Leaderboard

Thats exactly how it feels being the 2nd lead with hisham 😅

Il Sorpasso: Al Ain District to Dubai - Drive Report "Whether one moves slowly or with speed, the one who is a seeker will be the finder" - Rumi While the goal of the drive was to cover at least 90 kms in 3 hours, which we almost did, the spirit of the drive was to both carefree and adventurous, which we certainly were. From Al Hayer to Murqaab, we went through an interesting and exciting first part (before reaching Al Jabib) , on torrid reddish sand, across an interesting terrain, with few lonely trees and some long range cordons. This was the most carefree section of the drive. A second fun-filled stretch was the crossing of Faqa long range dunes, all the way to the sabkha separating this area from Murqaab. The two more "adventurous" parts of the drive where that crossing of the technical dunes between Al Jabib and E14 (a section only explored once before, hence not too familiar to me), and the navigation of similarly (although lower) technical dunes before arriving in Murqaab. At that point, with almost 45 minutes of daylight, we tried to prolong the track to reach Lisaili, but a few repeated stucks, refusals, and minor incidents, led to the decision to trace our way back to Murqaab's mosque, to end the drive. In the end, a bit of frustration that I felt, as a leader, in struggling to find a clean path through the technical areas, turned in an opportunity to explore a not-so-driven area, and challenged the convoy to keep the drive "stuck-free", which for the most part we did, always moving at a good pace, very close to the fast one we had set ourselves as a goal. The final statistics spoke of an almost accomplished objective, with 91 Kms covered in 3:39 hours, of which 3:12 moving, at an average speed of 28 Km/h. The whole convoy executed the drive with accomplished skills and great concentration, keeping up the pace even on particularly bumpy and tight terrain. The tremendous heat, probably the highest of the season so far (recording temperatures between 47 and 50 degrees during the first hour), only added to the pleasure and excitement of the drive.... a hot and dusty one, as planned. Well done to @Anoop Nair in Second Lead, @Joji varghese, @ASAD., @Rob S, @Tom B, @Waqas Parvez, @Charbel, @munkybizness and @Christian Andras in Sweep. See you soon for the next installment of our weekdays fast and furious drives.

@Gaurav Sonithat's one of the most technical areas, with some of the tightest dunes I have seen. Especially the beginning. Get ready for a lot of bouncing around 😅😎

Wow Gregory ! Well done! 😀 Keep pushing the Pajero!

Congrats @Jona

Well done @Jona!

Awesome @Beide Worku! Good to see another truck at FB+! Enjoy the new level!

Congrats Beide 👍👍

Congrats Jona..👍👍

Joking buddy. We need one pajero for sure . And knowing hisham your his favorite and he will definitely take you. 😊

So bad @Simon Dawood, let's see where you will be next time😡

That’s the plan ! Face the worst fears head on and be victorious! Of course we will have challenges on the way but mentally we will come out stronger!

My routine: the alarm goes off at 6:51 and I would snooze it for 9 min, and then be ready with the fastest fingers first at 7:00 sharp as soon as the drive notifications would be pushed. And you know who the usual suspects are going to be, and the drives would be gone in 60 seconds. Good old days - gas was cheap and there was not too much work.

guys you have to take me in for this drive !!!! It wont be fun without a pajero to spice things up 🤣

Congratulations @Beide Worku

Congratulations @Jona

Congratulations @Gregory

Good topic. Anxiety, yes, especially if there are limited drives posted for whatever reason that next weekend. I set an alarm for 18h58. By this time, I've already decided on my first and second options (if I'm around at all in DXB during the weekend that is) I then have the Whatsapp Carnity notification page opened with the exact drive link in position. Next I make sure that I'm connected to the strongest wifi (I find my data connection is slower sometimes), and hope that my phone doesn't decide to do some random update, run out of battery (or freeze) at exactly that time 🤣. I make myself scarce, possibly somewhere out of sight 😂 It then seems to take a long time for the clock to change to 19h00, but as it does, my finger is ready.... I click the link, scroll down (but not too quickly otherwise the "going" button disappears), click on "going" - A painful few seconds goes by before (If I'm lucky) my name is added to the guest list. If I'm not too lucky, or a technical glitch happens, well we all know what happens then.

Congrats @Gregory... well deserved 👏

Congrats @Stan Hassett

Congrats @Gregory

@Beide Worku well deserved , congratulations

Congratulations @Jona

Congratulations @Jona

Congratulations @Beide Worku 👏👏

Congrats @Jona

Congrats @Beide Worku

Congratulations @Beide Workuon the promotion

Congratulations @Jonaon the promotion

@VaibhavNow we are friends again 🤣😁

WL is best

Just a casual thought : How many of you do have stress/anxiety at 18:59hrs every monday 😂! I have my 2 alarms set: 18:57 & 18:59! How many of you leave everything aside on monday evening 18:59😂, I am certainly one of those! just curious to hear what goes in ur mind and how do u handle 18:59/19:00 Mondays😅! @Amr Aydin I know today you stopped aside while driving, @RiaanJH I know you were in flight wondering if you will get confirmed drive slot after you land😂 @Anoop Nair Saw your 60 seconds comment today😅 Others??

These type of dunes that you bring one wheel on it and the rear still didn’t leave the previous one ( spider march ) . Love them a lot 🤣

I nominate this position for Simon 2nd lead

@Simon Dawoodi think sweep will be ideal 😄. @Mohamad AnwerLet's not forget we have 2 bulldozers in the convoy (Prado's)

Get ready @Simon Dawood

Simon Pajero Madmax 🤪

@JeromeFJ - i have been away for a while and coming back to this announcement is wonderful! massive congrats and you know how highly i regard what you do in a completely stock car (albeit a great one ) ... hopeful i can share a drive again with you !! see you soon

Congratulations @Jona! Enjoy the new level

Well done @Beide Worku - time to put the truck through some faster pacing

Congratulations @Stan Hassett well done

Congratulations @Jose Thomas

Congrats @Jose Thomas

Well done @Stan Hassett!

Nice one mate! Well deserved @Gregory!

Congratulations Stan🤩

Congrats Stan! Glad that you made the move Now my ego can take a break knowing that we will cross paths again! Well deserved classmate!

Congrats @Jona ! Well done and enjoy your level up 😎

Congrats @Beide Worku Well done ! Enjoy your level up , see you soon !