The Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge
"I know how to suffer but I also know how to ask for help"
Anne-Marie Dunhill / 03.12.2009
The race briefing was held in the ballroom next door and for an hour the racers looked at the first set of maps and the organization fielded questions following the projection of the race route. It was made very clear that this country is one of the worlds largest oil producers and as such strict rules had to be followed when racing, i.e. absolutely no photos when crossing oil fields.
The technical and administrative checks, disliked by most racers impatient to get into the action, at least gave the opportunity to have a quick pre-race chat with the teams as they did the rounds of medical certificates, official photo, distribution of the satellite trackers, etc. One French team was overheard frantically phoning home to have a bogus medical certificate faxed over: white-out does wonders for racers more focused on their race then on paperwork. Although on the surface everyone looks calm and centered, there appears to be an outbreak of “Oh dear I have a hangnail� as an awful lot of covert nail biting has been observed.
Craig, an Australian from from ADCO/Australia, would have been justified in having a good nail chomp but instead he and his lady team mate from Russia had radiant smiles as they explained the whys and wherefores of their teams presence in this race during the nine floor elevator descent. They were invited by the organization to race only ten days ago and have been rushing around ever since. As two of their members are traveling on Russian passports there were last minute visa issues with the risk of instant deportation lurking. Several frantic phone calls later the necessary official invitations were faxed and e-mailed and their lady racer, Maria Plyasheco, explained that she only had time to print up the papers and dash for her flight.
They have spent the day looking for a doctor to issue their medical certificates and they confided that their mandatory medical kit is sparse so a quick trip to the local Carrefour is on the cards. As Craig so rightly put it, their race actually began ten days ago, but they haven’t lost their good humor as they said they were just delighted to be racing here.
SleepMonsters
