Sean Curnow: The lads slowly emerged from their tents at around 5:15 am –things were definitely slower this morning and the moans and groans from bumps and bruises were definitely spreading. Sharon & Alessia had again organized breakfast and the team sat down to fuel up before another days riding. It was interesting to watch how an endurance race of this type had the ability to turn a morning person into – NOT a morning person. After a quick toilet break it was off to the UAE CC tent to kit up and get ready to go. This was Ground Hog Day.

We again picked up our bikes from the Gecko Motorcycles service tent. In addition to the regular service we had the clutches and rear tires on all four bikes replaced as a precaution during the night. My bike also needed to have the Iritrack and GPS fittings replaced as they were damaged during a fall the previous day. Unfortunately only the GPS antennae had been replaced and so I madly scrambled around in the morning to get the Iritrack technical people to sort the Iritrack – which they did in time for the start.

The competitors began leaving the Moreeb Bivouac at 6:15am for the short run to the start of SS-4. The start was delayed 15min as the sun was not up and the liaison was so short.

The days riding started with a short 6.5km liaison section on tarmac roads from the Moreeb Bivouac to the start of the 4th Special Stage (SS4 - ADNOC). We were given 10 min to complete this which again turned out to be plenty of time.

SS-4 was a demanding 315km route covering a mixture of terrain. If any day was designed to break us it seemed that this was the day. The first 100km was through the massive Liwa dune set. This was very tough and very technical. We passed a number of bikes that had been gobbled up in the numerous bowls that skirted the route through. The section between PC3 and PC 4 was also extremely tough with what seemed like and endless sea of soft undulating dunes with drop offs and bowls everywhere. It was another really tough day in the desert. We all at some point found ourselves digging our bikes out of soft sand dunes or picking them up after a fall.

In all there we four PC’s (Passage Controls) during SS-4 where riders could take on additional water if required. PC3 (service / refueling point) at the 155km mark came as a welcome opportunity to stop, refuel, eat, replenish the camel back and relax for a few minutes. Once again we were met by the Support Team and they had food waiting.

SS-4 was highlighted by 21 single hazards, 32 double hazards and 4 triple hazards.

The first of the cars caught up to us at around the 80km mark into the stage. Fatigue was the overriding factor at this point and the thought crossed my mind that in some strange way it would have been nice to get hit by one of the cars – at least it meant we could stop riding.

The good news is that all the team made it safely to the end of SS-4 without any problems and within the Maximum Time Limit.

The days riding finished with 122km liaison section on tarmac roads from the end of SS-4 back to the Bivouac at Moreeb Hill.

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-4 are as follows –

Name / Time / Cumulative / Position / Overall
Steve You / 05:10:59 / 24:16:01 / 13 / 15
Paul Anselmo / 06:43:08 / 27:06:32 / 21 / 17
Sean Curnow/ 06:44:19 / 27:11:53 / 22 / 18
Jonathan Quan / 06:44:57 / 27:14:26 / 23 / 19
For full details of the entire field – please see the official UAE Desert Challenge Website (www.uaedesertchallenge.com)

Today saw a bike catch fire in the dunes. The rider was picked up by the sweep team and then actually rode along with the sweep team for the remainder of the day.

The feeling around the team is really good – we can almost see the finish line. The lads are still smiling (sort of) but it is clear that fatigue is playing a major role and the bumps and bruises from four days of extreme riding without a break are 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. The last days riding was going to be the longest day of the challenge. It was also going to include 2 Special Stages and a start time 30min earlier. With the prospect of 2 Special Stages and an earlier morning wakeup call it was off to sleep for he last and longest day of the 2008 UAE Desert Challenge - 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.