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Dear Friends what a beautiful cool morning it was and what indeed a challenging drive we did . Every one was on time and ready and after quick briefing we started on the track slowly to have initial glide in taller dunes as I knew what was coming could be more tight and technical . I expected to have lots of refusals and stucks more than usual but guys you proved me wrong and I really was impressed by each one of you driving skills . Well done . The main intention of this final loop was not speed more than fine driving and maintaining the needed momentum and try to focus on self recovery with keeping the shovel on the move and the rope stand by and I believe it was. Probably the true one event was my own stuck side way in super soft slip face with inclination entailed to anchor with it the car from the other side just for safety as there is no place for the slightest error here. While I was in my car I got all the feedback from outside and from different angles helped a lot and together with @marks and @Pacific bringing their cars to the other side for anchorage . @Rob S facing the front standing on foot at the ridge watching the slack/tightness of ropes and the right sided tire. @Daniel Rodas @topgear @James Thorn and @Gregoryshovelling the sand wall from the left side . And with precise communication among all ( team work ) I managed to redirect my car nose down till on the flat. My left front took a toll and popped out and fixed immediately in no time. continuing the drive driving now against slip face and that was the most demanding one and tricky where couple of crests cleared with the efforts of the team. Looping back from slip to hard as time was catching hence we took the dirt track toward exit . @Gregory thank you for making your drive to perfection as second lead keeping the enough distance which gave me freedom to scout and react accordingly👍 @Rob S meeting you for first time what a pleasure . You drove very well today and thanks for assisting me in inflation at end of the drive as my compressor has passed it’s last breath post drive 😅 @Daniel Rodas I always like to hear your Pagero roaring but today you handled the gas so smoothly in drive and recovery that the roar came like rumble 😄 @Warren Flay 3.8L SWB pagero , power and nimble excellent driving , thanks for the help all along @topgear I didn’t hear much on the radio today tells it all , thanks for your help today as well . Well done bro 👍 @Vaibhav being in the back in such drive I believe you were enjoying to the content of your heart. Wish you speedy recovery to your hand 🙏 @James Thorn you were more than amazing not hesitating to help in any situation needed . Thanks for the assistance in fixing my pop-out along with Gregory. Hope to see you again 👍 @marks and @Pacific In the center and in the sweep respectively your presence today by all means was crucial and gave me peace of mind just knowing you are there . Thanks a lot for all the help needed till we meet wish you lovely week ahead cheers Seidam

Thanks @Islam Soliman for fast and flowing drive. Really brightened the weekend. Shout out to the great convoy @Davie Chase@Charbel@Naveen Raj@MMansoor@Daniel Yang@Chris Wing@Ranjan Das @siddharth maheshwariand its been a pleasure driving with you. Below is the drive stats.

Thanks @Islam Soliman for yet another terrific drive; great intensity, safety and wonderful driving by all - no stucks barring my own (thanks @Chris Wing for the tug), always nice to have a shovel free drives once in a while! Great support by @Davie Chase, thanks! @Charbel, @Naveen Raj, @MMansoor, @Anoop Nair, @Daniel Yang and @Chris Wing. Thank you for the company, was a pleasure driving with you all. Hope to see you soon.

Thanks for the amazing drive @Islam Soliman as always you did not disappoint with a variety of terrains and challenges. amazing scenery and excellent company from the rest of the team. really enjoyed the switch up of the convoy at half time and was for sure a surprise @Ranjan Das great SL and SW and was great to swap roles with you @Charbel @Naveen Raj @MMansoor @Anoop Nair @siddharth maheshwari @Chris Wing and @Daniel Yanggreat drive from you all meant that we covered a great distance and we did it quickly and without incident. so bottom line is that was a great introduction to the intermediate level for me and as always a pleasure to drive with you ll and a big thank you to each and everyone of you. I will search the go pro and add any pictures i can find to the gallery. see you all in the sand very soon

