It was basic training 4 day everyone was looking forward to. BT 4 is a big step up from previous sessions and our trainees assembled at the meeting point before dawn eagerly looking forward to what was waiting for them today.

Once at the starting point and all preparations done, we started radio practice to make sure everybody is awake. The first simple math questions over a radio at 6am were good fun and provided opportunities for some banter afterward.

We then quickly warmed up over some easy dunes and went deeper into the dunes towards fossil rock. Driving on top of those dunes feels like being on top of world, but is also an area that requires concentration to avoid popouts. All our trainees mastered this part and we moved quickly without requiring any actions from our sweeper. Kudos to the team on this.

Soon after the convoy assembled in front of a nice bowl, where Marko provided all the theory of bowl driving, safety tips, and closing with the note: Remember, have fun and enjoy it, this will open a new world of off-roading for you.

After some rounds through the bowl, everyone got a hand for it and we have seen that our trainees made the right choices to turn down when needed, which is very encouraging. From here on they asked for bigger bowls and longer side slopes, and our Marshal delivered.

As the level increased and new exercises got added, we saw some stucks and rope recoveries, which is normal and all part of the learning process.

It was a great morning out and amazing to see how this group develops. Thinking back that this is just the 4th drive, it’s impressive what I was able to witness today.

Thanks everyone for the great morning today and hope to see you next week again.