A late afternoon heavy downpour today brought welcome relief to contestants who braved the unusually hot weather conditions for more than 50 hours in the MediaCorp Subaru Challenge 2012 – The Asian Face-Off.  

The rain renewed optimism among the remaining 36 contestants in the 11th annual event - 25 from Singapore and 11 from nine regional teams, facing off at Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza for the top prize of a Subaru car. 

Despite the downpour, hundreds of supporters were also camping around the perimeter of the contest area to give the contestants additional support and words of encouragement.

Mr Glenn Tan, Executive Director, Tan Chong International Ltd said, “While the drop out rate slowed after the rain today, tonight will be the defining time.  It will determine the most tenacious of the contestants.”

“It’s great to see that the fighting spirit in everyone and, as we still have contestants from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, it’s still anyone’s game,” he added.

Among the nine regional teams taking part, the contestants from Vietnam are proving to be the toughest, with five out of the original 10 team members still in the ‘race’.

Besides vying for the grand prize, regional contestants - from Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam - are competing for three additional titles and cash prizes. The title of Country Winner will go to the last standing representative from each country, with a cash prize of S$1,000.  The last-standing regional contestant will be named Asian Winner and walk away with S$5,000 in cash. The Country Team Winner title – with a cash prize of S$10,000, will be awarded to the country that achieves the longest combined standing time (the total time of all 10 representatives from the same country).

This year saw the first break extended from five minutes for a further 11 seconds to mark the 11th anniversary.

And for the very first time in the history of the Challenge, the last 11 contestants will be awarded a “Wild Card”, where they can choose from a list of items, such as a drink or a burger. This will change the dynamics of the challenge, as contestants will need to strategise how they will use the “Wild Card” to their best advantage. 

For more information and updates, please visit the official website at www.xinmsn.com/carchallenge2012.