2013 Subaru Impreza Challenge holds Manila leg

MANILA, Philippines - Last Saturday, Motor Image Pilipinas, the authorized distributor of Subaru vehicles in the Philippines, held its Manila leg of the 2013 Subaru Impreza Challenge in Bonifacio High Street, BGC. This was the 3rd leg of the annual competition held in the country, with the Cebu and Davao legs conducted last August 10 and 17, respectively.

The Subaru Impreza Challenge is a unique competition that challenges participants to hold on to Subaru vehicles while parked outdoors, for the longest time possible. There are no tents to protect the brave competitors from the elements, and no ‘time-outs-on request.’ There is only a non-negotiable 5-minute break given every 6 hours, for participants to accomplish everything it is that they need to do—whether it is to eat, drink, rest or take a bathroom break. The last 7 people standing (in the Manila leg) win P10,000 each, plus a slot to compete in the Asian finals in Singapore. Ultimately, the person who wins in the Singapore grand finals wins the car:  a Subaru Impreza 2.0i 6-speed MT worth approximately P1.5M.

A total of 208 participants have already competed in the recently held Cebu and Davao legs, and there has been one winner taken from each of these provincial legs. On August 24, there will also be a Pampanga leg held in Marquee Mall, and the last person standing will join the 7 Manila winners + 1 Davao + 1 Cebu to complete the 10 members of the Philippine contingent. All 10 winners will get an all-expense-paid trip to compete in the Singapore finals, where they will battle it out against challengers from Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia, China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia. Last year’s big winner was 48-year-old Singaporean Tholmas Gan Yu Shen, who lasted for a whopping 78 hours and 30 minutes. There has never been a Filipino winner in the grand finals, to date.

This endurance contest was first held in Singapore back in 2002, with a total of 120 contestants holding on to three cars. Of late, the number of competitors in the finals has grown to approximately 400, and 10 cars have since been needed to accommodate all hands.

Aside from the grand winner, there will also be a ‘Country Winner’ title awarded to the last person standing from each country. There will also be an ‘Asian Winner’ award for the last person standing from all regional countries, excluding Singapore. Finally, a Country Team Prize will also be awarded to the longest surviving country, the winner of which, is computed by adding all the individual team members’ timings together.

The 7 winners of the recently held 2013 Subaru Impreza Challenge Manila leg are Edward Vargas, Robert Ocampo, Edd Rael Marcos, Carlos Antonio Creencia, Alex Neblasca, Ariel Frayna, and Juan Furiscal, Jr.

Their official time was recorded as 13 hours 4 minutes and 46 seconds! Alex and Robert are repeat participants from last year’s competition, and Alex in fact, was the Philippines’ country winner last year. Now that’s fighting spirit!