Photos By: Domingo Abal Jr. and Cesar Castillo
The sun was up and the sand was beckoning. The machines were roaring and the men were ready. It was go time for the first Tech Bug Challenge in the Sweihan Desert.
The online store for outdoor sports gear Tech Gear and the 4×4 club Offroad Bug joined forces to host the Tech Bug Challenge on March 7th, with 77 cars and 150 people participating in one of the biggest off-road events of the season in the UAE. Set in the pristine dunes of Sweihan, contestants were required to plan out their own route based on a predetermined set of way-points provided to them minutes before the start of the challenge. Contestants competed in two challenges – shortest distance between the waypoints and best videos – with the opportunity to win prizes worth up to 10,000 AED. “The goal of this competition is to give outdoor enthusiasts an opportunity to showcase their technical driving skills and compete for two titles,” explained Offroad Bug’s Mehran Dawood.
As the crow flies, the challenge was set over a 12.5km distance, with the shortest distance challenge winner Mahmoud Najjar completing the challenge in 13.5km. “Logistically, setting up the checkpoints in the dunes before the event was difficult,” said Tarek El Awji, Founding Member of Offroad Bug. “We had to find a balance between making the course challenging enough for experienced drivers, but easy enough to encourage more novice drivers to take part.” As well as amateur drivers, veteran off-roaders from some of the UAE’s established off-road groups such as AD4x4 and 4×4 Fury also participated in the event. The course was challenging with five checkpoints progressing from easy to medium to advanced stages. “We’ve done this to allow the contestants from varying levels of ability to enjoy the event. Ensuring the safety of our contestants was our top priority, so we made sure to have at least seven marshals, both stationary in the checkpoints and on patrol, equipped with the necessary recovery tools and first aid kits. We are very happy to say that the competition was accident free,” said Dahwood.
OutdoorUAE photographers were spread out throughout the course of the challenge to capture the moments and skills of the various drivers. The action was also filmed using GoPro cameras mounted on to state-of-the-art Personal Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (PUAVs) such as the Phantom DJI. Each of the checkpoints represented one of the event sponsors, including GoPro, Liquid Image, Caterpillar, DJI, Tech Gear and Offroad Bug.
The final checkpoint was situated next to the makeshift lounge created by the combined efforts of Space Oddity and Red Bull. After battling it out in the desert, drivers and visitors enjoyed a relaxing evening with a DJ and beverages provided by Red Bull, as well as treats provided by The Pizza Guys.
MTM Motorsports, agents of BRP were also present at the event, showcasing their latest product, the CAN AM Maverick and taking the visitors out for test drives.
Tech Gear founder and owner Wael El Chami was pleased with the final result. “It took a lot of hard work and we managed to pull it off. We thank our sponsors and the companies that participated in making this event a huge success.” The members were very pleased with the turnout. “We originally estimated 30 vehicles to participate, but we were pleasantly surprised that many more contestants showed up than expected. Clearly, there is massive demand in the community for events that merge both outdoor fun with a competitive element, and Offroad Bug will continue to serve this demand within the outdoor community,” he added. “We also got very positive feedback from the participants and they expressed gratitude for a well-managed event. They really enjoyed their time in the after-party.”
Winners:
1st Prize: Mahmood Najjar from AD 4X4
2nd Prize: Zayed Ali from 4×4 Fury
3rd Prize: Mahmoud Nabeel from 4×4 Fury
