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CONVOY 2 - DRIVE REPORT Dear Desert Wanderers, first of all @Tamas Hoffmann should be thanked for posting this drive: until yesterday I didn't think it was doable on a short mid-week morning drive, because of the long distance implied, but he proved me wrong and this drive turned out to be a great one. Indeed, today's drive was a very pleasant surprise, as the decision to split the drive in two convoys was made with @Tamas Hoffmann and @Vanessa8580 at the very last minute last night. For this again I have to say thank you, as I was given, once more, the opportunity to lead. It all started with a bit of drama in the twilight, magnified by insufficient levels of caffeine (no morning coffee for me this morning!!), when we all realized the meeting points defined for the two convoys were both some 50-70m beyond the current barricades at the Abu Dhabi / Dubai border. Luckily Google Maps led all of us to the same cul-de-sac and we could easily reconvene, coordinate and get ready to go. Incredibly, despite the initial mayhem and a little delay by @GauravSoni, Convoy 2 happily moved into the sand by 5:21am through the access point promptly suggested by a super-energetic @Vanessa8580. We made our move into an area of small and technical dunes, quite tricky, I must say, where - however - everyone did very well, with just a couple of minor refusals. The visibility was still far from ideal, as in the absence of direct sunlight the sand looked flat and difficult to read. As we moved east, the first sunbeams lit the path in front of us and we started to enjoy the slightly bigger dunes and a few ridges, until we reached the 1st area of long range dunes, where the fun began. With an extended "spaghetti-style" track, we kept riding higher and higher ridges, with endless slide slopes inevitably ending into bumpy descents across unfriendly bushes, but - hey - the fun at the top was certainly worth the bumps at the bottom. Our little 8 cars convoy was doing incredibly well, so I decided to push the drive level up to Fewbie Plus, climbing higher dunes, including a few criss-crossings and increasing significantly the pace.. Even after this adjustment, the convoy was still flying around with great ease, with almost no refusals and no stucks at all... as, in fact, I was the one who got twice stuck and had to self-recover using all the magic buttons that come with the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.. The drive was incredibly smooth and almost uninterrupted today. We covered the impressive distance of 78.2km in just 2h 50', at an average moving speed of 30.8km/h. This figures, even if a bit doped by the couple of high speed stints across the sabkhas and by the final dirt track to Solar Park, are absolutely impressive for a Fewbie Drive. But what gave me more satisfaction was the fact that overall we stopped for only 18'... (and we had one stuck, one pop-out and one photo-break!!). @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil was taken a bit by surprise initially, as the pace (and the technical challenges) were probably a bit higher than what he was used to.. but when I looked in the mirror or through the window, his smile was only confirming he was having great fun. In fact, after a bit of hesitation during the first 45', Alain gained a remarkable confidence, managed to keep up with the pace and got through a couple of difficult passages brilliantly. The few refusals were absolutely physiological, given the challenges, and the single crested stuck of the day only happened in a moment of hesitation. A bit more practice will be probably needed on controlling fishtailing during long slide slopes, but overall his was a really impressive performance!! @Werno in 3rd position looked, as in all my past drives with him, very cool and easy. If he found the terrain challenging, it didn't show much, as everything appeared quite easy for him. If he had fun, that I can probably say yes, as both he and his passenger were smiling not less than Alain when I peeked inside their car. @AlexPol in 4th position certainly had the opportunity to push his capable Jeep Wrangler LWB (lots of jeeps today!!). I don't recall him having any significant refusals and had the opportunity to watch him ridge riding while looping back a couple of times. Generally in very good control and very close to the crests, he lost the edge in a few occasions, sliding down with a bit of fishtailing. As with Alain, practice will allow him to stick to the crest even longer than what I could see in his brilliant drive today. @RooRzOn had nothing less than a Y62 in his hands, which means a fantastic, powerful but heavy and fishtailing-prone beast, with the additional challenge of driving on 20" inches rims and low profile tires. When I was in his position, some months back with my beloved Nissan Patrol, pop-outs were my nightmare, but Rawan managed his black monster extremely well. Some fishtailing here and there, always well managed with timely choices about when to steer down and let gravity do its part of the job after momentum had been lost on long slide slopes. Very, very well done today. The guys at the back had a great deal of experience, all seasoned Intermediate drivers. It was with them in mind that I attempted to find the most favorable balance between fluidity, speed and complexity, so that while the front of the convoy could refine their skills and enjoy the adrenaline of driving just a bit beyond their comfort zone, the guys at the back could still enjoy the ride for real. In the end, I think the compromise we found was a pretty good one, as I gather @Goutam, @GauravSoni and @Dodi Syahdar had the fun they were looking for, even when fixing Gaurav's pop-out in record time 😂. As we exited Faqa area, we started heading north-west towards Little Sweihan, with a supercharged stint across mid-sized dunes among which we drove seamlessly at exhilarating pace. Just before crossing the last sabkha to Little Sweihan, @GauravSoniwas betrayed by a deceiving crest and had his pop-out, which stole us a few minutes from the final stint in Little Sweihan's bowls, where however we could enjoy approx 15' driving around some of the most famous bowls in the area. By 8:00am it was time to behave.. so we made it to the sabkha and quickly made our way north to Solar Park along the dirt track at the east end of Little Sweihan, making our exit at Solar Park tower exactly by 8:15am, like a Swiss watch. All covered in dust after 8km along the dirt track, but satisfied and energized for a fruitful Monday at work. Congratulations to all, I will remember this drive as one of the best I was blessed to lead. Thank you for your company (and thanks to @Dodi Syahdarfor being a perfect Sweep) and see you soon in the sand again!

