Dear all,

Yesterday was the strangest day I have ever had in the desert. It was great at one point and very difficult at another. So many people showed up. Some were coming for the event, some were passers by (yes in the desert). We entered the desert with 27 cars but later in the day we were 48 cars and 9 bikes. This show of enthusiasm was partly the reason for the success and the difficulties that we had. The idea was simple. Have the Egyptian rally drivers run a mini-rally in front of the participants, to be followed by a short theoretical session and then a tour of an easier track where every participant would be accompanied by an experienced co-pilot.

Punctuality was good for a such a cold Friday morning. The briefing was held and the rules concerning safety and the day's program in general were explained. The rally part went very well with a very tight race between Azzam and Sergany. They finished the 30 kms track with ONE second difference. Mohannad took a high jump in one section of the track and broke his suspension which crippled his car. He was wearing his helmet and seat belt as is the standard for any rally driver and was completely safe and unharmed. This is however when discipline broke loose. Between the adrenaline pumping, people's genuine desire to help and the twenty some cars who joined us unannounced, there were cars unescorted everywhere. Amidst the confusion, one car took a dune a little bit faster than supposed to and rolled over. The support system that was planned for emergency purposes worked efficiently. The first-aid medic car rushed to the passengers’ assistance and 70 minutes later, they were admitted to the hospital where they were treated and are currently all fine. The rolled car along with Mohannad's car were towed and arrived at the gates of 6 October city 3 hours later.

Despite these unfortunate incidents, I believe the event has performed its purpose and taught us very valuable lessons. It showed us all, participants, guests, and rallyists that the desert is to be respected at all times, and that we need to follow the rules to the letter. The planned demonstration worked in the sense that it showed all participants the adventure, the challenges, the difficulties and the potential danger when one is not 100% careful. And finally one has to appreciate the incredible support and solidarity of everyone which would get you through anything even a day like yesterday.

More specifically, this experience will shape the future of the rally school, this uncharted territory, as follows:
- People will be assembled in groups of similar experience levels to avoid boredom and exaggeration.
- Adrenaline builds up too fast, therefore we will separate the mini-rallies from the school sessions but we will still hold both independent of one another.
- Each session will have a limited number of cars to maintain control. Unregistered guests will not be admitted. If more people are interested, we will simply hold more sessions.
- Theoretical sessions will increase to build up the knowledge level of the new-comers.
- Safety instructions given will be enforced with no exception or negotiation.

Finally, the turn out of people was bigger than our wildest dreams and it is encouraging for both the automobile club and the Egyptian Rally Teams to proceed while learning from and improving on previous experiences. We will adjust the school program and syllabus as per the above and will announce for interested individuals to go register at the automobile club so that we can start as soon as possible.

salam,
mido