We write this to you from the lobby of the Amra Palace Hotel in Petra. Here we are made most welcome and the Hotel staff are crowded around us as we write [it's the laptop PC they're interested in, not the Club members... Ed].

After many months of hard work at Q-Shed, ten members of the Mach 1 Club have now found our way out to Jordan to assist the team with preparations for the record attempt. After struggling through appalling Monday morning M25 traffic, we left a wet and miserable Heathrow knowing that a warm and sunny destination was waiting to greet us.

Upon arrival, we picked up some hire cars and headed off into the desert, heading towards the beautiful resort of Petra. Next day we raced off towards the desert (it is rumoured that they have speed limits here), passing other lunatic vehicles and numerous camels en route.

After one hours’ drive we arrived at the Al Jafr air base, we greeted the team and were shortly lead onto the amazing expanse of flat, baked desert (no wonder people go mad out here!). Our guide was careful to point out various features that we could use to navigate around, since it is very easy to become disorientated driving around this terrain. Eventually we saw many parallel white lines which denoted the seventeen tracks that have been marked out with the valuable assistance of the Jordanian Air Force.

(Matthew fodding. Photo: Jeremy Davey.)

Of primary importance at the moment is the huge task of removing all debris (‘fod’) from the desert that could either damage the wheels of the car or get sucked into the engines. This involves forming into lines across a couple of the running tracks and picking up fod. Yesterday (6 Nov ) there were a lot of stones so progress was slow, today there were less stones and progress was quicker. Fod is predominately small pieces of pumice-like rocks and flints either on the surface or just protruding above the surface. Occasionally more interesting fod is found - small bits of casing form a missile or fragments from a plane crash, we have also found shell cases and small bits of rubber tyre. Fodding is most rewarding when large rocks up to 2 inches in size are removed from the area of the wheel tracks. Andy Green found one of these right on his guide line.

(Murray fodding. Photo: Jeremy Davey.)

The essential task of fodding has been brightened up by games. For example we played the "music" game, where each of the 17 fodders in turn, were required to think of the name of a band or artist beginning with the last letter of the previous band or artist, e.g. Who - Osmonds - Slade - Erasure etc.

The good news from the fodding front is that three of the low speed (less than 450mph) tracks have been cleared and three of the high speed tracks are 50% complete. Fodding on these tracks will be completed soon and then the fodding teams will move onto two more high speed tracks.

(Roger and Jason McCann applying logos to the car. Photo: Jeremy Davey.)

We are, however, despite of the monotony of stone spotting, all enjoying our time in Jordan. For many of us this is our first visit to the desert and Jordan. The locals are very friendly and helpful especially when they find out we are part of the "fastest car in the world". We have been welcomed wherever we have been and the locals cannot do enough to help us.

Some of our members have taken time out to visit the ancient spectacular rock city ruins of Petra. These are within walking distance of the hotel. The ruins consist of temples carved out of the rock the two main ones being the treasury (of Indiana Jones' Last Crusade fame) and the monastery.

We are all looking forward to the tie down engine tests on Saturday and the first runs of the car on the desert on Sunday - inshalla!

Best Wishes from all of us at the Amra Palace Hotel, Petra, Jordan:
Neal, John, Murray, Suzie, Duncan, Matthew, Brian, Ken, Bob and our Jordanian friends Khaled, Majeed, Abu - Assal (our wonderful hosts).

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