CONGRATULAZIONI, COMPLIMENTI, BRAVI, to the new Extreme Team, @Ahab Shamaa @Francois Germishuys @Ilya @Christian Andras @Craig Finlayson @Jorge Stepniak Felippe @Kalahari @Shaaz Sha and @Tero Vallas. I have had the pleasure of driving with all of you, at one time or another, and it's been great seeing you constantly improving, rising to the challenges along the way, and going beyond what your minds and cars may have been telling were your limits, always overcoming, to become the cool and collected drivers you all are. Well done.

Congrats @Islam Soliman, Well done !!!

BRAVO @Islam Soliman. I am very proud of having driven with you so many times, seeing you constantly grow, and having had the pleasure of your company.

Congratulations @Ahab Shamaa @Francois Germishuys @Ilya @Christian Andras @Craig Finlayson @Jorge Stepniak Felippe @Kalahari @Shaaz Sha and @Tero Vallas, you are setting the bar high and that is great!

I'm with you buddy. My hairy chest is employed in other avenues. I'll be more than happy to lead as many of this team's drives as desired.

This is a fantastic achievement and a well deserved rank for @Ahab Shamaa @Francois Germishuys @Ilya @Christian Andras @Craig Finlayson @Jorge Stepniak Felippe @Kalahari @Shaaz Sha and @Tero Vallas You all drive very well and cope admirably with the challenges of the extreme drive . It's not for the faint hearted that's for sure. Go fast or go home Well done guys 👏

Really enjoyed being your second lead this morning @Lorenzo Candelpergher. It's usually my favorite position in a convoy. The sand is not churned up, you follow the lines of the expert... But waw what a challenge it was to keep up with your pace 😅 As soon as we got into the sand the ride started building up and I did feel I have improved some techniques and built confidence. In the small technical dunes, had to monitor the power and the speed and avoid the bumps and drops. Pushing in the higher dunes to practice how to correct the fishtailing and ridge riding - it was a very nice adrenaline rush. And to top it all, the scenery was splendid ! I got to the office with a great feeling of accomplishment this morning Thank you @Dodi Syahdar for the support, and have a lovely week everyone.