Thank you @M.Seidamfor a fun days driving. With able assistance from @marksand @Pacific and cool calm second lead @Gregory we shoveled and rumbled across the dunes with determination. I have to commend @Daniel Rodaswho was in front of me for his lines and his exhaust, I could always hear how much throttle was required for any particular obstacle😁

@Ale Vallecchiyou mean serious business. Just love your drives. The boring stretch also are made fun. Thank you for taking us through different type off-roading from technical to pace drive. Thank you @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil And @Looperthank you for supporting the convey @Waqas Parvezexcellent job as 2nd lead. Keeping @Rob S and everyone behind posted on the terrain.

Great drive @Ale Vallecchi, thanks to @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil and @Looper for the swift fix of my first pop out! Already had the sand removed and rebalanced on way home. Great driving from all in the convoy!

@Ale Vallecchi thank you once again for a fantastic drive this morning. I have been looking forward to my first fewbie+ drive all week and it didn't disappoint! Over 110 km clocked! @Looper and @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil thanks also for providing first rate support to this morning's drive.

Thank you guys for flawless organizing @Islam Soliman @Davie Chase @JeromeFJ @Looper Friendly environment and helpful team

Dear @Islam Soliman @Davie Chase @JeromeFJ @Looperyou guys are simply amazing and having a great energy Mashaallah. @Islam Soliman thank you for the perfect route selection and taught us how to control the vehicle on steep dunes and to avoid fish tailing. It’s a bit challenging to drive at the end of convoy because lots of tyre marks and sand turfs so sometime have to drive from right or left 1 Mtr above the tracks. i’m totally convinced with my number because No Pain No Gain. 💪 Today I learn the perfect way to approach the dunes and decent, the required acceleration upto approaching point and speed control. See you soon guys 👍

Thanks Doc @M.Seidamfor the amazing drive. I'm happy to have completed the 3 loops under your leadership. Your peace of mind under stressful ciscunstances is unparallel. Thanks @Warren Flayand @marksfor the help when I got crested. I had over 10 drives without a stuck, this is a good reminder we always have something to learn, in particular maintain the attention level high at all times. Never let the guard down while driving, the desert will always win. See you on the sand soon! Cheers!

@Simon Dawood @Tareq Al Turq @Morshedi @Han @Rasif ABDUL RAHIM @Will Seivewright @Manoj Soman @Harshal @Joseph Raju Thank you for your great performance recharging all of us for another lovely week. Refusals, stucks and a pop out all recovered by diligent hands so we had enough time to enjoy playing on the dunes. Excellent support by @Will Seivewright on the 2nd lead, @Joseph Raju on sweep and @Simon Dawood as being our flying center. You did good workout and saved our day. Thank you so much! @Han and @Rasif ABDUL RAHIM; welcome to fewbie club! You made a tough but successful beginning today. Keep it up! See you all on the next!

Thank you everyone. It was great drive until my radiator had the issues. Thank you @Srikumar and @Vanessa8580 for all your support and guidance. Special thanks to @Vanessa8580for towing me out to the road . Also to all other colleagues on the drive for their support and patience 🙏. We got the recovery truck in an hour and and had a cosy ride in it's cabin 😁.until the garage and were home by 15:00 Hrs. Long day but a great learning experience. Take care and see you all in the sand again In Sha Allah. (Will take the liberty of posting about the nature of the damage once it's diagnosed) That's pic is Sri Kumar silhouetted on top of the dune.

I also commend @M.Seidam recovery techniques and safeguards implemented. Eye opening and great for future reference.

Mehmet , thanks a lot for the wonderful drive and coaching on crossing the ridges and side sloping . It was fun learning. Thank you, Simon for the wonderful support on the center and Joseph for the swip. Me and my son enjoyed the drive.

Thanks for the fun drive @Kailas & @Brette. It was a good mix of technical and large dunes. Interestingly the virtually no stucks was a sign of the really good members in the convoy 😊. I’ve got some images which I’ll save in the gallery. Thanks to all!!

