Fransua Rachmann: Rounds 5 and 6 of the Desert X series were held in the desert near Arjan, approximately 1hr from Abu Dhabi over the weekend of the 12th / 13th February.

After an early start in Dubai followed by a 2hr drive to the bivouac, the UAE CC Team set up camp in time for registration, scrutineering and the start of Round 5 at noon.

All of us registered for the Marathon class as we had just had the larger enduro fuel tanks fitted onto our bikes, the same ones we will be using in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge. The larger enduro tanks can hold 22 Liters giving a range of approximately 170km. in the Marathon class, you are only allowed to refuel once, so a tank of this size is essential if you intend to complete around 180km / 6 laps.

Paul and Sean started one minute before me on the starting grid, but with the soft sand before the 1st passage control (PC) they got into a bit of trouble and I was lucky enough to catch up with them very early in the race.

With Paul in the lead, we took the 1st lap cautiously to get used to the terrain and to scout for different routes that might safe time later in the race. We kept racing together with the main aim being to complete 6 laps out of possible 7 before the pros finished. Once the first pro finishes 7 laps they close the course and you complete whichever lap you are currently on.

Paul stepped up the pace during the 2nd lap and the team rode at an above average pace for the remainder of the race keeping consistent lap times. We refueled after 4 laps and were looking good to make our 6 laps, setting out together and racing hard we finished the last two laps and crossed the finish line a few seconds apart.

Because Paul and Sean started a minute ahead of me, my time was marginally better than theirs and I managed to come 4th in our class! I missed out on 3rd place by 1 second having riden for just over 3 and a half hours. Paul finished 5th in and Sean in 6th.

Tired, but happy about our quality of riding and speed maintained during the race we started to unwind for the evening.

Sharon and Darryn, together with Josh (Darryn’s son) came along as our support team and did a great job setting up the UAE CC team camp. After a BBQ under the stars, we relaxed around a camp fire before heading to bed for some well earned rest in preparation for Round 6 the next morning.