a fierce love for speed, she has spent the past two years building a name for herself as both a street racer and a competitive drifter, two fields overwhelmingly dominated by men.
Breaking into a Male-Dominated Scene
Egypt’s racing and drifting scene has grown rapidly in recent years.
Drifting, where drivers intentionally oversteer to slide around corners, is a motorsport that combines precision, control and showmanship. Though it remains niche in Egypt, local competitions are gaining traction, and key events like the Red Bull Car Park Drift are drawing national attention.
In 2014, the country hosted its first official drifting challenge at Cairo Stadium, and in 2022, Hesham El Khatib won the global Red Bull title in Jeddah, beating competitors from 18 countries.
Innovatively, Egypt also held the first snow drift challenge in the region at Ski Egypt, a snow park located in Mall of Egypt. Figures like Rami Serry, who competed in the U.S. Formula Drift series have also helped raise Egypt’s profile in motorsport.
But, most of these figures are men.
Wafaa is determined to change that through becoming the first Egyptian female drifter.
“It was mainly my brother,” Wafaa explains, recalling how her journey began. “He’s ten years older than me, and we used to modify his car parts together to make it suitable for drifting and racing. He taught me how to drive and later, some tricks. I started taking it seriously around two years ago.”
What started as playful tinkering quickly became a full-blown pursuit of adrenaline and precision.
Wrenching and Winning
Wafaa’s rise in the motorsport community has not come easy.
Egypt’s racing scene is still in its early stages, and female participation is even more uncommon. But that hasn’t stopped her. She has competed in over 14 events, including major competitions like Wrap It Up, RTS, Pacer, and GameX—where she recently claimed first place in her category and second overall in April 2025.
“I used to get annoyed by comments like, ‘What is she going to do here?’ But I stopped caring after I started winning,” she says. “It’s a very calm response. I just let the results speak for me.”
Unlike many in the scene who rely on professional crews, Wafaa takes pride in working on her own vehicles. For her daily cars, she handles most of the modifications herself, often seeking advice from Ahmed Tarek, the 2014 Drift World Champion.
“Even the heavy stuff, I try my best to do it with him,” she adds, revealing the physical and technical effort behind her success.
The Next Goal
The scene is growing, but it is still starkly unequal.
“In speed races, there might be 20 women compared to 150 men,” Wafaa explains. “But in drifting? I’ll be the first female.”
Her dedication has taken her to Autovroom El Obour for practice and has driven her to seek FIA-compliant safety features like roll cages and firewalls for her car, proving she is not just racing for thrill,but with purpose.
Off the track, Wafaa is grounded, thoughtful, and intentional. She balances her high-speed pursuits with her academic life, and though she is set to graduate soon with a Business degree, her eyes are already fixed on the horizon.
“Inshallah [God willing], I’ll compete abroad one day. I want to represent Egypt, not just as a racer, but as the first Egyptian woman to do so at this level.”
To other young women who dream of racing, she has simple advice: “Don’t be scared. Just go for it.” She’s no stranger to standing alone in spaces not built for her, and her focus has not wavered.
“I love this sport,” she says. “This sport is full of passion, and it’s fun. And it’s ours, too – not just theirs (men’s).”
