Almost4x4

Greetings everyone,

Had a blast yesterday with our newbie members in Sweihan.
I was a passenger with my friend @Ehab and I was very jealous of the drivers who were treated to some amazing lines by @optimus. The time just flew by but we have some videos on our channels to give you a feeling of how the drive went:

P.S. welcome back @Rooies !

https://vt.tiktok.com/ZS8XL6MRP/

Good evening everyone,

the cars' engines had not yet had time to down after the incredible GPS Challenge when @optimus called 10+ newbies to Rapid Drive.

Having gathered early in the morning at the meeting point, the marshals divided everyone into two convoys. For us newbies, the tasks were to work out the side cresting on quite sharp dunes, deal with fishtailing and maintain a high drive pace. With little adventures, such as pop-outs and crested cars. At the end of the drive, we got to a vast dune, which not everyone dared to climb.

There is still much to learn to feel confident when driving in the difficult terrain of Sweihan...

Hi All,

@optimus introduced this 10+ drive with the aim to raise the bar.

The convoy over all had a good flow with safe communication.
Several second tries and a pop out was on the menu.
Skills that the drivers will need to improve are"
Maintaining the appropriate momentum
Proper distance
loss of track
luck of focus.

Moving forward the drives will need to work on the above mentioned points if they are to progress further and there is only way to achieve that. KEEP DRIVING FREQUENTELY and don't not miss drives

Until Next time drive safe

Good Morning Almosters

It was a perfect morning, I drove the 1.5hrs to the meeting point catching up to @CARLOSS a few km from the meeting point. We were soon joined by all the Drivers.

Briefing was done by @optimus. I was placed as sweeper for the 10+ Newbie convoy with @Carloss as 2nd lead, @giorgio and @Mahmoodyasin floating. Media covered by @EH@B and copilot @Sorin.

it was a great drive, with @optimus pushing the newbies and presenting some new challenges for them to improve their skills. Of course this made for an interesting drive with stucks 2nd tries and as mentioned we even managed to loose one hapless driver for 10min as he had lost sight of the car in front of him and driven off on the track. but he was soon found by the floating team and shepherded back to the flock.

Playing at the back of the convoy I discovered that the kangaroo is still residing in my car as I bounced more than a few times and "flying" on some bumps ! I need ot work on my throttle control and reading the terrain in order to stay "grounded" its the driver not the car !!

looking forward to heading out next weekend to join our -5 drivers as they continue their journey.
Ramadan is around the corner so I am also looking forward to the night drives and other Iftar events.

Hi everyone!

After all the adrenaline burned out in both Um Al Oush and GPS challenge it was like a balsam joining a Newbie 10+ drive for “stretching out” a bit and having good fun on a relaxed mode.

I was lucky because I was assigned to the Newbie convoy as second lead, (thanks @optimus for the trust) improving my chances of getting a sort of "SPA" drive but as usual, I was a bit mistaken …I will explain myself: By this time, we already know, more or less, Marshals’ drive styles and with Optimum there is no time to warm up and he honored drive’s name: “Rapid” . So, we started to drive rapid(o) and all my hopes for a relaxed drive just disappeared!

The first part of the drive was fast with big arches on medium size dunes, some light side cresting on small dunes and sharp turns… all “seasoned” with a very nice flow. The convoy performed very well at the beginning but when it became a bit more technical some drivers started to have difficulties so, it was the time to lower “a gear” and we entered the second part of the drive approaching Nagra with a very pleasant drive style, amazing lines, and lower pace.

Interm were allowed to play for 5-10 min in Nagra but I did not want to because the dune was very chewed up, very bumpy, and did not want to break my “zen” mode.

Master of Dunes @giorgio took care of the convoy managing a few situations with stuck cars and second tries and my interm fellas supported on recovery situations. And @Mahmoodyasin , our advance colleague, who is an inspiration for all of us, padawan interm.

All in all, a wonderful drive finished on time to come back home at lunch time. The best way to start a nice weekend, don’t you think?

