A record breaking double by Abu Dhabi's Hamdan Al Mazrouei was the showstopper when the UAE's most powerful 4WDs came face to face with Moreb Hill on the second night of the Red Bull Reach the Top challenge.

Partnered by co-driver Abdullah Al Hamli in the 8-cylinder category and watched by thousands of spectators gathered in the desert on the edge of the Empty Quarter, Al Mazrouei made light of the pre-event talk of rival Badr Ibrahim Ali by shattering Ali's record time of 13.5 seconds for the ascent of the 250m face of Moreb Hill.

An explosive first record-breaking run of 12.417 seconds - slicing a full second off the previous best - had the crowd on its feet after seeing a number of other drivers fail to conquer the towering sand dune.

And as if that wasn't enough, Al Mazrouei and Al Hamli returned for a second run and stormed to beat their own best time and set another new record of 12.313 seconds.

"During testing and practice, we've done the climb of Moreb Hill in just 11 seconds so we're well aware of the car's potential. But doing it in competition and getting the set-up right is hugely important so obviously, this is a very big win for us," said Al Hamli.

A customised Nissan Patrol with a super-charged 800bhp V8 Chevy engine, Al Mazrouei's vehicle stormed the punishing 60 degree climb three times on a night when Moreb Hill won as many battles as it lost.

On the third run, however, a lack of nitrous oxide injections meant a loss of power for the new champions and a relatively tame time of 15.243 seconds.

But the damage had already been done and they took the 8-cylinder title by more than half a second from Dubai's Majid Eid Bin Mudia with Mohammed Al Qubaisi in third just four-hundredths of a second adriftIn total some 91 cars, bikes and quads gathered under the floodlights for the 2004 Challenge.

Provisional results:
4x4 Cars (8 Cylinder): 1. Hamdan Al Mazrouei (UAE) 12.313s (New record); 2. Majid Eid Bin Mudia (UAE) 12.923s; 3. Mohammed Al Qubaisi (UAE)12.963s; 4x4 Cars (6 Cylinder) 1. Team Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed (UAE) 15.170s; 2. Team Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed (UAE) 18.570s; 3. Team Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed (UAE) 20.919s.