Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

Day 1

Sunday’s prologue ended with us in 18th place (not 14th as we’d thought) which put us one place behind the only T4 truck – an Italian team in the Iveco. Dad and Jane came with us to the ceremonial start, where Dave Pryce assumed chauffeur duty for the day. Getting to the stage start on time almost defeated us – a truck had jackknifed on the Musaffah Road and we were minutes away from missing our time control slot. However, we need not have worried as the start was delayed.

The first section consisted of graded tracks leading to the Deadcoach Gatch, a 25km long dusty track with little possibility of overtaking. As it turned out, the Iveco was way too fast for us to catch on the flat, but as soon as we left the track for some dunes, we passed it easily. As the stage continued, we passed another seven vehicles, making us (briefly) 10th overall! Then, just before PC2, disaster struck. After a slightly heavy landing, we lost 4WD and had to face the prospect of either calling in for service at PC2 or trying to complete the stage in 2WD. Knowing that it was likely to be a long job to fix, we opted to continue – and paid the price, getting horribly stuck in some soft dunes some 70km from the finish. Fortunately, the sweep team came to the rescue, not once but twice, and we arrived at the finish 11 minutes inside our 6-hour limit time to find that the finish team had disappeared! I made a quick call to rally control to inform them that we should be credited with a finish, and after the long final road stage was able to confirm our position with Jum Ali Khan and Ronan Morgan, giving us 19th place overall – one place lower than our start.

The service crew worked tirelessly to solve the problem, replacing a broken right hub and a left half-shaft, which we fortunately had in the service truck.

Day 2 is traditionally the hardest of the lot, and this was no exception. The route started on the Madinat Zayed Road, and headed west to the Ghyathi Road. We were only 5km into the stage we came over a crest, and smacked into Manfrinato’s Patrol, at the bottom of a narrow valley between two dunes. Seconds later, Mike ‘Ziggy’ Ziegler came over the same dune and car 214 became the meat in a three-car sandwich! There was no way to disentangle the vehicles without outside assistance, and once again the Sweep Team came to the rescue. Nigel McReynolds did a sterling job with his winch, and eventually all three cars were on their way, having lost a full hour. The drama continued as we managed to get stuck 20km further on, to be rescued by Ziggy, whom we’d just overtaken. After that, we were going well, but the initial hour’s stoppage meant that we were time-barred at PC2. Despondent, we aired up the tyres for the trip back to the bivouac, and decided to call in at PC4 (on the Crescent Road) and get our card stamped in the hope that it might reduce our penalties. For once, luck was on our side, because the section from PC4 to the finish was still open! So we quickly aired down again, put on our helmets and proceeded to complete the stage, which gave us a 14th place for day 2, and 12th overall.

However, the front axle was making some very unhappy noises when in 4WD, and wed spent quite some time running in 2WD to try and avoid further damage. Again the mechanics, Tony and Ray, worked to try and identify the problem, but couldn’t find a definite cause. They also removed the A/C condenser to help the cooling of the radiator, since we clearly had insufficient cooling power to handle both.

Day 3 started close to Day 2 start and followed a similar route. As soon as we started, we found that the noise from the front axle was getting worse. We had no choice but to use 4WD, so we decided to carry on and hope for the best. A tyre off the rim stopped us for about 15 minutes while we changed the wheel, but other than that we were going well. After PC 1 we headed west of the Ghyathi, and reached the mid point of the section when the 4WD noise became much worse. We’d just changed to 2WD when disaster struck once again – something let go inside the engine and we were dead. A quick look underneath told us that something had beaten its way through the sump, and all the oil was gone. Clearly our race was over.

So we called rally control on the Iritrack and they immediately sent us a helicopter to take us out of the desert. Since we had almost no mobile signal there, it was difficult to co-ordinate a recovery plan and getting us back to our service team at PC2 was the sensible thing to do. From there, Sheila took the pickup with the mechanics back to the bivouac, and myself, Rick, Tim and Abi drove back up the road to the underpass where we’d crossed the Ghyathi. We had two cars, both Patrols, to recover the race car. We entered the desert at 1315hrs and took only 45 minutes to reach the car, which Rick drove while I towed. Fortuanetly the section from there on was largely rolling dunes without many steep dunes, and by choosing our route carefully we were able to make good speed. A couple of difficult climbs halted us briefly, and we were forced to deploy our winch to pull the race car up. Finally, at 1815hrs, we exited the desert near PC2 and started back towards Moreeb.

