Blood, Sweat, Tears, and a brand -new Subaru Mediacorp Subaru Challenge crowns 2012 champ after 78 Hours

MANILA, Philippines - After standing with his right palm on a Subaru Impreza for 78 hours and 30 minutes, under the humid heat of Singapore’s sun and an occasional thunderstorm or two, 42-year old Gan Yu Shen Tholmas emerged as the winner of the Mediacorp Subaru Challenge 2012. A three-time participant, Mr. Gan bested 399 other participants from 10 countries to take home a brand-new Subaru 1.6 XV worth SGD$80,800 (PHP 2,725,000.00).

Selected from an online competition organized by Subaru regional distributor, Motor Image, on its Facebook page (“I Love Subaru”), Mr. Gan clocked the second-longest winning time in the competition’s 11-year history, just two hours and two minutes short of the record time set in 2008.

“I am very excited to be the winner since this is my third time participating in the challenge for three consecutive years. I am really happy to win the car and I can’t wait to see my family after being away for four days,” said Mr. Gan who was still surprisingly lucid after the contest.

As of the 1 PM break on the fourth day, 5 regional contestants were still left standing, battling out with 5 other Singaporeans, giving hope that a non-Singaporean would win the gruelling challenge for the first time. Alas, because the locals are highly acclimatized to the searing heat experienced at the Ngee Ann City Civic Plaza venue, the regional participants from Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam all bowed out with Thailand’s Samach Tepsen being the last one to give up after 76 hours and 8 minutes. The last Filipino to call it quits was Alex Neblasca Jr. after 65 hours.

The regional participants (10 from each country) were selected after completing a series of endurance challenges organized by the different Motor Image offices in the region and were flown to Singapore on an all-expense-paid trip to take part in the Asian face-off. This year, the Philippine contingent was composed of: Jayson Biadog, 27, blogger; Danilo Biadog Jr., 26, student; Robert Ocampo, 29, admin assistant; Filmark Benante, 28 customer service representative; Lemuel Perez Jr., 22, dancer; Marcelo Soriano Jr., 35, account executive; Edgardo Marcos, 50, painter; Alex Neblasca Jr., mechanic; Philip Pajimula, 33, security guard; and Kris Manuel Uy, 24, nurse.

Mr. Glenn Tan, Executive Director of Tan Chong International presented the Subaru XV to Mr. Gan with a symbolic key right after the contest. The runner-up, Singaporean G. Jaishanker meanwhile received a SGD$5,000 (PHP 169,000.00) prize. The last-standing regional contestant, Mr. Tepsen walked away with SGD$5,000, while the Country Team Winner—with a cash prize of SGD$10,000 (PHP 337,000)—was awarded to Vietnam who achieved a combined standing total of 761 hours and 24 minutes. The last standing country representative also didn’t go empty handed, as Mr. Neblasca received a cash prize of SGD$1,000.

“This was a rather surprising result in the 11-year history of the event. After the blistering heat of the first two days I was convinced there would be an early finish to this year’s event and I am totally amazed at the resilience of the contestants. They really did dig incredibly deep to stay the distance”, said Mr. Tan.

On its eleventh year, the Subaru Challenge is a unique contest that tests both the physical and mental endurance of its participants. Although Motor Image could have opted for a “lucky draw” to determine the winner of a new Subaru car, Mr. Tan wants something different. He wants a contest of determination—on how far you’re willing to go for a brand-new Subaru. And judging by the unwavering reaction from both participants and well-wishers, it seems that the Subaru Challenge is here to stay, and hopefully a Filipino champion will one day emerge.