Leaderboard

Dear Desert Wanders, @RiadJL, @ChrisW, @Adam Black, @Mohammad91, @frederic demolder, @Giovana, @Sameer D., @Wilfredo Perez, @Sumedh Krishna, @Sviatoslav, @Vipin M, @Gary F and @Mark B. Thank you all for a great drive last night, you all drove amazingly well to make it a very enjoyable evening. We had it all from some nice flowing mid to long range dunes to a little bit of technical and some shrubbery turning it into overlanding at one point. but no matter what the desert throw at us, you all handled it superbly, with only one small stuck and a handful of refusals. so well done to each and everyone of you. A big thankyou to my second lead @frederic demolder you did an amazing job especially as it was your first night drive. well done and thanks again. In the sweep keeping us all together we had @Gary F, great comms, I heard a lot of instructions to assist the team in front of you which is of course how we learn, thanks for being there gives me piece of mind knowing the back of the convoy is safe and in good hands. In the middle we had our center forward @Mark B, maybe not as busy as we thought you would be, but still busy enough, we a lot of great instructions to handle the one stuck and the few refusals that we did encounter, great mastery over the center of the convoy which makes my job so much easier. I hope you all enjoyed the evening as much as I did @Nicolò, I hope you get your car fixed quickly and easily Have a great weekend

Hope you all had good fun and below amazing stats - We covered just 20kms in 2 hours of moving time - That explains how technical this drive was and done this with No Shovel -No Rope - Is an indication that we can level up the technical challenge in next drive ! @Shaun J - Well done on your first SL position - you did well on all communications and acknowledgements, + slightly adjusting the track where needed upon my instructions ! @Prithvi Raj @Rohit Deginal - The Pajero boys ! again, was nice to see how you managed the track, with minimal refusals, and learning the trick of steering and 4L. @Rahul6157 Was impressive in how you handled your heavy beast - well done ! I know how not easy it was for you but you made it look smooth all through! @Ben Lee @Nizar Shawwa The SWB Jeep boys , making the most of the technical offerings , quietly and smoothly am sure you guys had good fun at the back ! @Sandeep Nayar You were impressive too at the end , dealing with those refusals all by yourself and @Faraz94 - Haval power continues to impress - this time in its sweep position ! well done again there ! - and as a convoy everyone did impressively well ( which i highlighted at the start of the drive as well) however I had not expected we would be able to cover this in 2 hours ! am sure you all had fun too learning to strike the right balance of acceleration and steering ! See you all soon in sand!

Yes great drive everyone and thanks for having me @Davie Chase really nice drive, the convoy drove fantastically! Was definitely expecting more action but the convoy drove like pros, really well done everyone, night drives are not easy. looking forward to seeing you all again soon thanks Mark

Morning all - @Davie Chase Thank you for leading another exciting drive. I really enjoyed that, and again learned much and was on the right side of the excitement vs challenge curve thanks to your leadership! @frederic demolder @Mark B @Gary F Great work supporting the drive and thank you for a few assists along the way! My first night drive and I'll definitely be back for more...

Dear @Davie Chase @frederic demolder @Mark B @Gary F Thank you for guiding us through the fantastic night driving experience. It was a new step forward in our learning and practice! See you on the sand!

Thanks for a great night drive @Davie Chase. Lots of fun and a good learning experience. Thanks @frederic demolder, @Mark B, @Gary F for the support and keeping the convoy moving along smoothly. Top job! And the rest of the newbies - great job! Didn't feel like a newbie drive - everyone drove really well and only had a couple of stoppages See you all again soon 🫡

I would like to apologize to all for the delay caused by my electrical issues. Thank you @Davie Chase and the support team for helping me fix the issue. I managed to get home and the OBD didn't catch any error along the way. I'll get it sorted and I'll see you next week, hopefully 😁

@Ale Vallecchi I have added myself back in Ale as my plans changed again see you in the morning thanks

@Marek Last week's drive was an indication You need new bumper😂, This week's was a confirmation?😂

thanks gents, 3h 8m driving with speeds often exceeding 70km/h - I didn't know @Islam Soliman from this side! Very aggressive and demanding drive! @Ishak, I hope you will not have any issues finding the right shop to quickly balance your wheel. Have a great weekend gents!

Thanks a lot for fantastic night driving , it was my first Night Driving with great learning and Experience.

