Mohammed Balooshi’s eventful trip to South America continues as he struggles to find time to put his feet up on the rest day. Mohammed tells us buzzing bees and border crossings.
Yesterday’s stage ended with a very enjoyable section up in the sand dunes so that has got me excited about what there is still to come. I had been taking it easy on the stage but when I reached the dunes it became a good day at the office. Everything was smooth up there as I applied everything I know about racing on the sand.
I think reaching the rest day is something to celebrate, I definitely think I’ve earned the right to put my feet up for a while. Unfortunately I’ve had another one of those little accidents that only seem to be happening to me. I was so out of it when I crossed over the Andes Mountains because of the altitude and I ended up losing my passport somewhere.
I had to try my best to block out this worry while I was racing yesterday but today is the day to get this problem fixed. Imagine if I get all the way to Peru and my race has to stop because I don’t have my passport. That would be a nightmare!
'I was so out of it [that] I ended up losing my passport somewhere'
I’ve been phoning back to the UAE and calling our embassy in Chile trying to sort out a temporary passport to get me into Peru. Things weren’t looking too good earlier in the day but now with the help of my team manager and the race organizers it looks like we will find a solution. It has all eaten into my rest day and it adds to the overall pressure of this thing. I wanted to use this day to relax and make a few calls to family and friends but now that might have to wait until Peru.
I’m looking forward to racing over more dunes when we get going again and I hope the bees will now leave me alone. They seem to be fascinated with me, maybe it’s because I smell like a flower! I’m going to have to change my deodorant, aftershave, shampoo and anything else I can think of that is attracting them to me. After having a bee removed from my ear by a doctor on an early stage of the race I get worry now whenever I see them out on the route. It’s a case of once bitten, twice shy!
Check in for regular updates on Mohammed and his path to Peru right here at Red Bull’s dedicated 2012 Dakar Rally website.
Want more?
- Go to the official website of the Dakar Rally 2012
- Check out Mohammed's Dakar profile
- All Dakar 2012 driver profiles
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