Sunil Mathew

Good to meet another Fortuner @monkeywrench... we are a rare kind these days

its corrected now...it was 3PM before 🙂..so try now .. should be able to be in the drive WL

probably because there is a clear conflict/overlap of timing between the 2 drives @Davie Chase - 11AM to 3PM, 27 Jan @Gaurav - 1PM to 5PM, 27 Jan

Congrats Deepak @DP1011.....great news!! way to go!!

Great drive @Frederic…starting off with some moderate technicals , nice and smooth flowing second half with lot of climbs and bowling…in a not so visited area. ‘‘Twas a fantastic morning out !!!

Congrats @Mahesh_....see you soon on FB+ drives!!

Congrats @Vijay Cowlagi..see you soon on FB rides!!

Thanks @Davie Chase for choosing Al Fayah for yesterdays drive and giving an opportunity to our newbie members to experience the wonderful terrain ... i am sure all of them have taken home loads of learning and pointers to implement or experiment with, in their next drives. We had some recoveries, but these are part of the learning and to an extent , fun too ... important thing is to stay calm, not to panic , not to feel bad , not to think that you are holding the convoy etc. Newbie drives are for getting stuck and learning about your cars, how they handle, and to get the balance between the 2 main inputs you are giving - steering and throttle Now, just penning down what i observed about our newbie friends driving within my field of view @Andrew John Melvill @Menon @Hani Howeedy- drove really well and learned along the way. You have heavy cars which call for a bit more of momentum on climbs , so that your front and rear both cross over together. If you let go of gas when your front crosses over, your rear is going to come down , ending up in what we call fishtailing. Whoever had refusals, got it right on your second attempts, which means that you know what to do, but instinctively it doesnt come to you on your first attempt. This is something which comes by practice. So keep driving and this will easily be second nature to you before you even know. @Jasim Bo Falah - as we discussed, your car is more than capable of conquering the desert. Dont be shy on the gas when it is required. To know "when" its required, we need practise, so keep driving and master the skills. Since you have 2 more cars - FJ, Tundra both being more powerful than the pathfinder, i suggest you stick to the pathfinder and get the hang of it , and once you confidently negotiate sideslopes, dune crossings etc , then only think of changing cars. @Shaun J - driving behind me did a wonderful job with clear radio comms whenever i was out of convoy order to attend to a situation and clarifying what he has to do, rather than assuming something. Appreciate your presence of mind and adherence to convoy discipline. @Prithvi Raj - on his maiden drive, did really well for a fresher. It was a relief to learn that your bumper was intact after that air time you had on the straight crossing. Also, appreciate you being calm during the long recovery involved with your car in the soft patch. Your car finally made when @Rob S was behind the wheels, so you must have realised now that its not the car , but the driver which is mission critical ! Hope you hade lot of learning from the episode, and see you soon , on your upward learning curve. @Nizar Shawwa @Damian @Abdul Hannan @Abdullah N @Vijay Cowlagiall driving behind me, and mostly in silence did a great job in keeping up with the convoy. @Soufiane - in 2nd lead, i couldnt get much of a glimpse, but looks like you did great , reading @Davie Chase 's report !! Finally @Rob S - thanks for joining last minute and relieving me of the pressure i felt when i saw a 12 car NB convoy with only me in support . Your "pajero" skills are amazing !!! and thanks for helping me out when i ran out of ideas Some photos uploaded in the drive gallery https://carnity.com/gallery/category/1928-newbie-al-fayah-abu-dhabi-13-jan-2024/ @Hani Howeedy and others not familiar with the website - we have photo galleries for each drive, and the link above will take you to the one for our drive yesterday. Please upload photos here, and lets hoard up all the good memories here !!!