Dubai By the time you wake up and smell the coffee on Friday, over 3,000 people in about 1,000 four-wheel-drives will be out in the desert somewhere in Umm Al Quwain taking on the dunes.
However, weather will be on everyone’s minds during the Gulf News 2014 Fun Drive on Friday after heavy rain and winds lashed the country much of this week. “Rarely have I seen it rain so much in the run-up to a fun drive and that makes this event very different,” Jehanbaz ‘Jum’ Ali Khan, route director of the Gulf News Fun Drive since 1988 told XPRESS.
Weathermen forecast a partly cloudy Friday. “In some ways it’s a good thing because it makes it easy for the tracks to be marked, but on the other hand people that aren’t used to driving on wet sand could have a problem because the cars get clogged up very easily and you could end up losing steering control,” warned the 79-year-old Briton.
Jum’s message to first-timers: “Just be careful, make sure you have good steering and don’t drive too close to the driver in front in case you have to brake hard and slide in the wet sand.”
The 33rd edition of the Gulf News Fun Drive, supported by Al Futtaim Motors-Toyota, will start and finish in Umm Al Quwain, looping by Ras Al Khaimah and Sharjah over a gruelling 209 kilometres.
It is by far one of the longest and most challenging route in the 28-year history of the Fun Drive, according to Jum, but it will go through sand and hill sections, making it very scenic.
“I am actually looking forward to it. The only worry is that I have a Jeep which is completely open, so I have to prepare to cover it if it rains. If the sand is slightly wet, it’s actually better because it becomes slightly firmer,” said first-timer Bernard Wolff, 50, from the Netherlands who will be taking his wife along.
The first Fun Drive was held in March 1986 as a Day Drive with 75 four-wheel-drives and became an overnighter in 1989.
The Fun Drive will start at the UAE Motorplex Umm Al Quwain and end at the camp in the Al Aqran area. The lead car will be flagged off at 7.30am and the first vehicles are expected to arrive at the camp by 4pm.
Participants head back home the following day after an overnight stay at the camp, complete with community tents, portaloos and five-star food and beverages.
Like every year, there will also be entertainment in the evening with camel rides, circus shows, a magic show for children, DJ and live band.
And yes, a belly dancer.
