Morning Intermediate Desert Drive - Sweihan - Abu Dhabi - 10 Feb 2024

[Gary F]

There’s an accident on the E611, probably gonna make me a little late

[Gary F]

Great drive @JeromeFJ wishing it could have lasted longer .  
 

I managed a few climbs in the 4 hi / lo testing , conclusion need a lot more practice. I was thrown off guard on one bowl when I was in 6th gear near the limiter ( still two more gears to go) and I got a random esc stability control warning despite it already being disabled. 

what I can say with the Sandrunner it was a lot easier to climb in 4lo next drive I hope to have more time @Mark B @Zed@Patrick van der Loo
 

looking forward to seeing the videos @Looper

Edited February 10 by Gary F

[JeromeFJ]

Great drive indeed, a bit short, but quite intense. This area of Ramlat Sweihan is very special because of the density of big bowls and sharp ridges. The beginning was a bit chaotic, with a near pop out of @Alexanderrr, due to the wet heavy sand, and shortly after @Ranjan Das's Jeep facing a fence pole from above, in the middle of a steep slip face. Both were solved with a combined support from @Zed, @Sunil and @Looper. 

This warm-up done, everyone was ready for bigger things, .... and bigger things were coming! The first bowl was not the best, with the flat bottom surface, and a bumpy entry, but was giving the dimension of the environment. and the Jeeps of @Zed and @Naveen Raj were already showing muscles.

The second one, with a perfect circular shape, was more accommodating. The convoy gathered in the middle, and one by one the cars could circle around. We restarted climbing again, crossed the ridge and continued along the ridges until reaching the famous Death Bow. Perfect circle again, but requiring climbing up and down to follow the ridge. Everyone tackled it with determination, @Mohit Gurnani taking an extra challenge going down to the bottom, and spiralling up to exit. 

Another steep climb and the next bowl was already there, more open and with a regular shape,  easier to handle, after the previous challenges. The last one was looking smooth and regular, even if the dimensions were impressive, but was hiding a few traps: a bumpy entry point, and a huge steep slip face, requiring to be light as feather on the brakes and steering to control the descend to the flat hard bottom. Everyone managed very well, even if @Alexanderrr had his scary moment.

Time was flying already, so we reached the exit track, leaving the remaining bowls for the next time.

We all had great learning opportunities, selecting the entry point, managing gears to have the right combination of torque and speed, controlling the line in the bowl itself, considering bumps and cross-tracks, controlling the descent or the deceleration, releasing smoothly all the energy accumulated by the car. You have seen that at this level, full concentration is needed, and every small detail becomes important. Nobody wants to be distracted by things flying in the trunk if you jump on a bump in the middle of your acceleration.

Great driving everyone, thank you @Looper for the SL, and the videos to come  @Mohit Gurnani, @Patrick van der Loo, very well done, each one with the capabilities of your cars, @Gary F @Mark B the gladiators were on the test bench today, @Zed you are always a great asset in the convoy, @Alexanderrr, you pushed the Pajero to the highest, @Sunil, my Toyota partner among the Jeeps, @Ranjan Das, thank you for the seep ! Enjoy the rest of the weekend !

[Patrick van der Loo]

Thank you so much @JeromeFJ  - like you say a lot of learnings today. With a manual this area makes for a lot of unexpected shift moments. Loved it! Amazing also to see how the same cars in different gears react differently. 
 

[Mark B]

Great drive @JeromeFJ thank you everyone for a really enjoyable morning! 
 

@Looper do you have a link to your Instagram! Looking forward to seeing those videos 😎😎

Edited February 11 by Mark B