Excellent news! And well done to all my colleagues here. It’s been a great journey with you guys to here! Long be there more!

congrats @Islam Soliman

Congratulations @Islam Soliman, very well deserved

Congratulations @Ahab Shamaa @Francois Germishuys @Ilya @Christian Andras @Craig Finlayson @Jorge Stepniak Felippe @Kalahari @Shaaz Sha and @Tero Vallas!

Thank you @Gaurav, and thank you to all the leads I’ve driven with, who have taught me so much and helped me get to this driving level 🙏🏻 I still have a lot to learn from everyone, and I look forward to many more drives with Carnity at all levels 😀 A huge thanks to Carnity, to whom I owe all the adrenaline rushes, the awesome desert drives, and the privilege of meeting and becoming friends with so many cool people 😀 I look forward to giving back and supporting our lovely community. With that, I hope to see you all on the sand real soon 🙏🏻

Really enjoying these mid week drives, makes the whole week seem so much shorter 😀 @Tamas Hoffmannbrilliant route selection - well that is until until the very end 🤦‍♂️ - will say no more other than thanks to @Hisham Masaadfor rescuing us all 🙏 Loved the pace and the dunes were just fantastic, with some great ridge riding I feel so lucky as the car showed no signs of a problem till we were filling up with air at the very end and then suddenly she died!!!!! Thanks to @Srikumar for diagnosing that it was the alternator, anyway a few hours later it was being recovered and all being well will be ready for Friday 😃 Thanks also to @darren thompson, @Vanessa8580, @Tamas Hoffmann, @PaoloMaraziti, @Hisham Masaadfor your assistance, with jump starts, diagnostics and the refuge of an air conditioned car. Last but not least @Chinthaka Ruwan great driving with you again. Until the next one

Congratulations @Ahab Shamaa@Francois Germishuys@Ilya@Christian Andras@Craig Finlayson @Jorge Stepniak Felippe@Kalahari@Shaaz Sha@Tero Vallason the very well deserved promotion!

Thank you @Ale Vallecchi , I have always enjoyed your drives with good briefings, convoy management and advice during the drives. Hats off !

Congratulations!!

Congratulations @Islam Soliman on an exceptionally well deserved promotion. You're a true asset to this club, embodying everything good about the spirit and DNA of Carnity. Bringing a calm and maturity to everything you do instills absolute confidence in your leadership which I have no doubt you leverage from your professional life ... They must be lucky to have you too. looking forward to driving with you Friday.

Actually there is a module in Leaders Lead session where all carnity leaders have tried and manage to drive in the desert below 2K - 2.5K rev as a practice to chart a route for recovery/rescue lead, when any car breaks down. You should try and see how much your car engine is actually capable at 2K rev band to climb a hill in slow-mo.

Congratulations to all extreme members 👏👏👏👏

I would like to request a counter to ‘team extreme’ … I would like to have ‘team easy-going’ opened up as a rank. Anytime you go >2.5k revs you are out … would be my pleasure being a founding member (or at-least try) #noPampersRequired

Congratulations and enjoy the new rank. Wish I can join you all one day 🚙👍

@Lorenzo Candelpergher, thank you for all the support and teachings you’ve given me and the group as a whole! I tell you this; no matter what driving level I’m at, I’ll always bring my pampers on your drives 🤣

Hi @Gaurav and all ! Thank you for the trust ! Main issue is to learn from you guys, I mean leaders / marshals but also other driver colleagues. This has been a great and fun. Let's keep it that way. See you soon on sand !

@Gauravand all the marshals ive driven with over the past almost 1 year now. Its been fun. See you all on the next extreme drive!! 🥳

OMG @Gaurav, thanks a lot guys, I really did not expect this, especially after my last mishap... Now you actually put pressure on me to drive better and develop my skills further... Thanks again!

