Almost4x4

GRAVITY III
TRIP REPORT: 1st Advance drive after the upgrade
The area chosen was famous for giving sleepless nights and instill fear in majority of machos behind the wheel.
Myself, @Rashidjass , @Scorpio and @optimus made it together at the meeting point.
A cold winter morning, as we reached saw @giorgio , @kareem.alameldin , @Nabil and @presa tucked in their winter wear sitting on the dune top leaning on a car, escaping the chill breeze. Soon @Mabubaker , @rapailo , @Saeed FJ joined the gang as well.
@Scorpio did a short briefing, passed on the new rules of engagement special emphasis was on the "WELCOME TO THE NO MERCY LEVEL" . A 360deg view of the area gave a glimpse of what is coming our way. Convoy order -> Last man standing = it gives shivers after reading it, but yeah that’s what it literally meant. @optimus raised his hand to be the 2nd lead (A brave move), which not long was took over by many as and when the 2nd tries were called out at that particular position.
@Scorpio known for not believing in warm ups. Set out for an initial climb and straight for a side crest. Behind it @optimus had a narrow miss when he was challenged by a LC approaching at 90 deg, both moved in opposite direction just in time. I being the 3rd car had prepared to go down just in case LC went On with his plans.
On the other hand @Scorpio went ahead with his plans of flattening the long and high crests. Amazing Dunes chain had their high Climbs with very sharp crests. Indeed a unique area with lot of dangers waiting, A clear blue sky view was the poster picture on the windscreen whenever a rev up for the climb was underway, with absolutely no idea where the crest was ending so to turn for the sidecrest, a game of instinct was On. As we thought that yes we had successfully made to the other side, a much higher and even longer climb awaited with a surprise. A Continuous and constant concentration was required, I didn’t have a sec to even look at my gauges to see how the machine was doing.
This was the first time the radio was silent for a continuous of 30 mins, a shout out “RADIO CHECK” from a Marshal @Rashidjass enjoying the misery of the convoy that is under immense stress. With no response, he asked @Scorpio for a short break. Boy that was required!!! The visuals were, while some guys come out for their cars all jackets removed, body covered with sand, others had their shirts wet with sweat and a common statement was uttered just 30 mins of drive, what…it felt like 2hrs.
After filming @giorgio with his advance ride (didn’t go well today), we set out again for yet another couple of hours of adrenaline rush. @Scorpio led the convoy at high speed, series of multiple crests and touching each dune at least more than 4 times. Behind him a continues change of positions kept on happening as and when the 2nd tries were called out.
There was a long climb/crest on a dune followed by the second sidecrest which once attempted and completed by @Scorpio , 2nd lead and remaining climbed and turned left 90 deg towards another dune. @Rashidjass on the radio @Scorpio you are all alone, no one behind you
With all the action and stress we were lucky to come out in one piece with all the cars functional (probably because it was all FJs convoy) and surprisingly with only one pop out and a stuck in the V ditch.
A just 3 hour drive felt like a whole day fatigue but surely it was worth the time. Thanks @giorgio , for the heads up. literally that day I understood the level difference of intermediate & Advance.
After making it to the road, some of us filled and headed to their way whereas few of us joined for the lunch.
Huge thanks to @Scorpio for the wonderful drive and @Rashidjass & @presa for watching our back.

Till next time
Mahmoodyasin
Dark stallion
(Black FJ cruiser)

Gravity III advance drive


A cold morning that required a jacket and a warm hat. This is one of my favorite areas. Although relative small, it has everything you need for a high level drive.

The new advance drivers were to be surprised. Briefing was sort and to the point " I am not going to look back, we will drive last man standing style, area has sharp crest and if you cannot do it go down and try again. Radio frequency is XXXXX lets drive.

With @Scorpio on the lead and @Rashidjass on the role of the mountain goat (Keeping an eye for other cars and convoys) and @presa we rolled on a fast pace. From the first crest all drivers understood that this is not a drive that they can just sit back and drive, second crest the shock kicks, in third crest i am sure the feeling of OHHH SHI#&$^%% starts to kick in and the second tries begin.

1st break came after 30 min. I am sure there are drivers that felt like kissing the ground coming out from their cars. It was obvious that many were in a state of a mild shock and for sure the adrenaline was crazy high.

The thoughtful break was long enough to bring the heart bits down to a normal level just to start again the drive raising the level. I guess the first 30 min were the warm up.