Dear @Ranjan Das @Davie Chase @Charbel @Naveen Raj @MMansoor @Anoop Nair @Junaid120120 @siddharth maheshwari @Chris Wing @Daniel Yang Pre-drive details below: 1- Please be on time and bring all your passion for off-roading and pull as much as you can of yourself out of bed.. trust me you will need all of it. 2- Be at the meeting point by 7:00am (or before) and be ready to move max by 7:15max (deflated, flag erected, 4H on, radio on and set, airbags/traction/abs all set....) 3- Please ensure your programable radio is on, fully charged and set to Channel 4 (446,081) 4- Briefing will be done on on the sand before we start moving 5- Please be prepared for a demanding drive which you will require your undivided attention. Bringing passengers is ok provided they will not be a cause for distraction and don't have known motion sickness or fear of heights. 6- Please ensure everything in the car is tied down and no moving objects 7- Please check all oils, tow hooks, and ensure no hanging parts below the chassis. 8- please ensure you come with a full tank (as much as possible) in addition to all necessary gear for this drive level specially your safety flag and radio (NO FLAG or RADIO = NO DRIVE) 9- Meeting Point: https://goo.gl/maps/jtZXG4XXN56exRBU6 10- Convoy Order:

Great Challenging drive @M.Seidam! Lovely morning in the dunes and good to meet some new faces! Thanks everyone!

@M.SeidamThank you for the wonderful drive. Technical drives with you is always fun. sorry i could not join in the shoveling due to hand injury which i got yesterday. After the first refusal the injury got aggravated. Really like the way you try explore virgin dunes which is always a big challenge. @Gregoryas a 2nd lead you did very well. Good job @marksand @PacificExcellent support and helping the stuck situations Everyone drove well in the convey. @James ThornIt was a pleasure looking at the LX in the rear view mirror. @topgearit was a pleasure following you. @Daniel RodasAll the pleasure to listen to the sound of your car. @Rob SGood job buddy on your 2nd Fewbie plus specially handling the technical dunes are a challenge with a big car but you handled it exceptionally well. @Warren Flayfirst time to drive with you in the convey, Hope to see everyone soon.

Another wonderful drive, with wonderful convoy and strong drivers 💪🏼. Despite many names, and expected to have few names will not come, but all were on time and ready to go, very nice to see. After quick briefing, we started moving slowly finding smooth track good for warming up. As soon as came close to the pick rock, @Senthil Kumar had am issue with the engine oil leakage, which I think it was already there, but showed more that time. Thanking @Zixuan Huang - Charliefor carrying oil with him, which is really good to think about, and keep for urgent cases. We had to exit the car, and hope no much issues with the car @Senthil Kumar. Started moving again, and all made it to the top of pink rock, easily. After that, and the confidence built seeing all are coping with the challenges, we started moving fast and tracing dunes as much as we can. Great to see new FB drivers and old friends. @Andrew McCarthy amazing control and SL. Please make sure keeping control on the car momentum and not the speed. Big thanks to @GauravSoni for supporting us, and @Zixuan Huang - Charliefor sweeping us today. Nice to see you @Shahid Mehmood @ASAD. @Joseph Raju @Prakash Anoop @Mark D @Harshal @KKIRAN @Karthik Raptor @Pierre de Maigret @Senthil Kumar all made it great today. Please WhatsApp me on 0506318834 to share videos of your climbs. Below drive brief and what have you done guys in the desert😀 Nice weekend ahead Hisham