But the drama was not yet over. As Tim trailed us back, driving Abi’s Patrol, the front left wheel fell off and skittered away into the night, while Tim fought to control the vehicle. We realized something was wrong and pulled over a kilometer or so later. Then the Iveco service truck came upon the stricken vehicle, and their mechanics helped to jack the car up and fit the spare wheel. After leaving our race car at the Liwa Guest House, we arrived back for a late dinner at the bivouac. Although we’d retired, we still gained 18th place on the day!

So our race is over. Informed opinion is that our oil pump may have broken up, so there is some hope that the engine itself may be intact. It had not gone over-temperature, nor had we revved it over the limit of 5800rpm. Only a full strip-down will tell the full story. The front axle clearly has a problem, probably in the diff. And there is a large amount of body damage to repair – including 2 new rear doors.

So what of our other friends who are competing? Ramesh and Ian, in another V8 engined Patrol, suffered a disastrous fire on day 2 which completely burnt out the car. Team FJ rolled their car on Day 3, but continued and are currently running 7th. Team Saluki took the start on day 2 and immediately returned to the bivouac, unable to find parts to repair their clutch master cylinder. This gave them a huge penalty, but Glen drove a blinding third stage to finsh 3rd on the day. He then topped this by finishing 2nd on day 4, so they are still in the race. Fadi Melki, driving solo in his Range Rover, came in 8th today and continues to do well. But Chicherit and Thorner in the BMW X3 are unstoppable, having won every stage, and Bilhili in his T2 Patrol lies in 2nd place overall. With one day remaining, it’s a game of attrition, and everything is still to play for.

Abu Dhabi DC - Prologue

We've managed to get two local publications to decide we're interesting enough to write about this week. First we got almost a full page in the Xpress (Dubai weekly freebie), and then a short piece with photo in Abu Dhabi Magazine. We're only apprentice media whores, but we try!

The last days have been spent to-ing and fro-ing to Abu Dhabi - Fri for documentation, Sat for scrutineering (passed with flying colours) and today (Sun) for the prologue. We are car 214, seeded 14th and that was exactly where we came in the prologue - run over a 2.1km stretch of reclaimed land near the Abu Dhabi Intl Marine Club which contained more scrap metal than Steptoes yard. How no-one got punctured on all the re-bar sticking out of the ground is a minor miracle.

So tomorrow we're back to Abu Dhabi once again for the ceremonial start at Emirates Palace. We have to be in Parc Ferme between 0730-0830, so it's yet another 0600 start - the traffic down on the island is murder in the mornings. Dave Pryce has kindly 'volunteered' to chauffeur my aged parents around on Monday, so they get to see at least one day of the event. Rick is down in the bivouac setting up our camp, and Cesar plus two mechanics on loan from Glen Reid's Icon garage should turn up at our house after we've left, to collect the pick-up and its cargo of tools and spares. We'll see them at the start, then they and Rick should be at the service point later on. This is all very well in theory - but the VW pickup is sounding a bit tired, and Cesar is as sick as a dog, so anything could happen.

Hopefully, Tim will be able to update this from the media centre in the bivouac, so watch this space!

The Beast is Unleashed!

Finally on Friday we were able to take The Beast out for a long-overdue shakedown, and Malcolm Anderson kindly agreed to run as ‘chase car’ for us. Although it wasn’t the hottest of days, we needed to test out the new cooling system so we repeatedly ran the car up and down Fossil Rock – high revs and low forward speed usually show up a problem. The results were encouraging – we couldn’t get the water temperature over 100°c, and as soon as we returned from the top, the gauge dropped to 85. So we appear to be well within the 115°c limit at which the ECU goes into ‘safe mode’.

I was also able to explore its performance and handling, which are simply awesome. Ohlins shocks - twin at the front and singles at the rear – do their job admirably. I thought the old car was pretty good, but this is on a whole different level – the steering is light and responsive, it flies level over the jumps and soaks up even hard landings. And as for the performance – well, the only limiting factor is going to be the size of my reproductory equipment! Peak torque arrives at 2500rpm, and it responds to the throttle in any gear, at seemingly any speed.