We kept driving the same Dunes but the approach speed and combos started getting more complicated and challenging.
The drivers were fighting to keep their positions in the convoy, the crests were getting closer to each other as the pace was increasing, the time to react was shrinking and sand was flying everywhere. You could see the long FJ snake raping around the dunes with the engines roaring and the RPM gage stuck on the red.
Radio was quite in the beginning, but after the break it got alive. It became common for the convoy to get scattered in different directions. Second and third tries were happening as the drivers were trying with teeth and nails to keep up with a convoy that had no mercy stops.
Couple of more breaks gave the chance to the drivers to take a breath and check tire pressure. coming out of their cars most were covered in Sand and they all had that looked amazed, happy and lost in space. Quick stories of Ohhh Sh*#$&^#^% moments were been discussed, drivers were checking their cars out to make sure that all is ok since most of us had already taken hits that could have been controversial.

In the entire drive we had only one pop out (mine) and one self recovery with 3 short breaks so it is easy for you reader to understand the driving time ratio against the length of the drive.

I was sweeping and I was finding difficult to know which is the last car as it kept changing on me. So I had to be on alert to not loose anyone from the drivers that were doing several attempts to reconnect with the convoy.. I would say that most of the time I managed, although it was more than once that suddenly saw from my mirror drivers that I was under the impression that they were in the front of the convoy.
I am sure that I am not exaggerating saying that every driver got the chance to be a second lead. The concept of the last man standing is a brilliant concept that gives the opportunity to all drivers to change different positions during the drive and have a taste of technical and survival mode while at the same time eliminates the second try unnecessary stops and keeps a constant pressure to the drivers.

Coming to the end of the drive I could not help smiling thinking that this was the first advance drive for most of the drivers and that the bar will only go higher from now on and this is only the tip of the iceberg.


To close my report I would like to thank the organizer and lead as well as the support team (it was only Rashid but we all know that he is a team on his own) and the rest of the drivers for the adrenaline packed drive.

Looking forward to more advance drives and hope to see you all soon. Until that time drive safe.

@giorgio
Very exciting read The story was as if i was driving there again. Indeed the thrill and challenge will remain in the memory for a long time.
Thanks to all for a wonderful day together.

Mahmoodyasin wrote: Sun Jan 31, 2021 11:18 am @giorgio
Very exciting read The story was as if i was driving there again. Indeed the thrill and challenge will remain in the memory for a long time.
Thanks to all for a wonderful day together.

In this level every drive will be a drive to remember

Hi Almosters!

We had great fun driving in a very special area with Scorpio!

Flow was good, level was good and I believe everyone had a lot of fun!!

For a few minutes, I decided to join the fun at the front of the convoy and got the 2nd lead spot! Scorpio was punishing the drivers with long arches before sidecresting, sliding on sidewalls before taking another sidecrest.... tons of fun!

Is very satisfying to see so many Advance drivers!

See you all on next weekend CM!

I have been struggling with writing trip reports for quite some time now due to hectic office commitments but this trip definitely deserves a report even if it means I have to write it in unearthly hours .

First of all, I would like to thank all the Advance members for playing safe and always keeping safety of themselves and others in mind . There is always a next time to conquer any dune and no crest ever deserve jeopardizing the safety. At this level, as you would have noticed, the drives are serious, fast and challenging for both the driver and car; and require constant concentration due to driving on extreme terrains .

We had a great morning, amazing weather and a superb drive in one of the most challenging areas. I had the great support from @Rashidjass and @presa as the floating marshals and a highly skilled convoy of advance members behind me in my home ground . Some of the drive details have been shared already in earlier beautifully written trip reports and I will leave the remaining for the other members to share.

As a lead car, I tried to create a path that is safe yet challenging and apt for this level. We start training members on side cresting when they are intermediates but the line and the side crest that you learn to do as an advance member is different and requires laser sharp focus .

There were many crests that I had left in GRAVITY-II because those were ‘advance’ crests; but in this drive I had no limitations . But, still I remember that I have purposely left 3 crests in this drive due to safety reasons; I planned for those crests, climbed, reached near and then noticed no visibility of the crest line so, aborted – safety ranks above fun at all times!

As we had many second tries during the drive therefore, I used to welcome a new 2nd lead on stops ; and it was a sign that I was leading a sensible convoy. In summary, it was a great company and a memorable Friday.

I am sure on few of the crests, you would have remembered the drive name ! By the way, have you ever heard of ANTI-GRAVITY!?