The Battle of the Year Returns: MediaCorp Radio Subaru Impreza Challenge 2008 – The Regional Face-off

Event: The MediaCorp Radio Subaru Impreza Challenge 2008 – The
Regional Face-off
Date: Saturday, 8 November 2008
Time: Registration starts 7am
The Challenge begins at 1pm
Venue: Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza

Back for the seventh consecutive year, this reality challenge is a joint initiative of Motor Image Enterprises and MediaCorp Pte Ltd. This year, the Challenge will once again test the mental and physical limits of 400 contestants, including 40 overseas pre-qualified contestants from Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines.

These contestants were pre-qualified via a series of endurance tests and games hosted by Motor Image offices in their respective regions. From each selected region, 10 pre-qualified contestants will be flown on an all-expenses paid trip to Singapore to take part in the Challenge. The 40 overseas pre-qualified contestants will consist of both male and female contestants.

For the first time this year, 10 contestants qualified directly through a Direct Qualifying Draw at the Subaru booth at the Singapore Motorshow 2008. A Public Challenge was held daily from 27th to 28th September and 4th to 5th October 2008. This culminated with a Lucky Draw on 5th October 2008, where 10 contestants (five males and five females) were selected to qualify as Direct Entry
Draw contestants for this year's Challenge.

The longest-standing contestant (in terms of time spent with palm on the car) will be crowned the ultimate winner, taking home the grand car prize. The grand car prize up for contention for Singaporean contestants this year will be a Subaru Impreza WRX 2.5MT Hatchback, worth S$80,000 (without COE). Should the eventual Challenge winner be a regional contestant, he or she stands to walk away with a grand car prize in their respective regions. The top surviving regional
contestant will also go home with a cash prize equivalent to S$5,000.

"I am thrilled that the Challenge is back for the seventh year!," says Mr. Glenn Tan, Group Chief Executive of Motor Image Enterprises. "The response we have had from the past challenges have been extremely encouraging and this year, the idea of having regional contestants was broached. We are always looking for new ways to make the Challenge more exciting for contestants and with the expansion of the participation into the region, we believe it'll add a whole new
dimension to this year's Challenge, making it a truly regional one."

Ms. Dahlia Zainuddin, Vice President of English Programming, MediaCorp Radio, says, "Last year, the Challenge crowned its first-ever female winner who also managed to set a new record time. With the regional element incorporated into this year's Challenge, we can expect a whole new set of surprises awaiting us at Ngee Ann City this November."

Last year's Challenge saw the ultimate winner Sandra Yeow outlast 387 other contestants to emerge the first ever female champion with a record-breaking time of 77 hours and 13 minutes.

Interested participants can register for the first qualifying round by becoming the lucky person to call through to either one of the three radio stations of MediaCorp, namely Gold 90.5FM, Class 95FM or 987FM, from 29th September to 31st October 2008. From a pool of 1200 contestants, 350 contestants will be determined by a lucky draw that will take place at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza at 11am on 8th November 2008.

A qualified paramedic team, with an ambulance, will be on standby throughout the Challenge to ensure the safety of the contestants. As the Challenge progresses, regular health checks will be done on the remaining contestants to ensure that they are fit enough to carry on.

Members of the public who wish to cheer on participants and show their support can do so by logging on to http://sgauto.com/MediaCorpRadio/Subaru_Impreza_Challenge/encouragement/
and text message words of encouragement which will be displayed on the LED screen positioned in view of the participants.

For more information and updates, please visit our official website at
http://www.mediacorpradio.sg/subaru2008

Credits: JRC