Day 3 / SS-2 (bought to you by NOV Grant Prideco)

The lads began to emerge from their tents at around 5:45 am. By now the support team (Sharon & Alessia) had already been up for a half hour getting breakfast ready. It was still dark and the bumps and bruises picked up from the previous days riding were now in full voice.

The morning was basically – eat some breakfast, visit Mother Nature, get your camel back packed and filled, get your riding kit on and go.

We picked up our bikes from the Gecko Motorcycles service tent. The bikes had come through the second day unscathed so it was simply a need to perform a routine service to prepare them for Day 3. The competitors started leaving the Moreeb Bivouac at 6:00am.

The days riding started with an 81km liaison section on tarmac roads from the Moreeb Bivouac to the start of the 2nd Special Stage (SS2 - Nakheel). We were given 1-1/4 hr to complete this which again turned out to be plenty of time and allowed time for a quick refuel.

Then it was back to reality. SS-2 was a 297km route covering primarily off-piste terrain. It was a mix of fast rolling dunes broken up with challenging technical sections. The last section after PC 4 was steep dunes and hard baked sahbka. It was a tough day at the office with numerous technical sections and a service / refueling stage at the 132km mark. Here we took on fuel, ate some food and replenished out camel backs. There we four PC’s (Passage Controls) during SS-2 where riders could take on additional water if required – which we did!

SS-2 was highlighted by ten single hazards, eighteen double hazards and three triple hazards.

The first of the cars caught up to us at around the 85km mark into the stage. You would think that the experience from the previous day would have better prepared us for the experience of having the cars hurtle past you seemingly out of control – but unfortunately that does not apply. If anything – the knowing simply makes it worse.

We followed the leading truck today for several kilometers through a technical section immediately after PC2. Watching a truck navigate the dunes at high speed is really something to see. As soon as we hit a flat section this behemoth was away and that’s the last we saw of it.

We saw several cars in trouble today. The technical sections had some massive slip faces and deep bowls that caught out several of the drivers.

The stage was particularly demanding and Jonathan called it a day at the last PC (PC4) suffering from a mixture of dehydration and fatigue. With the last section being through a massive dune set, Jonathan decided it was better to live and fight another day. He accumulates a time penalty for failing to finish the last section – but importantly is still in the race.

The good news is that Steve, Paul and myself made it safely to the end of SS-2 without any problems and within the Maximum Time Limit. The SS-2 actually finished back at the Moreeb Bivouac so there was no liaison section worry about at the end of the Super Special Stage. We dropped the bikes off with the Gecko Service Crew and then headed for camp.

Here we again met up with our Support team – Sharon and Alessia. The girls were ready for us with food and electrolyte / protein drinks. It was only 3:30pm in the afternoon so we had time to relax, eat, get showered and even get in a short sleep the Driver Briefing at 07:00 pm.

The times and positions for the UAE CC Team at the end of SS-2 are as follows –

Name / Time / Cumulative / Position / Overall (450 Category)
Steve You / 07:27:50 / 12:35:35 / 23 / 20
Paul Anselmo / 07:26:20 / 12:38:38 / 22 / 22
Sean Curnow/ 7:25:49 / 12:41:44 / 21 / 21
Jonathan Quan / 7:34:15 / 13:11:29 / 24 / 23
For full details of the entire field – please see the official UAE Desert Challenge Website (www.uaedesertchallenge.com)

Today we were also reminded of the dangers of the race. Three fellow riders were air lifted to hospital with injuries. One with what sounded like a serious back injury.

The feeling around the team is good. The lads are still smiling but the reality of the task ahead is setting in. We still have three very tough days ahead of us and already signs of fatigue are appearing. But the mental attitude is still first class and the team is going about its business to try and get all four bikes (and riders) across the finish line.

At 4:30 pm we were issued our Road Books for the next official race day along with the modification sheet. We went back to our official UAE CC tent and marked up our road books before loading them into the units on the bikes.

The Driver Briefing for the next day’s riding was then held at 19:00 pm Then it was back to the camp for dinner and then off to sleep for a 5:45 am wakeup call to do it all over again - speak to you tomorrow!
Please see our Photo Gallery for photos of the UAE Charity Challenge Team. These will be updated on a daily basis.
For detailed information on the 2008 UAE Desert Challenge please see the official UAE Desert Challenge website at www.uaedesertchallenge.com.