COVID19 Compliant - Morning Newbie Desert Drive - South Qudra - Dubai - 20 Aug 2021

[Usman Basit]

@Wrangeldextremely sorry Richard but I overslept and wouldn't be able to make it before 615AM for the drive which I had been looking forward to since the start of the week. 

Apologies again for the last minute drop out.

[Imran Asghar]

On 8/16/2021 at 8:47 AM, Wrangeld said:

Long time no see buddy

Hi Richard,

Thanks for the drive today and the opportunity to drive in the middle.

Really enjoyed it and it - wasn't too hectic and first pull out which was easier than I thought it would be - looking forward to more recoveries in the future. 

Fantastic drivers today it was a pleasure to see you all doing so well. Catch you all soon. Imran 

Ps your dad jokes cracked me up 🤣

 

 

 

 

 

[Brian Dev]

Thanks @Wrangeld @imranaasghar81 and @Chaitanya Dfor the assistance

Thought it was gonna end early for me when my vehicle was acting up initially, glad it all worked out and turned out to be a great day of technical dunes. The wife had so much fun as well. Thank you! 
 

[Imran Asghar]

On 8/16/2021 at 8:47 AM, Wrangeld said:

Long time no see budd

11 minutes ago, Brian Dev said:

Thanks @Wrangeld @imranaasghar81 and @Chaitanya Dfor the assistance

Thought it was gonna end early for me when my vehicle was acting up initially, glad it all worked out and turned out to be a great day of technical dunes. The wife had so much fun as well. Thank you! 
 

No stress mate all for one, one for all.

 

No stress mate, all for one - one for all

[Chaitanya D]

1 hour ago, Brian Dev said:

Thanks @Wrangeld @imranaasghar81 and @Chaitanya Dfor the assistance

Thought it was gonna end early for me when my vehicle was acting up initially, glad it all worked out and turned out to be a great day of technical dunes. The wife had so much fun as well. Thank you! 
 

You drove very well @Brian Dev. Get your sweet spot for the tyre pressure .

Loved the way you learnt and improved after the initial refusal.  Well done 

[Wrangeld]

Post Drive Report

Some drives, it all goes to plan and as a lead, because you know you can rely on your outstanding support (massive thanks @Chaitanya D and @imranaasghar81) and a convoy that responds so well to the challenges that you can keep going and going. 

To be honest, I was worried that things might not work out because the map for the start point had been misunderstood, we started late and had a lengthy stuck all within the first few throes of the drive. 

And then, as if by magic everyone was making it through every dip, dune, mound and pocket. 

Blessed as we were with almost virgin sand: a combination of the wind blowing and a decision to focus at the start in a less travelled area, everyone was able to gain confidence, practice and put into action everything learned in earlier drives (even if that was last week's Absolute Newbie.  

As mentioned as we arrived at Last Exit, I did not make the drive easy or simple. The response outstanding. Undoubtedly, for some the route was quite a challenge be it the higher climbs, longer descents or complexity of the dune formations. Yet, we got through everything. 

How does that happen? 

1. Perfect convoy discipline. Today was a great example of everyone following the line, the numbering and using the radio in the proper way. [My personal apologies if the jokes were not understood or timley].
2. Listening to and following instructions. When drivers follow that route, dealing with refusals and stucks takes much less time and when you are patient and wait for advice on how to get through a difficult moment we can get much further.
3. Drivers eager to learn. This hobby really does require a lot of learning by doing. And everyone did a lot today. 
4. No fear of the unknown. Everyone took to heart the principle that if someone made it through, then I can do the same. Especially in the technical dunes (no preannouncement or comment about them so there was no need to think about whether we were or were not in that section. 

We did spend a lot of today's drive practicing a key skill that will serve you all well for the future. That is driving across the face of the dune. Being able to do this, as we did today at low speed is a great capability to develop. 

Congratulations to all. We made it back to Last Exit. That's a great achievement. You can all be immensely proud of yourselves. 

See you soon in the sand. 

[Wrangeld]

20 hours ago, Paul Zeitoun said:

@Wrangeld Oh my......i've been demoted 🤣🤣🤣🤣

My bad Paul. You have not been demoted - you really demonstrated how well you handle the vehicle and all the challenges today. Definitely Fewbie Plus

[Chaitanya D]

11 minutes ago, Wrangeld said:

Perfect convoy discipline

Totally agree on this one.

Wonderful to see such discipline on a NB drive, well done to everyone.

Thank you @Wrangeld for a beautiful drive.

Some pictures uploaded in the drive gallery 🤩

[Ajit John]

Had a fantastic time, with a couple of minor refusals which I could manage without much trouble. Thanks Imran for suggesting going below 15psi,  it helped definitely.

We were always in D gear, just out of curiosity what terrain does one have to change the gears

[Wrangeld]

1 minute ago, Ajit John said:

Had a fantastic time, with a couple of minor refusals which I could manage without much trouble. Thanks Imran for suggesting going below 15psi,  it helped definitely.

We were always in D gear, just out of curiosity what terrain does one have to change the gears

Hi @Ajit John there will be climbs in the future where using the tiptronic/manual might be a better option, but until the time you really understand the capabilities of your car, stick with D in my view. I have made it to marshal in a completely unmodified vehicle always driving in D. Even now in Intermediate drives, it is very rare that I use the manual. 

Where the car has massive power, you might need to control the gear because it is changing down too soon (think of the 10 gears in a Raptor) or in an underpowered car you might need to 'lock' the car in a particular gear so it will not shift and lose momentum. For the moment, I advise focus on getting the basic skills in place before you worry about gear changes.