Desert Experience
Desert Experience
Two or three days on the dunes in a Can-Am Maverick with a rally safety upgrade, coached by Marek Dąbrowski from the DUUST Rally Team paddock. You train on terrain similar to a W2RC or Baja World Cup event.
Training
2 or 3 days
Group
1–4 people
Bases
Morocco · Dubai
What this is
A rally team teaching, from its own paddock.
A taste of the Dakar Rally for rally enthusiasts, compressed into two or three days. Same terrain, same machines, same coaches. We set up the mobile paddock on the dunes and spend the whole day there with you, driving, eating and talking about the races the team has run.
Groups run from one to four people so that every participant is coached individually. You do not need rally experience to start. Several people who came for the experience went on to enter their first event.
Driving on sand and dunes
Practical rally driving on sand and dunes, on terrain similar to a W2RC or Baja World Cup special stage.
Navigation and reading terrain
The basics of desert navigation and the habit of reading what the ground in front of you is about to do.
Individual coaching
Your coach works with you at every stage of the programme rather than running a group around a loop.
A real first step
Experience that counts if you decide to enter a rally, and the people who can walk you through what that takes.
One run, one evening, eight frames
The car comes over the far ridge with the sun behind it.
The programme
Three levels and a Desert Loop for each.
Each training day has its own level and its own Desert Loop. The two-day camp covers levels 1 and 2. The three-day camp adds level 3, where the pace and the terrain both step up.
- Easier desert terrain and small dunes
- Braking before the crest
- Feeling how the car balances on sand
- Desert Loop Level 1
Day
First training day
Opens with familiarisation runs in the right-hand seat with your coach.
- Navigation basics and running on a bearing
- Choosing and laying your own line
- Taking the car over bigger dunes
- Desert Loop Level 2, a significant step up in difficulty
Day
Second training day
Where the two-day camp finishes.
- Two cars running together, first behind your coach and then ahead
- Pace rising through the day
- Telling the safest line apart from the fastest one
- Desert Loop Level 3, the hardest terrain we use
Day
Third training day
Only on the three-day camp.
Sample schedule
How the days run.
A two-day camp takes four days in total with three nights in the hotel. A three-day camp takes five days with four nights. Times move with the season and the group.
Arrival
Flight into Dubai for the UAE camp or Er Rachidia for Morocco, airport pickup and hotel check-in.
First training day
07:30 to 09:00 hotel pickup, transfer to the desert, briefing, machine familiarisation, meeting the team and the competitors, signing the training documents. 09:00 to 10:00 familiarisation runs in the right-hand seat with your coach, covering the terrain and the theory. 10:00 to 14:00 Level 1. 14:30 lunch in the desert. 15:30 back to the hotel.
Second training day
07:30 pickup and transfer to the desert. 08:30 Level 2. 14:00 lunch with the team. 15:30 back to the hotel.
Departure
Transfer to the airport.
Arrival
Flight into Dubai for the UAE camp or Er Rachidia for Morocco, airport pickup and hotel check-in.
First training day
07:30 to 09:00 hotel pickup, transfer to the desert, briefing, machine familiarisation, meeting the team and the competitors, signing the training documents. 09:00 to 10:00 familiarisation runs in the right-hand seat with your coach. 10:00 to 14:00 Level 1. 14:30 lunch in the desert. 15:30 back to the hotel.
Second training day
07:30 pickup. 08:30 Level 2. 14:00 lunch with the team. 15:30 back to the hotel.
Third training day
07:30 pickup. 08:30 Level 3. 14:00 lunch with the team. 15:30 back to the hotel.
Departure
Transfer to the airport.
Price and dates
What it costs.
The two add-on prices are published in PLN and are quoted in euro on request. September and October are open in Morocco apart from 25 September to 4 October, when the team is racing the Rallye du Maroc. Dates in the Middle East are confirmed on request.
Included
- Can-Am Maverick with T4 safety upgrade: rally cage, seats, harnesses and nets
- Dakar navigation set, ERTF UNIK 4
- Marek Dąbrowski as your coach, with one or two supporting coaches who are active competitors
- The DUUST Rally Team mobile Dakar paddock
- Assistance and recovery during training
- Fuel
- Desert tracking of every participant
- 4-star hotel, twin room with breakfast, 3 or 4 nights
- Lunch, desert catering at the paddock
- Airport and hotel transfers
- Transport between hotel and desert on training days
- Gift pack with a team shirt and cap
Not included
- Flights, which depend on date, airline and class. An economy return averages around 3 000 PLN.
- Medical insurance, from 100 PLN per day
Add-ons
- Co-drive for an accompanying person: a training loop in the right-hand seat with Marek Dąbrowski, the desert paddock, lunch and hotel transfers
- Photo and video: daily stills, onboard camera and a summary clip of around two minutes
What we ask of you
What you sign before you drive
You sign a release of liability, and an order form that sets out what you are charged if the vehicle is damaged. You hold travel medical insurance extended to extreme sports, because the organisers do not provide it. Tell us which policy you are on and we will check it covers what you are about to do.
Read both documents →Where we run it
Morocco, the Gulf and Poland
Rally Training Center runs this camp in Morocco, in the Middle East and at two locations in Poland. The programme and the coaches travel, so we put the camp where the season and your dates work best. The schedule and the inclusions above describe the Dubai camp, which is the version we have run longest. The Morocco camp follows the same programme, with the local hotel and transfers confirmed when you book.
Ask about a date in Morocco →Machines and base
The paddock goes with you.
We set up the DUUST Rally Team Dakar paddock on the dunes for the duration of the camp, with recovery, fuel and catering on site. You stay at the Park Inn by Radisson Dubai Motor City, or another hotel of the same standard or better depending on availability and what you need.
Machine
Can-Am Maverick
Safety
T4 upgrade
Navigation
ERTF UNIK 4
Terrain
Al Qudra, Dubai
Book a camp
Tell us when you can travel.
September and October are open in Morocco and groups run to four people, so dates fill from the enquiry list. Send us your window and we will come back with the days we can hold for you.