Trip report – Step on the gas
The drive got off to a nice early start due to the eagerness of the convoy. The sun was almost directly overhead making the f with a capable convoy.
The warm up on small to medium sized dunes was a little shaky and plagued with safety distance issues. After a quick briefing on appropriate safety distance the convoy established good flow and were able to clear a series of small straight crests, in a technical area, without incident.
We then progressed to larger dunes which presented the ideal opportunity for high paced side sloping. Initially, the discomfort with the pace caused the convoy to stretch out like they were socially distancing on the dunes, but with a little coaxing from second lead and sweeper the Fellas found their sand legs and started driving like a DF convoy again. From this point on the flow was beautiful.
Just as the Fellas started to get comfortable with the pace, a few high straight crests were thrown into the mix. These challenges revealed that the group still needed additional practice with straight cresting on high dunes with razor sharp peaks. The beauty of Al Qudra is that you don’t have to search hard to find the exact challenge that you’re looking for. A few more high straight crests were scaled and the group was approaching this challenge with more confidence.
After our second break the radio was dead silent as we did some exploration type driving. Everyone was in the zone. Then as we made a sharp turn to hit the home stretch radio silence was shattered with the announcement of a “pop-out”. Due to the gentle slope of the terrain, the pop-out took a little longer to fix than it normally would. Our sweeper had everything under control and we exited the desert at the planned exit point as the setting sun disappeared behind the distant dunes.
All Fellas drove well today. There were definitely times when bystanders would have mistaken you for a higher level convoy. Just remember that stopping in the desert needs as much discipline as driving does. There were instances when the sweeper was attending to a stuck or second try and other members of the convoy were adjusting the position of their vehicles for no apparent reason. This is completely unacceptable. You only move if the sweeper asks you to do so. If you think you may be in some sort of danger, clear it with the sweeper first.
Sujith and Rathica were a dream team once again. Thank you for the brilliant support.
6 comments on Trip report – Step on the gas
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Was a pleasant afternoon drive , when all were in flow and the radio was silent , you could tell everyone was focused, loved it was brilliant second drive for the day ….thank you …I m waiting for the next one eagerly..👏🙏
That’s exactly how desert driving should always be: focused, disciplined and a whole lot of fun.
The drive started slow in a technical area and drivers needed to find their sand legs as they were too stretched out at the start. After a little briefing about safety distance, there was a significant improvement.
We then stepped up the pace and practiced some nice side slopes and straight crests. Drivers need to know how to balance the safety distance on straight stretches versus when approaching a climb.
***Remember to keep enough space between you and the driver in front when approaching a climb, so you can gather momentum to make the climb – as well as keep space so that if the driver in front requires a sesond try, there is space in front of you for him/her to safely reverse their car and retry.
The sand was quite soft so on order to prevent getting stuck, we had to keep on moving and that’s what we did. The convoy progressed to a steady fast pace and there was radio silence as all drivers focused on the track and their car. Safety distance was perfect and the convoy moved as one unit🚙🚙🚙
For a mixed Junior 1-5 level: A few second tries on the straight crests, a stuck and a popout – all in all – it was a well rounded drive.
Well done Fellas
đź‘‘đźš™
Drive started at perfect time. Initially drive went on relaxing mode. After 30 min, phase changed to technical dunes. Some places it’s a bit challenging. Very soft sand and dunes are too close made me to concentrate more than what usually I do. During side cresting convoy moved like F1 speed. Couple of times I hit 80kmph. I don’t know exactly, may be its usual with advanced level drives. My car is jumping too much and others are seems to be managing the situation easily. I can hear “catch up guys” commands in the radio several times. Need to check shocks compression and rebound settings. It’s nice drive. Thanks a lot to Preggy, Ratika and Sujith for everything. Last minute pop-out caused delays in exit plan. Still its fine.
Everyone was keen to drive and brought a positive attitude: love it! After a good build up we started going into the repetitions of the challenges so far, great to practice, practice, practice! Really good flow and lots of km without interruptions. Thanks Preggy, Rathica and Sujith for the great afternoon and support!
thanks to the backbone of the day, I name Preggy, Rathica, and Sujith …
I do not forget my playmates, who took as much pleasure as I did to participate in this beautiful afternoon adventure.
time for a lapping, a warm-up, just to get to know each other better, to find our place in the group, and it was gone …
then it went well, the level of requirement reached, and this despite some minor hiccups.
I join all those who preceded me in their report it was great!
thank you all.