Abu Simbel, November 2009 - After breaking the record for the fastest vehicle crossing the Great Sand Sea, and under the auspices of the Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority, the Egyptian adventurer, Hesham Nessim, achieved his second Guinness World Records record on 11 November 2009, in the Western Desert using one vehicle driving from Siwa to Abu Simbel.

The record was part of Guinness World Records day (12 November 2009) where thousands of people from all around the world attempted different records to join Guinness World Records celebrating this special day.

The journey started from Siwa Oasis in the far north west of Egypt on the 10 of November 2009 at 6.30 am covering a distance of approximately 1370 km till the ending point in Abu Simbel which is situated in the far south east of Egypt. A Guinness World Records™ adjudicator was kept up to date with progress of the journey every hour via GPS.

To prepare for this adventure, Hesham Nessim has made three discovery trials in preparation for the Fastest Vehicle Crossing the Egyptian Western Desert adventure in cooperation with the Land Rover Car Company that provided Hesham Nessim with a land Rover LR4 car.

The distance covered by Hesham Nessim consisted of three phases, the first phase was the great sand sea area which covers an area of approximately 600 km, followed by the open desert and reaching the final stage in crossing the mountains and rocks area. The crossing was achieved in 13 hours and 54 minutes with an average speed of 110 km per hour.

The Egyptian Tourism Promotion Authority has sponsored the event in significance to its strategy to highlight the natural beauty of the Western Desert.

In a press conference after the successful record attempt, Guinness World Records Adjudicator Talal Omar presented an official GWR certificate and confirmed Mr. Nessim’s terrific achievement.