Dear Desertnauts Paraphrasing Churchill's words, tomorrow's drive "will be long, will be hard, and will be unpredictable". The itinerary is divided into 4 segments: 1) from Murqaab's mosque to Faqa's sabkha - mix of technical and long range dunes, some vegetation, the longest of the four; 2) Faqa to the Little Sweihan - possibility of choosing diverse tracks (from technical but straighter, to long range but longer), mostly sandy, could be the fastest; 3) From the souther sabkhas to Solar Park's edges - in the long run, vegetation may be the biggest challenge of this segment (patience required); 4) final dash (Inshallah) to Qudra - familiar terrain, we'll have to worry about some technical areas, and abundant cross-tracks. The time required to cover each segment will not be exactly 1 hour,but may vary. I am counting to reach as far as Solar Park, from 7 to Eleven, with the hope of having been fast enough, and unencumbered by problems, to manage a last sprint home to Qudra, instead of an exit. Breaks will come only as necessary, so bring refreshments to stay hydrated and focus through the drive. @Vaibhav, @Tom B, @Stav, @Mohamad Anwer, @Waqas Parvez, @Naim Aoun, @James Thorn, @Rsjiv Samuel, @Looper and @Alain Canivet-Abikhalil, I look forward to seeing you tomorrow. PLEASE TRY TO REACH THE MEETING POINT AT LEAST 15 MIN BEFORE 7AM, SO WE CAN START EXACTLY ON TIME. Convoy order and radio channel will be given tomorrow morning prior to the start. Have a great Saturday evening.

Newbie drives are all about learning tricks of driving in desert and today’s drive was such a drive where we learnt a lot. @Sita Sharma was a bit rusty in the beginning but quickly recalled what she has learnt till date. Later in drive due to sun glare she dropped into the ditch as she could not see the path that was taken but was able to recover with some guidance. Thanks to @Islam Soliman for a wonderful drive. @Davie Chase you were exceptional as a center forward. I could hear very clear and precise instructions you were giving over the radio and helping others in recoveries. @JeromeFJ your calm presence is always puts every one at ease. Ever present to help others, appreciate your efforts in the drives.

@Islam Soliman as always appreciate your planning and leadership on these drives, this always makes them super interesting and fun. appreciate you letting me join and supporting you and @JeromeFJ who did an amazing job as sweeper. we did not encounter many refusals and had only a couple of stucks, which of course leads to more learning which is great for all concerned. @Sita Sharma did a fantastic job as second lead. Sita and the rest of the team @Sudhanva Sonawane @Abdul Basit Khan @G300 @Gerrit Bus @Murad Hamed @Yogesh Chaudhary @Krishna R @Saleh Kuba @Juzer Gandhi @Yaseen87 @Kieran McKeown you guys did an amazing job of keeping the convoy flowing and you all drove extremely well. thanks again for letting me help out and hope to see you all again soon in the sand pit. I have added a couple of pics to the gallery

Thank you @Gaurav and the team for the great drive. I have uploaded some pictures form today's in the gallery section. Nice to meet you all and see you soon.

Another great drive to end the week! Thanks all convoy members, especially @GauravSoni, @Zixuan Huang - Charlie and of-course our lead @Hisham Masaadfor the much needed caffeine before the fast paced dune tracing 😅. See you soon in the desert 🌵. Take care and have great week ahead.

Thanks @Hisham Masaad . It was fun and challenging drive - Fast & furious Desert drive version. Really enjoyed it. 😉

Another well spent morning. Thanks a lot @Islam Soliman for a drive which had everything in it for everyone. @Davie ChaseYour wonderful red wheels was literally omnipresent everywhere it was needed. @JeromeFJthe words of @Looperrightly conveys everything so well that your calmness and efforts were reassuring to all us newbies. Attaching .gpx file (can be viewed on google maps) for all those who would be interested in the route traversed today. Once again thanks a lot everyone in the convoy. 👍 Lisaili ReRun with Islam.gpx

Hi @Rob S. You are already in the drive 😉. See you tomorrow.

Congratulations @Suresh K

Congratulations @Abdul Basit Khan

Thank you all , everyone, indeed

Thank You, Hisham, Gaurav and Charlie for the wonderful drive and the coffee. It was our first fewbie and it was fast. Special thanks to Gaurav for Red bull which gave the bigs to climb the big dune Thank you all for the patience when we requested a stop!