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Into the Liwa desert

Anne-Marie Dunhill / 12.12.2010

After the transition on the grounds of the Qasr Al-Sarab resort grounds, the teams began the 116km desert orienteering into the Liwa desert. This vast no mans land is also known as the Empty Quarter and teams soon discovered that it lives up to its’ name. The dunes are golden and deceptively beautiful from afar. As the race route has changed direction from previous years the racers this year will be going up the soft side of the dunes instead of the harder packed side, an effort which wreaks havoc on the legs.

It was not a group start into the desert this year and amongst the lead teams tactics became apparent early on. At CP H3, 17,5km into the trek, Thule decided to push straight through into the over °38 degrees heat of high noon, as did the English team adidas Terrex. Team Thule Europe decided to take the first part of their mandatory 8 hours rest here, seeking what little shade was available under the press jeeps. This year the Abu Dhabi 4x4 Club once again took a bevy of journalists into the Liwa desert to follow the teams, slaloming amongst the dunes with great skill.

Teams will be trekking through the night and making ever important decisions such as what CP to rest at and which optional check points to go for. We will have more information on their progress tomorrow morning when we go back out into the desert to meet the teams.

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