We all love the X for its ready to use off-road prowess but recently I've been toying with getting it lifted, 2 inches or so. I feel it would offer me better off road performance, but then some say the centre of gravity is thrown but spacers would sort that. Would I need to change the wheels? (stock at present) I'm not sure, I guess with a body lift you'd need to cut the bumper? And what about a suspension lift? Any advice X guys and gals? I want!!! Oh , just clocked the snorkel (clearly right hand drive haha)

Congratulations @Ahab Shamaa @Francois Germishuys @Ilya @Christian Andras @Craig Finlayson @Jorge Stepniak Felippe @Kalahari @Shaaz Sha and @Tero Vallas for reaching the Extreme Level with Carnity Offroad Club. Based on your previous Extreme drive participations with various trip lead all of you have been promoted to Extreme rank. We will be rolling out Extreme rank pre-qualification drive, soon, for all aspiring Intermediate members. Looking forward to seeing you growing further and helping others to learn the art of offroading in a safe environment. Please make sure your Carnity user profile is always updated with all the latest Emergency contact details. P.S. Trip lead might deny your participation if you don't have required off-road gear. EXTREME Drives Attended (Indicative) Minimum 10 Intermediate drives are required within last 6 months for Extreme promotion. To be eligible for applying for Extreme Promotion Extreme promotion will be based on below order: Vehicle capability Driver skillset Drive safety Performance Experience What you'll learn Extremely fast pace Intermediate level off-road driving High speed maneuvers with utmost precision. Advance vehicle handling in extreme terrain. Extreme and long side sloping and hill climb Clear radio communication skills Advance recovery skills Self recover from dune crest Soft sand recovery Pop-out fixing Skills required Able to manage Intermediate drives regularly and without any repetitive stuck or refusals. Able to keep constant focus at high pace driving with caution and yet courageous. Able to do continuous long hill climb without any gearing or power-to-weight issues. Able to drive without fishtailing, ride the ridge and crisscrossing safely. Able to manage high speed maneuvers without slowing down the convoy. Car Worthiness VERY Capable 4x4 vehicle with low range gearing Suitable approach and departure angle High profile tires Fully protected proper 4x4 with LO gear Better power to weight ratio Off-road gear required Safety flag, tire deflator, tire pressure gauge, shovel, fire extinguisher, medical kit, radio (walkie-talkie), air compressor, tool kit, rated recovery rope and 2 rated shackles, GPS. Drive teamwork Manage center forward position with Trip Lead’s permission Learn/assist recoveries under Trip Lead’s supervision Re-route convoy and coordination, when needed Learn to lead small portion of Intermediate drive under Marshal supervision Drive Joining Join All Level drives. Forum participation Active participation on the forum Share drive experience + feedback Share drive pictures in the gallery Post trip report after the drive

100% agree with the midweek drive shortening the week. Loving the opportunity to get out an extra time during the week

Convoy 2 First let me start with a big thank you to @Tamas Hoffmannfor the whole drive idea, and another big thanks to @Vanessa8580for picking up the pieces of the scattered convoy this morning due to the closed Faqa exist @Lorenzo Candelpergher this was my first drive with you, and it was remarkable indeed. We've had so much fun as you started to increase the challenge and even so it was a relatively a short drive, yet it was absolutely fulfilling I surely ended up with more confidence, and this drive provided the exact needed pace and challenge for me to learn more of how to handle my car. Hope I didn't bother @Goutammuch by my early exits specially on the bumpy ridges Great job @Dodi Syahdar It was pleasure driving with all of you A side note: I dont know what made me think that changing my name to my gaming tag would be cool 😅😅 I will change it back as soon as the system allows it. My name is Rawad. I believe it was hard for you to hear it correctly@Lorenzo Candelpergher when I was shouting it behind a mask so you ended up hearing Arwan 😂😂... totally my fault tho🤭🤭 Until we meet again 🤘

Many thanks @Tamas Hoffmann, @Vanessa8580and all participants joined the drive today. With the challenges we faced, the rope was taken out once and no shovel no pop outs. every one done god job 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Hi Andrei Good to see you enquiring about it. It will be a relaxed drive , but yes you need to concentrate on following 1. Keep closer watch of tracks taken by car in front and keep looking for car behind you so that no one is left behind 🤣. 2. Use high beam with fog lamps - no need for led off road lights, but if you have then good. 3. Use radio more generously to proactively communicate as to what's happening . We will be doing some tighter technical dunes at the start and then open breathable dunes

Convoy-01 It was a great drive with some nice experience 😄. Thanks @Tamas Hoffmann @Hisham Masaadand @Vanessa8580 for your guidance. Thanks all the members. I think we covered a great distance today.

