Jerome Piens has been promoted to Marshal level

[W a q a r]

Congratulations @JeromeFJ

[Davie Chase]

Congratulations @JeromeFJ well deserved, it has been a privilege and absolute pleasure to be on your drives, support your drives and learn from one of the best. Great achievement look forward to having more drives with you in the near future.

[Mahmoud Taha]

Congrats @JeromeFJ

[Alexanderrr]

Congrats Jerome !!!👍

[Salim Akhtar]

@JeromeFJ many congratulations!

[Shaun J]

Congratulations Jerome 😁

[Dan S]

Congratulationssss @JeromeFJ 🥳🥳

[JeromeFJ]

Dear Friends, thank you so much for the recognition and the trust you put in me.

It has been a long journey since that Master Class with Emmanuel who gave me the first flavour of what a desert drive could be.

I had been in the desert before, by foot, with camels, but never really with a car. I always liked the outdoors and the exploration of remote places, but had practiced more in the mountainous areas. I always liked driving, and I had purchased that beautiful FJ a few months before, and believe it or not, it is the first car I own in my life. I always liked the team practice, especially when the challenges bring the team together, and when each individual will contribute to the success of the team. I like the surfing, gliding, skiing, snowboarding sensations.

With this desert drive activity, I could find a combination of all this, with the benefit to explore the country where we live.

And @Carnity with their values of learning, step by step progression, safety, respect, and enjoyment was for me the perfect framework to practice and discover.

I learned progressively, exploring the capabilities of my car, my own capabilities, learning so much about cars, about the desert, the sand texture, soft, hard, brittle, fine, heavy, wet, dry..., the sand behaviour, holding, supporting, sliding, sticky..., the effect of weather conditions, the heat, the humidity, the rain, the fog..., the wind, pushing the sand, continuously reshaping the dunes.

I learned to control the momentum of the car, to use it to cross, to climb, to have an efficient use of that energy, to avoid sharp turns, brakes, accelerations, to adjust the entry point, the angle, to merge smoothly with the ridge, to anticipate the effect of that little step, that bump, to control the descends...

Starting to support drives, I learned to recover stuck cars, evaluate the balance of the weight, the angle, the holding capability of the sand, using the slope and gravity as an aid, using shovel, ropes, winch, using the team, the resources available, at that location, at that time, looking for ideas, imagination...

Starting to lead drives, a complete new chapter opened, I learned reading the shape of a dune, finding the best line, the smooth line, the line enabling to cross, to climb, the line suitable for the other cars, I learned to consider that the conditions will change, each cars having its own effect on the terrain, making it more more difficult, or easier for the next one. I learned to watch other drivers, is he/she comfortable, hesitant, confident, overconfident, is he/she at risk, is he aware... I learned to advise, to guide, to explain, trying to be clear, to be understandable, giving confidence, safely, with awareness.

I learned to compose a drive, organise a convoy, study the maps, select a route, propose a adequate mix of difficulties, nice view points, considering the direction of the sun, the light, the temperature rise during the day, and once all this is prepared, be ready to change and adjust, according to the participants, the terrain, the incidents...

The best rewards, beside my own enjoyment, is seeing the big smiles at the top of a high climb, feeling the silent concentration of each driver on a long ridge with a view wide open on the desert, having happy faces at the end of the drive, creating happy moments to be shared with friends.

Big thank you @Gaurav @Frederic @Srikumar for creating, maintaining, supporting all this environment, once again, thank you for your trust and guidance. @Ale Vallecchi @Islam Soliman @Chaitanya D @Vanessa8580 @Hisham Masaad @M.Seidam @Asif Hussain @GauravSoni, you are a continuous source of inspiration, thank you for all the things I learn from you. And thank you to my co-drivers @Looper @Varun Mehndiratta @Rizwanm2 @Anish S @Davie Chase @Mehmet Volga @DP1011 @Simon D and all the participants to my drives (185 members have done at least 1 drive under my lead), you all make it happen, and we all learn with each others.

Looking forward to many more drives together !

Pic tribute to @Gertjan

[Zed]

Congrats @JeromeFJ 👏🏻 funny thing i always thought you were Marshal already 😄 Amazing how far you've gone with that Stock FJ 👍🏻, looking forward to driving with you again this season...

[Naveen Raj]

Well deserved @JeromeFJ congratulations 👏👏