Max and Daniel explore the desert
Published on 24 November 2016 by Niels Hendrix
On Wednesday the Red Bull Racing team took Max Verstappen and Daniel Ricciardo (and around 75 members of the F1 media) an hour south of Abu Dhabi to the dunes of the Al-Khatim desert for the ultimate desert drive. Awaiting at the desert camp was a full fleet of dune buggies and KTM 500 XC bikes and the two drivers were quick to jump aboard, with both heading straight for the dirt bikes.
Max was new to the whole experience, but the Dutch racer took to two wheels like a natural, which surprised his team-mate. “Originally I thought he was going out in the buggy so I didn’t give him any tips, but one thing I was saying to one of the guys on the way here is that with the sand being so soft, carrying momentum is quite important,” Daniel said. “Max did well. It’s tricky on the sand but the good thing is that it’s soft, so even though it is tricky when you have a fall it’s normally very painless.”
Both drivers and the media in attendance were given a guided tour of the dunes by rally raid bike star and Red Bull athlete Sam Sunderland who was happy to pass on the expertise he’s gained on the grueling Dakar Rally and as a winner of Qatar’s ultra-tough Sealine Cross Country Rally.
Team principal Christian Horner was also in attendance, treating media to dune buggy taxi rides, seeking out the highest dunes from which to launch himself and his passenger. After a couple of hours on the dunes, the drivers then headed back to camp to face the assembled media, though having developed a taste for desert riding it was almost impossible to drag Max back to the tents.
“My favourite part of the day was the riding, as a driver that’s always the best stuff. Unfortunately I couldn’t ride the bike as long as I wanted to, but the media is part of it as well,” Max smiled.
With the hard work of the day done it was then time to relax in true desert style with a lavish Arabic feast consisting of everything and anything that would fit on the grill and some traditional entertainment, including a sword-wielding belly dancer who was briefly accompanied by Daniel at one point.
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