Mr. Glenn Tan, Executive Director of Tan Chong International Limited leads the official coutdown.

The region’s most anticipated endurance challenge kicked off at Ngee Ann City’s Civic Plaza at 1PM sharp this afternoon. This event, now on its 12th year, saw 400 contestants from Singapore, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam reporting for the final qualifying round of the Mediacorp Subaru Challenge, for the chance of winning the grand prize; a Subaru Impreza 2.0i 6-speed manual worth PHP 1,158,000.

For the first time in the history of the competition, and to mark the 12th year of the Challenge, contestants will win a prize every 12 hours they remain in the game. Prizes include lifestyle vouchers, an Osim uAngel massage cushion, a GPS navigation system, a Samsung Galaxy Tab 3.0 and more.

“This morning saw 400 eager contestants from across the region gearing up to outdo their opponents in this challenging endurance contest. This year we are hoping to break the record for the longest time by giving away prizes every 12 hours, which we hope will motivate participants to test and push their own limits. We are all very excited to see who will have the ‘winning hand’ in this year’s competition and look forward to what will be a very exciting 4-day event,” said Mr. Glenn Tan, Executive Director, Tan Chong International Limited.



Besides competing for the grand prize, regional contestants will also compete for additional titles and prizes. The title of Country Winner and a cash prize of S$ 1,000 (~PHP35,000) will be awarded to the final standing representative of each participating market. The last standing regional contestant will win the Asian Winner title and will walk away with an additional S$ 5,000 (~ PHP 175,000) cash. The country or region whose participants have the longest combined standing time will be awarded the Country Winner title along with a cash prize of S$ 10,000 (~ PHP 350,000) to be equally divided among the team.

A joint initiative by Motor Image Group and MediaCorp Pte Ltd., all 90 of the regional contestants (10 from each country) were selected after completing a series of endurance tests and games organized by Motor Image offices in the region and flown to Singapore on an all-expense-paid trip to take part in the Asian face-off. The 310 contestants from Singapore were selected during a final qualifying round help on 19 October at the Subaru Hub in Toa Payoh.


“This year, we have planned for the contestants to enjoy privileges that will be revealed during the course of the challenge. The online community can also make these privileges a reality by supporting the contestants at www.facebook.com/MediaCorpCarChallenge. Look out for all the details as well as latest updates and pictures here. It’s set to be an emotionally charged challenge where one person will be crowned the ultimate winner,” said Ms. Erina Cook, Organizing Committee Chairperson from MediaCorp for MediaCorp Subaru Challenge 2013 – The Asian Face-Off.

All 400 finalists will give their best to battle harsh weather conditions, sleep deprivation, hunger, and thirst while keeping their right palms firmly within the surface area of the palm decals with a 5-minute break once every 6 hours—at 1PM, 7PM, 1AM, and 7AM given to them throughout the competition.