A 2015 Dakar champion and winner of the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge (ADDC) in 2014, quad driver Rafal Sonik is making his seventh appearance at the ADDC.
He came here first in 2009 but failed to finish, breaking a wrist in a crash.
Sonik, 49, was airlifted to hospital and jokes about administering first aid to himself because the on-board doctor was suffering from motion sickness. Still, the Pole has been coming back every year since because the allure of the Abu Dhabi desert was too good to resist.
Read more on the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge:
• A two-week love affair 18 years ago has never ended for Mohammed Al Balooshi
• Qatar's Nasser Al Attiyah extends his lead on Day 2 of Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge
You had an eventful first appearance here. What are your recollections?
I still have a metal plate and 13 screws in it [his right wrist]. I can feel it. But I am still here because the feeling of excitement and the feeling of pleasure is so many times bigger than the pain I am feeling in my wrist.
Do you think you have fallen in love with the desert here?
Yes, I think it’s best to say I have fallen in love with this desert here in the UAE. To show how much I love this desert, I am here in November, December, February, March, April.
I spend around two months a year here training for Dakar and then I come here after Dakar. This season I have been here three times already. This is the best place to be if you are an off-roader.
Why is it the best place for an off-roader?
I feel privileged every time I come to the United Arab Emirates for a rally or a race. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world and I am travelling a lot, so I have a comparison.
There are some unique places in the Sahara Desert in Africa. There are some extremely beautiful places in the other deserts and places I have been to, but if I could put it in general, this is just the most beautiful desert. So for an off-roader, it feels like heaven. It’s pure, pure joy.
How challenging is it?
Yes, the desert is very quiet. You don’t hear a sound until your start screaming with your bikes. But this calmness is also a big challenge for anyone who wants to enter.
You have to remember, the first moment you start feeling comfortable, like, ‘it’s no big deal’, that’s the moment you are in danger, that’s when you are under threat. You got to respect the desert. This is an extremely, extremely demanding desert. I have experience great victories here, one of which is mine. I have also experienced tricky and tragic moments, where people crashed and died in the desert.
Do you see yourself coming back next year as you will be 50 in June?
Yes, I am turning 50 this year and the toughest question I am facing is: when do I want to stop? I don’t want to stop and the reason for that is very simple.
When I land in Abu Dhabi or Dubai, and I got out in the morning and see the sunrise in the desert, I feel the most privileged person in the world. For the competitors who are here for the first time, I can bet they have not experienced this kind of beauty.
Follow us on Twitter @NatSportUAE
Like us on Facebook at facebook.com/TheNationalSport
