Today’s trip was aimed at getting our Junior Trainees to practice all their skills learned over the past few weeks.

The briefing was longer than usual because we wanted to highlight all the development points to the trainees and on how to work on improving them. It was a positive pep talk which strengthened us as a team.

Since one of the development points for this batch was communication, we started with our famous radio comms exercise. After a few minutes, our trainees bagged it and off we went to do the warmup. We could already notice that the communication exercise was fruitful as our trainees were sharp and concise on the radio. And this was reflected throughout the trip.

Warmup consisted mostly of straight crests and navigating through bumpy terrain. This was aimed to refresh straight cresting technique and improve car handling on difficult terrain.

Shortly after, we reached the famous bowl which intimidated our trainees a few weeks back. Today, after a few repetitions, the convoy cruised through the bowl from all sides. It is apparent that a few weeks of training makes a big difference.

We then stopped for our first break where we discussed on various issues to be fixed. The team spirit was shining throughout this convoy today as they fully supported one Fella who was having some power issues.

Our newly upgraded Senior was asked to lead the convoy to the next waypoint. It was his first time leading a convoy and proved to be challenging. More practice is needed but we’ll get there in due time.

A few second tries later, our Lead was back into the driving seat and took us through the long slopes. We were not the only convoy in the area, but we stayed compact and navigated through the slopes. Our Fellas knew when to turn down to safety and not fight against gravity and their cars.

Debriefing was carried out at Fossil Rock crossing where we could glance at the ongoing fencing and construction. It was a productive debriefing, and all development points were addressed. Team spirit once again shone through and then we exited a few minutes later than planned.

Thanks to Marko for leading us through this bonus drive; Fouad for performing under pressure; Marco and Malcolm for spirit of togetherness and cheerfulness.

Report by: DF Senior, Zoubeir