Back at the garage, we’ve rearranged the cockpit, moving the seat positions and fabricating a new co-driver’s panel in matt-black chequer-plate to house the ERTF GPS bracket and two Monit trip computers. A nine-litre water cooler stands against the bulkhead, replacing the manual firex which is now between the seats, and we’ve plumbed in the air-tank for the diff-locks. Now we anxiously await a new viscous fan coupling, a special unit which is on its way from Australia, and will hopefully arrive by Sunday!

The support crew is now finalized. Rick Carless (who helped out in the Liwa a few weeks back) is arriving on Saturday from the UK. Cesar is driving the service truck and two of Glen’s mechanics at Icon who helped build The Beast are spannering. Dave Pryce is running my parents around on Monday, so they’ll get to see some of the action.

At this point, careful planning and preparation descends into the usual last minute panic, as we try to fathom the logistics of ‘what goes where and when and with whom’. By Monday we’ll know what (if anything) we’ve forgotten. And maybe this year (with some help from Tim!) we’ll be able to update the blog from the bivouac.

Wish us luck!

The Devil Tempted Me!

Down at the NewTrix Garage, we’ve been having a bit of a clear-out. First I swapped my FJ Cruiser for Glen Reid’s 2003 Nissan Patrol 4.8, complete with brand new engine, winch and all the toys. Then I sold my 1991 GQ LWB Patrol (the Blue Goddess), my off-road steed for the past 14 years. That all made perfect sense. Then the devil tempted me.

Glen decided to sell his race car. It’s a 2008 Nissan Patrol with a race-prepped six litre LS2 Corvette V8 under the hood, which develops a stonking 510 bhp unrestricted and 300bhp with the FIA restrictor. It had only done two events, the 2008 DC and the RAK rally last month. It has all the toys – ARB difflocks all round, new tank, seats, belts – everything. And the price was…well, a lot less than it cost him to build it last year.

I can resist almost anything except temptation. I took it for a test drive and felt the power, the enormous torque, the thunder of the big V8…and I couldn’t help myself. I bought it, and now I just need someone to buy the old Patrol so I can afford to pay for it! Fortunately, with the 2009 DC just round the corner, there are several people interested.

‘The Beast’ (as it will henceforth be known) is in the workshop at present, the original build was completed in a hurry and the cooling in particular was never quite right. So a new 4-core radiator has gone in with an improved cowl, we’re fitting an airtank to enable the difflocks to work without constantly switching the compressor on and off, and we should be out this coming weekend for a shakedown. So NewTrix Racing steps up to T1 with the Big Boys, and I just hope I’m sufficiently brave to use that additional power to get a good result in the DC.

‘Expect the Unexpected’ in Liwa

Bayer AgroChemicals are running an on-going sales contest, with annual prizes for the top performing teams worldwide. This year their prize was as trip to the UAE. But, true to their slogan ‘Expect the Unexpected’, they were kept in the dark as to the event schedule. In the end, they were dropped in Liwa, close to the Moreeb DC bivouac, and after a walk and a camel ride, arrived at their desert camp. The following morning, three rally cars turned up to provide them with the thrill of a passenger ride through the dunes of the Empty Quarter! Mark Powell had been contracted by the organizers to arrange this, and the additional vehicles were provided by Ali Al Shawi and myself, both in our T2 Patrols.

The previous day we’d arrived to set up a course, but only had a chance to make a couple of circuits before we had to vacate the area to avoid giving the game away. The 15km circuit was sufficiently challenging to keep us on our toes, and after some 6 passenger rides we were exhausted! Fortunately I’d taken the car down on the trailer, and Rick Carless – a visitor from UK whose assistance I had co-opted – ended up driving back while I slept!

The best news was that it paid, so another slice of cash could go towards the DC entry fund.


Continental Wealth Management

Our friends at Continental Wealth Management (CWM) have been sponsoring NewTrix Racing since the middle of last year. They are a specialist investment broker based in Spain, and I feared that the current financial crisis would have hit them hard. But on the contrary, their business has gone from strength to strength because, as managing director Darren Kirby explained ‘Nobody goes to the doctor when they’re well!’ Poor returns in other areas have persuaded many clients to review their portfolios, and CWM has proved that even in recession there are profitable opportunities for savvy investors.

So we are delighted to confirm that CWM will continue their sponsorship through 2009, and their branding will be prominent on ‘The Beast’. Future plans for CWM include overseas branches, and expansion into the Gulf region is a definite possibility.