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Another fun drive by the master @Hisham Masaad , thanks for the slopes and climbs ! Driving in Nizwa big red area after a while. A well executed 2nd lead by Hisham Jr - @Abdelghani...i believe every singl,e warning from hisham was acknowledged with a "copied" on the radio ... everyone drove beautifully and at their best , resulting in a very fluid drive, and very few stoppages/refusals well managed by @DP1011 in his usual ever present style! Good to drive with all of you @Deepak Eswar @Cristian @Nadeem Ansari @Juan R @Rk ram @george charbel

@Frederic put the Safaris up front to let the villages know we come in peace, and the ‘Muricans in the rear because they always leave chaos behind 🤓

CONVOY LIST @munkybizness@Rajesh NG@Ahmed Wagdy@DanielN@Richard Franks@Hisham Masaad@Frans M@Nadeem Ansari@Tom V@Marketa Dobesova@Pacific@Andrei S@Looper This time it looks we have an FJ Cruiser Supervisor @Hisham Masaad and a Jeep Supervisor @Looper Please don't forget to deflate to 25psi only, and not to 10-12psi like we usually do. Offroad Flag is also not required this time. We will be using Channel 2 - 446.031 Mhz for our comms. See you all tomorrow morning !

Thanks @GauravSoni for organising this drive, it was an enjoyable TTT. super Soft sand areas as expected. @Anoop Nair executed sl brilliantly. Thanks for @Mehmet Volga , @Benjamin and @Joseph Raju for the support and keeping the convoy in order. All drivers did amazing in today drive, the maturity of the drivers and the sand driving skills is an ongoing practice... Patience and safe practice would take all of the drivers for different level of skills and self-confidence. Im very happy of being a member of this club.. it was nice meeting u @Bravoecho and @Stumpy Paj I took some nice and interesting pic for @Gary F car check the drive gallery's. 😉 till next drive, stay safe and tuned for next challenge🤗🤗 Ahmad

Second time in a row, driving in Sweihan… With @Ale Vallecchifor an afternoon far away from work and for this morning with @JeromeFJ… Always amazing to drive through these high and virgin dunes, feeling confident, following great Leaders as @Ale Vallecchiand @JeromeFJ… As written by @JeromeFJ, we drove this morning through a mixed terrain, long and high dunes then short, high and technical dunes with soft sand… Always obliged to manually shift gears from 4H to 4L, I thank @Chris Wingfor his patience, behind me, while shifting my gears… After 6 months carrying my jerrycan full of petrol for nothing, I was pleased to fuel @Bjoernand to feel useful, during the break at the pond. At the end, seeing @Zedflying and not feeling taking off at my turn, I took a little bit on my left and I got stacked on the crest. Thanks again to @Chris Wingfor his quick tug 😉 Even if departure was very early from Dubai to join Sweihan, I took a real pleasure to drive with all of you… I wish you a nice week-end

Dear Desert Drivers, Thank you for joining the drive this morning. It was a true desert experience, in this mixed terrain. Nice flow in the big dunes to start, as a warm up, and then, passing the sabkha, this impressive set of high dunes. Climbing the face and going down was relatively easy for the group of experienced IM drivers, even if the soft sand required full concentration to keep the cars straight in the descend, but the real challenge was still to come, when we entered the dunes themselves. Climbing per sections, with a sand becoming more soft after each car, little space to maneuver. This is when skills were required, and not only power. Going down on the other side, we met @Imran Kashif, waiting for us close to Sweihan pond. After a small break by the pond, we had another set of these challenging tall dunes, before to continue in a more relaxed mode, cruising the white sands of the Fayah area. @Jaro Tuzinskythank you for the second lead, you were holding the convoy when required , until I found a proper route. @Krishna R, excellent driving and control all along the drive; I did not hear you on the radio, which is a good sign ! @Ignacio Quindós, excellent drive also for your first IM, well done @Bjoern you and your car had better days, but you went through the obstacles with calm and determination, without loosing your sense of humor @Imran Kashif, you missed the big dunes, but thank you for joining halfway @Zed, @Fabien Monleau, @Chris Wing always good to have experienced drivers in challenging situations. You have shown one more time that you can be autonomous at the back of the convoy, supporting others when needed, Thanks a lot! Enjoy the rest of the weekend, and see you next time !

Looks like @Frederic sorted the participants by car model and posted the convoy list. All neatly arranged by the car model. For an person who has OCD for lists nothing can be more of a magnificent list than this. The best.

Great drive, with great convoy, kept moving, without any shovel and tug. Everyone was on time, deflated and ready for briefing. Started moving towards pink rock, where we climbed, and all made it to the top easily, and from first attempt. After that started moving towards big red, all went nicely. Only few refusals, managed in no time, with the guidance of great support of @DP1011 and @Sunil Mathew . Thank you very much Deepak and Sunil. Glad to meet new members @Deepak Eswar @Cristian @george charbel @Juan R who did great. Nice meeting you again @Rk ram @Nadeem Ansari . Thank you @Abdelghani for great SL. Below screen shot of the drive today. Nice weekend.

