Renowned adventurer Hisham Nessim (Egypt) has set a new world record, driving solo across an inhospitable stretch of the Western Desert called the Great Sand Sea in a record 5 hr 33 min.

The journey started from Siwa on 2 March 2009, moving with an assisting team in a convoy consisting of four vehicles carrying all the supplies and maintenance equipment needed to cover three days, which is the period that it took to arrive at the starting point in the south.

At 6:45 a.m. on 5 March, Nessim’s journey began. The starting point was north of El Gelf Plateau, to the south of the Great Sand Sea in Egypt. Ahead lay a journey of approximately 650 km (403 miles) to the end point in Siwa, which he finally reached at 12:18 p.m. Throughout the course of this epic endeavour, a Guinness World Records™ Adjudicator was kept up to date with progress via GPS.

In the first few hours, engineer Nessim drove at an average of 140 km/h (87 mph) while manoeuvring through dangerous sand dunes and without resorting to four-wheel drive. After he had overcome several obstacles in the difficult terrain, bad weather settled in for the last 200 km (124 miles), reducing his average speed from 140 km/h to 100 km/h (62 mph). Coupled with the low visibility, Nessim had no margin for error.

In a press conference after the successful record attempt – attended by Mr Amr El Ezaby, Chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Authority, and General Ahmed Mokhtar, Governor of El Wady El Gedeed – Guinness World Records Adjudicator Talal Omar presented an official GWR certificate and confirmed Engineer Nessim’s terrific achievement.

08 June 2009