Land Rover global adventure competition starts March 30th

New York, New York – The inaugural Land Rover G4 Challenge adventure competition will get underway on Sunday, March 30th with an unusual urban challenge in Manhattan. Sixteen adventure athletes — 14 men and two women — representing 16 countries, will drive Land Rover Freelander all-wheel drive vehicles over a series of man-made obstacles set-up especially for the event in the canyons of the garment district of Manhattan. They will then head north into upstate New York, Vermont and New Hampshire for the first week of competition.

The Land Rover G4 Challenge will test the stamina, strategy, driving skills and athletic capability of the competitors for the next four weeks. They will use a variety of skills including on- and off-road driving, kayaking, skiing, climbing, GPS navigation and orienteering as they seek hidden points. At night they will pitch tents while nursing sore muscles and begin to plan the next day’s strategy.

From here, the event travels to South Africa and Australia before returning to the western U.S. for the finale. Over the next four weeks, they will cover more than 4,000 miles, driving four different Land Rover models on three continents.

After the first leg in the eastern U.S., the second stage will travel into the wilds of South Africa using Defender vehicles (Defender is not available in the U.S.). The third stage will cross the Australian Outback using Range Rovers. The final stage is in the Southwestern U.S. where they will use the Land Rover Discovery to travel from Las Vegas, Nevada to Moab, Utah. The event finishes on April 26th.

Each stage of the competition will encompass activities in both major urban centres and remote rural areas. The contestants will be paired with a different nation on each leg, and will have to work together as a team over the course of that leg as they seek scoring points that require the use of different skills to reach. At the end of the event, there will be one person who will have amassed the most points and he or she will win a new Range Rover.

The Land Rover G4 Challenge is not a race and will not venture off approved roads and trails. The competitors were chosen from among thousands who applied and then prevailed in national and international selection events held late last year. They come from all walks of life and are not professional athletes.

In commenting on the Land Rover G4 Challenge Matthew Taylor, Land Rover managing director said, “This unique event reflects Land Rover’s spirit of adventure and brings together people from many nations in the spirit of cooperation and friendly competition. We are pleased that all contestants are anxious to proceed and work together to make this inaugural event a success.”

The final 16 are, in alphabetical order of the country they will represent:

The Land Rover G4 Challenge will be featured in a two, one-hour broadcasts to be seen this Fall on the Outdoor Life Network as well as on the official website www.landroverG4challenge.com .