Desert storm

Dubai: The 30th edition of the Gulf News Fun Drive was something 21-year-old Amrit Saxena just couldn't say no to. The UAE-born Saxena holds such a passion for desert driving that even a spinal cord injury could not deter him from being part of all the ‘fun'.

He may not have been in a position to take the driver's seat, a role he left to his father, but the youngster was not to be deprived of any of the day's excitement out on the dunes.

"I just love off-roading," he said, standing proudly with the aid of crutches. Saxena suffered his injury in the United States last year where he was completing his higher studies. Though he has been a regular participant of the annual event in the past, this year's edition marked his first overnight fun drive after four years.

"It's the first one after getting injured, but even when I've not gone, my dad's been attending it for years," he said.

Surely a bumpy ride is not the best way to recover from a spinal cord injury, but Saxena's father Shahzad played down the gravity of his son's plight. "If he's walking, it can't be anything serious," said Shahzad . "He's a regular. We've been coming for the overnighter pretty much since [Amrit] was born."

Extreme thrill

The journey proved to be rather eventful for the Saxenas as well as for many other participants as the challenging terrain saw vehicles repeatedly getting stuck in the sand. "I think the reason for that was the dry sand because there have been no rains," said Shahzad whose Lexus 570 also fell victim to the sand. "We got stuck in one or two places. I'm lucky to have auto recovery so it worked the first time at least."

But from an overall point of view, the Saxena clan had no complaints. "If there's anything we don't like, we wouldn't be coming for it for 20 years," said Shahzad .

A specially baked cake was cut to mark the double celebration of the event crossing 25 years and completing its 30th edition. Al Futtaim Motors-Toyota were the main sponsors as they have been for the past 21 years. Checkpoints were sponsored by Toyota, AXA, Bridgestone, Dubai Duty Free, Emirates Driving Institute, Shell Helix and the Unilever brands-Rexona, Lifebuoy and Vaseline. The Fun Drive numbers and the goody bags were provided by Emirates NBD. The event was also backed by the Emirates Motor Sports Federation and enjoyed support from Alco, Byrne, IATC, Lipton, Extra, V-Kool, Ironman, Intersport, Jaguar Energy Drink, Panasonic Lumix, Multilink, The Sevens and Wrigley's Extra. Participants enjoyed entertainment provided by Panache and were treated to five-star catering arranged by Emirates Flight Catering and Jebel Ali Hotel.