Dear Desertnauts quick word about this drive, kindly organized by @DP1011. It wishes to be the kind of drive where we leave our thoughts behind, and simply relax and enjoy the nuances of Dubai's desert. As Abu Dhabi's side presents its more challenging features in the form of tall dunes, deep bowls and huge stretches of unspoiled desert, Dubai's side offer a subtler type of challenge, mostly in the form of complex technical areas, with dunes arranged in a haphazard order, which require patience and finesse. This drive will take us to that infamous area of technical dunes which became known, at first, at the track to "The Chimney", where most of us Leads have been tested and tried by @Gaurav during our Leaders Lead sessions. The goal is to bring back happy memories, and at the same time fully enjoy the intricacies of this location. Bring also some refreshments, as anybody who wants to stay can hang around after the drive ends, likely at the 3 Trees area. The convoy order at the moment will be the following: @Islam Soliman in Second Lead @Imran Asghar at #3 @Rob S at #4 @Srikumar at Center @Benjamin at #6 @Cha at #7 @Senthil Kumar at #8 and @DP1011 in Sweep. We can play with the order as we go along. We'll pick the radio channel at the meeting point, from which we plan to leave as close to 8:00 AM as possible. See you all tomorrow.

Well... it got nicely trimmed this time... I'll need couple more drives to shave it on the other side too

Cracking drive! Thanks @Davie Chase and @Patrick van der Loo

@Patrick van der Loo and @Rob S thanks for joining the drive today was a fantastic drive and you both drove the wheels off your cars, the only hiccup we had was my ridge stuck, but that was by design to allow you to recover me lol 😀😀😀 have a great rest of your weekend and see you both soon https://www.relive.cc/view/vKv2nKeP74v

Thanks @Ishak and @Marek for a great start for the weekend.. short convoy is always encouraging to go banana 😂 and you both did great.. sorry again for your bumper @Marek and @ishak don’t forget to pass by a tire shop soon.

Really nice drive everyone, for a night drive and with sands becoming softer you all did exceptionally well for this size convoy at this level. I’d brought two shovels and we only got to use them once. The back of the convey did well nice control and climbs, we had one minor hiccup when both drivers of black wranglers needed assistance at the same time , it highlighted the importance of calling out your position number too on radio comms.

Thank you @Islam Soliman and @Marek to make this drive happen, we had driven 72 km 🫡. I enjoyed the drive with some flat greens, technical areas and lot of gazelles and camels 😁👍🏼

Wow! What an afternoon. This was an amazing drive, great pace, great area to drive in. Thank you so much @Davie Chase for a great time out!

Thank you for joining the drive today. This area proved one more time to be amazing, offering big unspoiled dunes and beautiful desert views. The first portion starts progressively, with clean open dunes and some crossings and ridge riding, just to get in the mood. Then the dunes become higher, unveiling amazing views of the desert and sabkha around. Unfortunately @Mohammad Sayawoush Azad had to exit before reaching the highest point of the drive. (I hope the boys are ok). Driving in this area may look smooth and flowing, but considering the steep faces, the dimensions of some of the bowls or climbs, and the presence of deep sand pockets, it requires very accurate driving, and a perfect dosing of speed and momentum. Everyone managed well, but each of us could also immediately see the effect of not enough momentum, of too much energy coming out of a big curve. The second part was more relaxed, with lower dunes, but still the high pace required accurate control and anticipation to maintain the balance of the car and ensure a smooth ride. We finished with a little gem, a totally unspoiled area, technical, then long open dunes, and technical again, before reaching the sabkha and the exit track. @Mohit Gurnani, @Julien Recan @Amr A, thank you for joining, driving well, helping shoveling my car out, and sharing friendly chat during the breaks. Enjoy the rest of the weekend !

Thank You for such a lovely + technical drive 🙌 Although at times, it’s hard for LWB, but it’s good to get a hold of your vehicle more and more 😃 Everybody did really well, specially with all the self-recoveries. No rope, no shovel. 👊 Welldone Everyone, see you all soon ✌️✌️

@DP1011 thankyou for an awesome drive & a great start to the weekend. Loved the pace + technical route. Always fun driving with you !

Nothing too concerning. Hoping to have resolved in coming weeks.

@Shaun J Hope all Ok , Nothing too concerning?! Indeed 1 drive in Dubai and second same day abu dhabi is bit ambitious too:)

Hi @Ale Vallecchi as much I wanted to join the drive and have some chat with you all, but after relooking at my schedule of the weekend, I had to withdraw my attendance yesterday afternoon. Hope soon in the future we will have another chance to catch up. Charlie

Morning guys Unfortunately need to duck out of this drive. The last ten days are tough and I will not be sufficiently rested dua to the night prayers. First one was last night and I just woke up! Enjoy and see you after Ramadan Imran

@Ale Vallecchi I'm going to have to be a late pullout. Medical issue flared up in this mornings drive with Deepak. Need to rest it. Apologies.