Burak Altunay

Dear friend Kemal merkit was in town again, for the annual U.A.E. Desert Challenge 2008 as part of the Jim Beam Turkish Dakar team.

The only difference from last year was, Kemal was on 530cc KTM and was part of the KTM Factory Team.

Though he could not finish this year’s race….We wish himm all the best for Dakar 2009 to take place in Latin America.

And here are some pics:

Salih Saka of DreamMaker Middle East was in Dubai to perform for the Radisson SAS’ JustChill session at the Lotus One Lounge.

My long time friend and favorite Greek was finally in Dubai, visiting Deema and I. As expected it was wonderful to have her around and we three went back to the good old D.C./A.U. days

Collecting sand…….

No they are not Deema and Christiana….

These are

The Christiana Tower

It’s been a wonderful four days in the wilderness and out with friends and the Land Rover. As it is the case with events as such, words are not enough what it was like and how it had been for us, for the competitors and for the machines.

Kemal finished 18th overall, 5th on 450cc Bikes and 1st on N-Class. Soo

Leave your computer and Facebook at home, and go out and play. Takes all the daemons out for sure. I’d also would like to thank Mr.Okan Cam, a fellow off-roader, Camel Trophy Veteran and a great friend, who spent the last 18 hours of the race with me.

I hope the pictures will tell the story better than me. If you’d like to see the official results:

www.uaedesertchallenge.com

Kemal on his way to the finish line

Kemal, Okan and the LR3

Dear friend Okan Cam

Carlos Sainz & Kemal Merkit