See you soon
Carlos

PS: Some Senior interm friends were missed (@Tomvanhouten , @David , etc.) just to name a few, but they were most likely busy sharpening their knifes for the next upcoming challenges

Hello Almosters,

I confess that looking at the drivers list and seeing so many intermediate drivers, I thought to myself: "hmm, let me take my wife's car instead, just in case a second convoy opens up for intermediates !"
And it happened!
@optimus has divided the group in 2 convoys, the main one for 10+, and a second one for the excess of intermediate drivers.
I got selected to be part of the intermediate convoy (thank you @optimus !)
It was a luxury drive, with such a small convoy led by @Scorpio, 2nd lead @Jasper, myself, @Rathica, @alpied, @Rooies sweeping, and @rapailo floating.
@Scorpio presented us with a great drive. We started the warmup with some low and medium dune cresting and the flow was quite good with radio silent for quite some time.
Once @Scorpio felt that we were starting to get "in the zone", he started aiming for higher and sharper crests, which increased our adrenaline levels exponentially.
We had some expected 2nd tries (we were well trained to play it safe, always!) and a air leaking tire and a pop-out to fix in meanwhile.
Once we reached Nagrah dune, we played there for a while, we observed and learned from @Scorpio how to tackle it the advanced level way, and then we merged with the 10+ convoy and followed them on the easy track to end the drive.
Thank you @Scorpio and @rapailo for the amazing lead and support, as always!

See you soon in the sand!

Pedro

I feel jealous, our 10+ newbies had a very nice full of learning trip in the famous area of Nahi/Sweihanl. Many side crests to flat and many soft arches has been safely done. They also had a chance to climb part of the largest dune in that area, Nagra. Lots of learning with very few incidents.

Enjoy watching
Rapid - Newbie Trip

A very nice drive served to the 10+ newbies by @optimus, a bit unexpected, but everyone likes such nice surprises!

We had a chance to exercise some side-cresting, climbing high dunes and doing high and fast arches - what's there not to like?? ;)

The level of the drive started quite high, with a car crested probably 100m from the beginning of the track - and later it only got better :) We had our fair share of second tries, stucks, even a pop-out - showing that the convoy was pushed to the limits to learn.

Me and my passenger had a good time, and are definitely in for more!! :)

Thank you @optimus for arranging and leading, @giorgio for safekeeping, and our Advanced and Intermediate members @Mahmoodyasin @CARLOSS @Ehab @Sorin @brett for taking care of the convoy!

Overall we covered 41km, in 2.5h (1:40 moving).

See you in the sand!

Hello everyone.

What a lovely day it was spending in the desert of Sweihan. The newbies 10 + had a blast in this area with big sized dunes and lots of soft sand. This area is perfect for maximizing your skills and also to challenge yourself. The convoy was split into two. One Newbie 10+ convoy and one intermediate convoy with only 5 drivers, I believe. Man, it looked like the intermediates had a blast. Never the less, our 10+ convoy also enjoyed themselves and you could see it on their faces. Here and there a few second tries but overall a great experience!
Thanks to @optimus for leading the convoy and as always did a fantastic job! Also, thanks goes to the other marshals for making sure everyone is safe as well as the intermediates for support.

See you soon.
Cheers

After a very very long time I got the chance to get back in the sand again (work has just been crazy). My first worry was did I get the coordinates right because the area did not look familiar at all, but luckily I found some other drives which assured me I still know how to do it.

We met at the meeting point, went through the drills (yes, I can still deflate) . Greeted everybody & caught up. The marshals arrived & turned out that there was more Inters than newbies, so we had 2 convoys, a newbie drive & inter drive. I was with @Scorpio in the Inter convoy. I requested to be sweeper just to find my feet in the and again. The convoy was small, 8 cars in total including @rapailo as floating marshal.

We headed out first with the newbies following a little bit later. The going was good, following distance was not bad, but now & then the gaps got a bit small. We had one stuck, safe recovery under the guidance of @rapailo , then @Jasper had a flat tire & we needed to change it (still got that skill as well). Not long & we were off again. There were one or 2 second tries but overall the going was good. We got to Nagra, played around there for a bit, I tried to do the big climbs but clearly forgot how it works again . We met up with the other convoy & headed back to the road to inflate.

Thank you to @optimus for planning the drive, @Scorpio & @rapailo for keeping us safe on the drive. Also to all the other marshals & drivers, was nice to see everybody again & hopefully I will be able to join more often again.

Till we meet again in the sand, stay safe.

Greetings
Rooies