Which Jeep model you planning for @Frederic 😂

Yes but a few odd ones are in there too ! Perhaps we can convince him to sell their cars so it completely matches up 😜

Nice!!! I have the remaining convoy at the start of the entry gate!

Great to meet you too @Ahmad Neratand look forward to seeing you on future drives. Thank you to @GauravSonifor executing a very unique and enjoyable drive. If it wasn’t for the “commentators curse” at the end it may have been a uneventful morning however it’s those last moments which is what makes these drives so enjoyable as everyone bands together to help each other out. And as you can see from the map below we were true as could be in holding 24.8 degrees. Next trip is 24.8 degrees squared 🤣

I like your calm & composed handling of the senior LC 76 👍🏻, treating it as a precious gem being navigated through a fun journey to reach the rewarding exit 🏆 . I'm still at the euphoria phase after getting my LC 100 back, especially with the Unichip and open cone air filter removed, so at times I push too much on the throttle worrying I don't have enough speed when in fact i have enough 😂 Great driving together, until next time, fellow LandCruiser 🫡

Source in the Photo

Very nicely arranged convoy

While I have released one video from our drive from Al Saad last week - it is going to be a two part series and only one of two has been released - so I will not post those videos here. Instead I want to look back to a spectacular Intermediate Drive I drove in October last year. It was second drive of "Sweihan Drives" Series on 23 Oct 2022 series by @M.Seidam. With Support from @DP1011 as second lead, @Davie Chase in the middle who was in his 50th Drive and me at the sweep. We also had @Imran Kashif, @Imteeaz, @Daniel Yang (who exited midway), and @Tom B in front of me. Part 1 Sweihan: This is the 1st part of two part series in which we drive in the Swihan area. It was a fast paced drive involving a lots criss crossing in the dunes of Sweihan. Part 2 Nahel: This is the 2nd part of two part series in which we drive from in Nahil (Nahel) area. It was a more technical than previous part and tested the skills of all of us. Hope you enjoy these two videos.

@Looper fantastic videos! Now I live outside of the UAE (no more desert driving 😞) these videos mean even more to me, and capture the essence of those mornings/afternoons/evenings/nights in the sand 👍

@MisterPoet only Paint Protection Film (PPF) can give your paint serious protection in the long run. However, it is expensive and very difficult to install (depending on how the panels of the car are formed). It must be applied by an experienced professional. Having used it on my race track car to protect door sills and fenders from debris and stone chips, it is the only thing I would recommend. A less invasive way is to apply a Nano Ceramic Coating which forms a glossy layer on top of your paint. This doesn’t protect the paint too much from chipping but it does support in reducing the harmful yellowing that will happen from sun rays and any tree sap and bug residue that can remain behind. You need at least three coats of it and a curing time of at least 24 hrs for it to bond. As @Frederic has stated above, please don’t coat the surface with sprays. The chemical formulations may not remove if they adhere too deep. Secondly, paint on your car’s body is not evenly sprayed on. It loses its layers over time. A master detailer usually tests the thickness of paint before evening out high spots to give you consistency. An even paint base will make an even base for anything else that goes on top as protection. Lastly, I wouldn’t think this hard about paint protection unless you’ve just had your car resprayed or you think that your paint is one of a kind that needs special protection, in which case PPF is your best bet. Your car (if driven correctly) and not enduring damage won’t get so destroyed in driving long distances on open highways even if you passed through a sandstorm, which could happen if it was sitting still in the UAE. Have it waxed to remove surface contaminants, detailed and polished by a professional and get a regular ceramic coating, and you’ll be just fine.

Something like this perhaps: https://www.calcarcover.com/product/xpel-tracwrap-temporary-paint-protection-film/4494 I’d be very cautious about applying a kind of spray as it might burn into the original paint and leave Permanent damage.

🌻|||||||🌻 looks forward ☺️

@M.SeidamThanks for your feedback , and really I have spent a nice time with all of you , and thanks for your supporting. wishing you all the best , with my full regards to you .

Watch the 🐪

At the drive start point with @Benjamin @Bravoecho @Stumpy Paj ready to go 😂 5:05

Good morning, just checking we are in the right place?, at the pin drop point but only 4 cars here

Dear friends @Abdelghani @Deepak Eswar @Cristian @Nadeem Ansari @DP1011 @Juan R @Rk ram @george charbel @Sunil Mathew thank you for joining the drive. We will be moving as mentioned below, using radio channel 2. For any requirement you can reach me on 0506318834. See you tomorrow morning 5:15am.

@Looper don't forget to charge Insta360 +bring extra batteries and memory cards 😄 This will look epic on video 👍

one of your epic drives @Frederic!!! no wonder its a housefull!! m sure the convoy ( who ever makes it) will love this scenic course!