Desert storming on Gulf News Fun Drive

The official wheels team for last weekend's Gulf News Overnighter Fun Drive consisted of two amateurs (Yours truly and snapper Christopher) and a 1.3-litre 80bhp Suzuki Jimny on 205/70 road tyres tackling the 30th edition of the popular off-road event.

Although our set of wheels appeared quite inadequate beside the other high-heeled 4x4s, we did pretty well by finishing the sometimes arduous 129.4km route.

Apart from a few components of the Jimny deciding to camp out in the desert rather early and our only tow rope getting wedged between the mounting point for the body and chassis (it's still there), the drive was one of the most enjoyable outings we've ever had.

No wonder then that the Fun Drive, which has been running since 1986, still draws off-roading enthusiasts in their thousands.

From the starting point at the Sevens on the Dubai-Al Ain road, the 750-strong convoy of off-roaders headed towards Nizwa, then along the Al Maha desert resort (we saw Bambi!), around Al Badayer's monster dunes and straight past Shwaib towards the chequered flag.

Mechanically, our team only suffered minor mishaps but the fuel mileage from 130km of redlining in first gear deserves a mention (we didn't go too low on the tyre pressure, because the previous weekend's recce run on 15psi ended with two tyres popping off their 7in-wide rims): 14mpg. We aim to get into the single digits next time.

If it wasn't for a team of 50 highly-experienced marshals, we'd still be stranded somewhere in the desert! They did a grand job in taking care of, and digging out, those with a penchant for getting stuck. We're not naming any names here...

Having reached the camp later in the evening, weary participants enjoyed a fabulous night under the stars.

There was lots of good food and entertainment, including belly dancing, a fire show and face painting for kids. The highlight of the night was the massive, specially-baked Gulf News cake.

After a day of hard driving, we were out like a light only to be awoken at 7am by the lovely smell of breakfast being cooked right in front of us. After filling our bellies, we jumped into our battle scarred Jimny and made our way back home.

Can't wait for next year's drive... we're sure the brave little Jimny will be up for it!