MediaCorp Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge

MediaCorp Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge (Chinese: 比耐力赢轿车比赛) is an annual challenge organised by MediaCorp Radio and Subaru in Singapore. It has been held at the open air space in front of Ngee Ann City since its inauguration in (31 October) 2002.

Format

Contestants are required to reach the competition ground at 7 am of the competition day for registration, which is always on a Saturday. The competition itself starts at 1 pm sharp on that day. Contestants are required to keep a hand on a position on the car pre-selected randomly. The contestant is eliminated if he or she lifts his or her hand off the car, whether deliberately or accidentally. Contestants are allowed a 5-minute break every 6 hours of the competition, at 7 pm, 1 am, 7 am and 1 pm. The winner wins the Subaru vehicle on offer in the competition.

Highlights

In 2005, the competition was called the Subaru Team Challenge as it was a competition by teams consisting of 2 people per team, and when one is disqualified, the entire team was out. Two cars were awarded for the winners that year.

In 2007, the format was the "Battle of the Sexes", and the winner of the men and women categories both won a car each.

In 2008, regional contestants from Hong Kong, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia joined in to mark the first time the competition went into a regional format, called the "Regional Face Off".

In 2009, contestants from China, Taiwan and Indonesia joined them in the 2009 edition and renamed the "Asian Face Off".

Contestants from Vietnam joined the fray in the 2010 edition. In the 2011 edition, there were no contestants from Hong Kong for the first time in three years, but contestants from Cambodia and Macau are added into the contest. In 2012, there were no contestants from Macau but contestants from Hong Kong returned. The list of countries in the 2013 and 2014 edition are the same as the 2012 version. In 2015, there were no contestants from Indonesia for the first time in six years. The list of countries in the 2016 edition is the same as the 2015 edition.

In 2012, to mark the 11th anniversary of the Challenge, an additional 11 seconds are added to the usual 5-minute evening break at 7 pm. Also, the last 11 standing contestants will be awarded a 'Wild Card', where they can choose from a list of items such as a drink or an extra break. Also, an additional break was provided at 4 pm on the Sunday and Monday of the competition due to the extreme afternoon heat.

In 2013, due to the sudden thunderstorm, the competition was paused from 4.30 pm to 5.40 pm on Monday for safety reasons, making it the longest ever pause during the competition itself since it started in 2002.

In 2014, the public can also show their support by playing a special online game to win extra five-minute breaks for their participant of choice. The top 10 ranked scorers in each Reward Round will receive a reward of an extra 5-minute break which can be assigned to an active contestant of their choice.

In 2015, the Subaru car on offer as the top prize for the competition will also include the Certificate of Entitlement for the first time, making it the grandest prize on offer at S$115,000. However, as the competition was won by a non-Singaporean, the COE would not be added. This was also the first time the competition was won by a non-Singaporean.[1] In view of possible hazy conditions, the competition took place in a covered tent for the first time in 14 years. Air-conditioners were also on standby if the PSI crossed 100, but the PSI stayed in the good and moderate range throughout the competition.[2]

Winners and runners-up

Year Overall Winner(s) Time Taken 1 Runner-up 2 Runner-up
2002 Mohd Amat 61 hours 55 minutes Zech Leong
2003 David Gerard Felix 66 hours 52 minutes Cindy Png Siew Guat
2004 Ian Lee 74 hours 59 minutes Cheang Pui San
2005 Koh Meng Khoon and Lung Wen Jie 64 hours 31 minutes Zac Ng and Alex Koh
2006 Alex Koh 73 hours 56 minutes Johnny Chua
2007 Sandra Yeow (female)
*Kevin Lee (male)
77 hours 13 minutes
*76 hours
Phua Lee Lian (female)
Abdul Hamid Jonid (male)
2008 Singapore George Lee 81 hours 32 minutes Singapore Mary Tan Singapore
2009 Singapore Mohd Anuar 77 hours 43 minutes Singapore Santozkumar Poonsolai Singapore
2010 Singapore Aloysius Lim Xiang Kwan 75 hours 17 minutes Singapore Abdul Hamid Jonid Singapore
2011 Singapore Chong Kait Chi 75 hours 36 minutes Singapore Tilani Haresh Lachmandas Singapore
2012 Singapore Tholmas Gan Yu Shen 78 hours 30 minutes Singapore G Jaishanker Thailand Samach Tepsen*
2013 Singapore Yusman Wright 75 hours 1 minute Singapore Sunawr Ali Philippines Alex Neblasca
2014 Singapore G Jaishanker 82 hours 16 minutes Singapore Analiza Mokhtar Singapore Sunawr Ali
2015 Vietnam Nguyen Phuoc Huynh 77 hours 58 minutes Malaysia Tan Hong Sheng Singapore Yip Yu Wai
2016 Singapore Sunawr Ali 75 hours 58 minutes Singapore Analiza Mokhtar Philippines Alex Neblasca

Country Team Winner and Asian Winner

The country or region whose participants have the longest combined standing time will be awarded the Country Team Winner title along with a cash prize of S$10,000, to be equally divided among the team. S$5,000 for the last man or women whose participants have the longest.

Year Team Winner
2008 N/A
2009 Thailand
2010 Philippines
2011 Thailand
2012 Vietnam
2013 Philippines
2014 Thailand
2015 Malaysia
2016 Philippines
Year Asian Winner
2008 N/A
2009 Thailand
2010 Philippines
2011 Philippines
2012 Thailand
2013 Philippines
2014 Malaysia
2015 Malaysia
2016 Philippines

References

  1. "MediaCorp Subaru Car Challenge 2015 crowns first regional winner". Channel NewsAsia. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  2. "Subaru Car Challenge 2015 to be held indoors". Channel NewsAsia. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/8/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.