Logistical support lightens Slovakian couple’s pain after Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge disaster

Rally drivers Juruj Ulrich and Daniela Ulrichova were fighting against odds to race and with plans to sell their car, left with nothing in the Empty Quarter including their passport and other belongings. Gary Meenaghan reports

Nasser Al Attiyah forged ahead unchallenged after Stage 4 and is the leading contender for the title. Courtesy Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge

LIWA, ABU DHABI // Juruj Ulrich and Daniela Ulrichova stood in the blazing heat of the Liwa desert watching their life go up in flames.

The Slovakian couple, competing in the Abu Dhabi Desert Challenge for the first time, were about five kilometres into Monday’s second stage when their Ford Raptor combusted.

By the time the blaze was brought under control, the car could not be salvaged. Inside were passports, driving licences, phones, a tablet, money, cards and a laptop.

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Such is the inherent danger of motorsports, insurance for racing vehicles is neither widely available nor financially viable. Ulrich and Ulrichova were, like the vast majority of teams who compete in cross country endurance, competing without indemnity.

“It is very difficult to discuss,” Ulrichova said Wednesday at the event’s bivouac, alongside husband Juruj and daughter Sandra. “One minute we were in the car, then we saw flames, and two or three minutes later they were so intense it was pointless even trying to fight.

“The hardest thing is that we have lost everything – even the little elephant that we had been carrying with us for luck for the past 10 years.”

Ulrichova said they do not carry their passports in their car during races in Europe, but added they had endured complications during a rally in the Western Sahara and decided to carry their documents this week just in case. The border of Saudi Arabia is 30km from the bivouac.

The pair, who own a repair shop in Bratislava, also revealed they intended to sell their Raptor after this week’s five-day race. They had competed in it only twice, the last of which saw them win the Baja Poland in September.

Ulrich, who advertised the car’s availability on an online forum, said a buyer from Egypt had already expressed interest and was travelling to Abu Dhabi with a view to purchase it for €98,000 (Dh390,000).

“What makes it even worse is, we are a team of only three,” Ulrich said.

“We are a private team with no big sponsors. This was everything we had and we lost it all. When I was watching the car burn, I said ‘I never want to race again’. Maybe I will, but it is hard to think about just now.”

Immediate data analysis suggested there was an issue with the vehicle’s fuel pump, which could have sprayed gasoline on to the engine, prompting the fire. The other Ford Raptor in the 47-car field, Ulrich said, was found later to have a broken valve.

“As a woman, maybe I think differently,” Ulrichova said. “But whenever I enter the car I always consider many things: maybe we’ll have an accident, maybe we’ll break down.

“But never did I imagine the car would burn to its shell. It is a nightmare.”

Within three minutes of noticing the flames and exiting the vehicle, help was at hand in the form of another race team and the support has not stopped since.

A helicopter returned the pair to the bivouac, where food and shelter was provided, while staff of the Automobile and Touring Club of the UAE have shuttled them from the Empty Quarter to the nearby police station and the Slovakian consulate in Abu Dhabi city.

Mohammed ben Sulayem, the ATCUAE president, has personally assisted in negotiations with shipping agents and customs.

“We are happy that we saved our lives and thankful for the support,” Ulrich said. “We spent six hours at the police station on Tuesday. Everyone has been a great help, and here in the bivouac we feel like we are part of one big family.”

Without the proper documentation, the trio have been forced to extend their stay in the Emirates until Sunday.

The issue of what to do with the charred remains of the Raptor proved problematic, but Ben Sulayem and the ATCUAE stepped in last night and will transfer it to Jebel Ali port, where it will be shipped back to Slovakia as is procedure.

“I can sympathise with them a lot because I had a similar incident in 2001,” said Ben Sulayem, a 14-time Middle East Rally Champion.

“We were in Lebanon and our car caught fire. I suffered one first-degree burn and Ronan [Morgan, co-driver] suffered second-degree burns. You feel so down because you travel to race and suddenly everything is gone.

“But we are grateful that they are safe and we try to help them get home. That is the spirit of the sport and it is our ethical responsibility.”

Ulrich said they had paid for the shipping container in advance and, on arrival in Bratislava, will decide what to do with the remains. “If we could leave it here we would,” Ulrichova said.

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