Sean Curnow: The lads began to emerge from their tents at around 5:30 am – though things did seem a little slower than the previous day. We had cut things a little fine the previous morning so we gave ourselves an additional 15min to get ready and get some food into us. Sharon & Alessia had again organized breakfast and the team sat down to fuel up before another days riding. After a quick toilet break it was off to the UAE CC tent to kit up and get ready to go. This was beginning to feel like Ground Hog Day.

We again picked up our bikes from the Gecko Motorcycles service tent. The bikes had come through the third day unscathed so it was again simply a need to perform a routine service to prepare them for Day 4. The competitors again started leaving the Moreeb Bivouac at 6:00am. Paul had a small problem with loose wiring on his light which needed a quick fix before he could head off.

The days riding started with a 54km liaison section on tarmac roads from the Moreeb Bivouac to the start of the 3rd Special Stage (SS3 - Nissan). We were given 45 min to complete this which again turned out to be plenty of time and we refueled on the way. Morning fog was still present in the low lying valleys between the massive dune sets which actually made the ride quite pleasant.

SS-3 was a massive 341km route covering nearly all off-piste riding. The first 70km was particularly tough in sections with Paul, Jonathan and myself all coming to grief at various points. It was during one of these crashes that Steve became separated from the group and he ended up riding the special by himself.

Jonathan, Paul and I managed to stay together for the entire special stage. It was a really tough day in the desert. We all at some point found ourselves digging our bikes out of soft sand dunes that had simply swallowed them up.
There we four PC’s (Passage Controls) during SS-3 where riders could take on additional water if required. PC2 (service / refueling point) at the 168km mark came as a welcome opportunity to stop, refuel, eat, replenish the camel back and relax for a few minutes. We met up with the support team at PC2 and PC3. Alessia and Sharon were simply awesome – as we rode in they had food waiting, premixed isotonic drinks for our camel backs and bottles of water to drink (or pour over yourself) – it does not seem like much but to us it was 7 star service.

The last 70 km through the massive Liwa dune set was pure hell. The bikes and cars in front of us had turned the planned route into a rutted mess as if the terrain was not hard enough to navigate. We spoke to several riders who also had difficulties through this section and it seems like everyone dropped their bike at least once.

SS-3 was highlighted by 22 single hazards, 18 double hazards and 2 triple hazards.

The first of the cars caught up to us at around the 80km mark into the stage. The fear was still there but this was being dampened by the fatigue that was creeping in to all of the UAE CC Riders. The Kamaz truck caught us at around the 180km mark. It was a close call as Jonathan had just dropped his bike in a massive bowl. Literally seconds after getting it up and going again – he turned around to see the truck come over the crest and land down in the spot where he had dropped the bike.

The good news is that all the team made it safely to the end of SS-3 without any problems and within the Maximum Time Limit. The SS-3 again finished back at the Moreeb Bivouac so there was no liaison section to worry about at the end of the Super Special Stage. In all we had been on the bikes just under 9 hrs (including the liaison) which was basically the same as the previous day.

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 and get showered before the Driver Briefing at 19:00 pm.

The times and positions for the UAE CC Team at the end of SS-3 are as follows –

Name / Time / Cumulative / Position / Overall
Steve You / 06:29:27 / 19:05:02 / 14 / 17
Paul Anselmo / 07:44:46 / 20:23:24 / 21 / 20
Sean Curnow/ 07:45:50 / 20:27:34 / 23 / 21
Jonathan Quan / 07:45:13 / 20:29:29 / 22 / 22
For full details of the entire field – please see the official UAE Desert Challenge Website (www.uaedesertchallenge.com)

Today saw the field dwindle by 6 more bikes. However, speaking to the helicopter rescue team it appears that they had a quiet day, so these are probably all due to mechanical failure rather than serious injuries.
The feeling around the team is still good. The lads are still smiling but it is clear that fatigue is starting to play a significant role. The bumps and bruises from three days of extreme riding without a break are also having an effect. However, the mental attitude still remains strong and the team is continuing to go 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 a feed before heading off to sleep for a 5:30 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.