Massive thanks to @Tamas Hoffmann @Hisham Masaad and @Vanessa8580 for a great and very entertaining drive this morning. Great route through some nice dunes which allowed me to keep developing new skills on larger dunes. Especially appreciate the fact the team accommodated me joining the drive on short notice, was a good morning hit out and look forward to many more with the team. Thanks also to everyone in Convoy 1 for an enjoyable drive @PaoloMaraziti @Chinthaka Ruwan and @Darren Brooke

Congratz Extreme team @Ahab Shamaa @Francois Germishuys @Ilya @Christian Andras @Craig Finlayson @Jorge Stepniak Felippe @Kalahari @Shaaz Shaand @Tero Vallas

+1

congrats to the 9 carnity members for the well deserved promotion.

Oooops. @RooRzOn you are right, my bad. You are in CONVOY 2 (ie with me), in 5th position after @AlexPoland before @Goutam. Everyone else behind is one position down the list. I'll fix the post later. Thanks for noticing.

Reminds me of the movie “Speed”. We’ll be installing a Carnity speedometer in your car. When you go above 20kmh your are promoted one level up.

TERRIFIC GUYS......@Ahab Shamaa, @Francois Germishuys, @Ilya, @Christian Andras, @Craig Finlayson, @Jorge Stepniak Felippe, @Kalahari, @Shaaz Sha @Tero Vallas

I think both @Lorenzo Candelpergher and @Luca Palanca Falsini drives are excellent, its always exciting to see them going over dunes etc and making me at the back think like lol good luck to the rest follow that ... 😜✌🏼It sure proved to be a challenge as ive seen in my last few extreme drives ! the extreme drive in Abu Dhabi was just great as well with @Emmanuel , no drama at all, all excellent drivers on that day, good fun, the way it should be!

The 1st Carnity Extremists Pack@Ahab Shamaa, @Francois Germishuys, @Ilya, @Christian Andras, @Craig Finlayson, @Jorge Stepniak Felippe, @Kalahari, @Shaaz Sha @Tero Vallas congratulations to you all.. drive safe and enjoy every moment.

Congratulations @Ahab Shamaa, @Francois Germishuys, @Ilya, @Christian Andras, @Craig Finlayson, @Jorge Stepniak Felippe, @Kalahari, @Shaaz Sha and @Tero Vallas! I look forward to having you in the next Exteme Technical Challenge in Al Bataeh! It will be a hard task to devise a drive up to your "extreme" expectations and capabilities!!

thanks team @Carnity,for the promotion and congrats to all others promoted🙏😀👍

Congrats guys. Have fun, look out for each other and stay safe !!

Congrats to all ! You guys are the Adrenaline Rockstars. Keep it safe at all times and look after one another! And in the words of Colin McRae: ”if in doubt, go flat out”...

@RooRzOn, my apologies. Rawad it is, in fact, my bad. I fixed the post 😁

@Islam SolimanWell Deserved. Many Congratulations!!

Joining @Niki😀

Paolo Pellegrini Ivan Pironi Mario Cornejo Abdul Rafay-S Aisha S Yawa Talgat Mendibaev Christopher Assal Charbel Yazbeck Nathan Evans Abdelhamid Elbasossi Manage Wrangeld Veedooshee Islam Soliman You're all confirmed for the drive. @Abdelhamid Elbasossi I guess you put yourself in manage by mistake. You're on the drive. More to follow. @Joseph Sebastian you're in. See you Friday