It seems that Team FJ won the TV popularity stakes yesterday and between them, David and Xavier’s interviews were broadcast for more than 15 minutes on Saudi TV and, possibly (we don’t know) were being repeated on this morning’s local news summaries. Certainly the printed media were covering the story. See here (Gulf Times – Qatar’s top-selling English daily newspaper - Sport)  for a link to the article in Qatar’s daily paper this morning, complete with the photo of the Toyota FJ in action. We know of articles running in the Saudi Gazette and Arab News, a German motor sport site, and an American motoring news site has contacted the race press office and asked for more details about Team FJ. So the word, and the media exposure, is spreading.

Back to the race and this morning the team started off strong, heading out just after 8am on their 305km race stage. By the halfway point of the stage, they had climbed from 6th place into 4th, and the way things were going, 3rd could have been a distinct possibility by the end of the day, but then……….

The 4.0 litre V6 engine started to lose power, initially causing David and Xavier to slow down, hoping to nurse it to the finish. But the problem gradually became worse and after continuing to drive cautiously for around 10kms, a steep rocky climb proved to be more than the car could manage and the crew were forced to pull over. Dozens of kilometres from the nearest road or habitation they called the race organisers for assistance and, as is standard practice in these circumstances, a helicopter was sent out to pick up the crew and take them to the nearest race control point, in this case the refueling stop some 40kms away. The entire ‘rescue’ was broadcast live across the country, since a camera crew was on board the helicopter at the time. It may not have been the big finish to the day that they had hoped for, but it seems clear that David and Xavier certainly know how to get the car and the sponsors’ logos on TV!

Subsequently the crew went back into the desert with an old friend of the team. Saeed Al Hamli of Abu Dhabi, who kindly recovered the vehicle and towed it to the road side, where it was collected by the Total Automotive service team. A lot of work will be done tonight to see if the engine can be repaired but initial signs are not good. For reasons as yet unknown but due possibly to overheating or sand ingress, it appears that there may be damage to the crank and / or con-rods and under those circumstances, a full rebuild would be required and that’s simply not possible.

To say that we are all bitterly disappointed is an understatement. The new, slightly lighter car was handling well and David and Xavier were working well together. Sometimes a change of co-driver means that the race crew need time to adjust to one another’s style of racing and calling notes but the guys were, quite literally, up to speed immediately. With the team in 4th place things were looking good, but then “this”.

These things happen in endurance racing but it’s always easier to accept when it happens to someone else! David is not one to sit around complaining though, and by late this afternoon he had me calling Toyota in Dubai to see if they had any spare new engines lying around and available at discount prices. It seems we may be about to transplant a more powerful unit into the FJ Cruiser in time for the Desert Challenge in March.