An early wake-up call

Spare a thought for us commentators next week as we venture daily to the Sheik Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi for the final test of the desert duel.

We will be maintaining our temporary residence in Dubai and travelling some 80 kilometres each morning to go to 'the office.' We are certainly not complaining as commentating is a privileged way to make a living and Dubai is a fascinating place, but there is a twist. Next week will present some interesting challenges.

We go on air at 9:30am local time and commence our standard half hour broadcast build up into the day's play. We are required to arrive at the ground to conduct interviews, record the pitch report and to rehearse some two hours before play gets under way so that all have plenty of time and there are no last minute scrambles before we go 'live.' Let's work it back from there. That means that due to the early morning high traffic volume on the highway from Dubai to Abu Dhabi, the gaggle of commentators will be departing from the hotel at 5:30am sharp. That all calculates to a very unwelcome call to duty from my alarm clock at 4:15am!

Let me throw something else into the mix. The aforementioned highway is considered a race track by the locals and the speed limit of 140 kph is routinely ignored. The extreme machines that patrol every street of this part of the world, gobble up the bitumen and leave many eating dust in their wake when allowed the luxury of full throttle on the open road. It is not a coincidence that the Grand Prix circuit is adjacent to the ground!

The ignored speed restrictions, the potent horsepower and the enthusiasm of the lead-footed petrol heads combine to give this highway an unenviable reputation. It is considered the most dangerous commuting motorway in the world.

It sounds like our potential white-knuckle drive to work next week will be a serious wake-up call in more ways than one!

I think Kepler will be forced to sit in the front seat.