The Finals of Land Rover’s ultimate global adventure, the Land Rover G4 Challenge, will take place during 2009 in the most sparsely populated independent country on the planet – Mongolia. A blend of terrain offering arid steppes, mountains and the extreme climate of one of the world’s largest deserts, the Gobi, makes Mongolia a natural fit with Land Rover’s G4 Challenge.
The Challenge programme kicked off in September 2007 when the competition was announced at
. Since then the recce teams have been exploring the toughest terrain in Asia to find a suitably demanding environment to stage the culmination of the competition in 2009.
Challenge manager Ed Tilston said: “We are very excited to confirm Mongolia as the main location for the Finals of the Land Rover G4 Challenge in 2009. Our team on the ground have been working to find routes that will push our vehicles and the competitors to their limits.
Mongolia is a spectacular country which will enable us to create a truly extraordinary Finals event in 2009. We are also investigating the possibility of extending the Challenge into another area offering different extremes.”
The 18 national teams (each comprising of one man and one woman) will be pushed to their limits in a thrilling competition involving off-road driving and sports such as kayaking, mountain biking and climbing.
The 2008/09 Land Rover G4 Challenge programme is run in support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. This partnership aims to generate in excess of £1m over the course of the next two challenges. In addition to this, each participating nation will be raising funds in aid of their National Society. The winning team will receive a Land Rover to donate to their National Society.
As part of this partnership, a donation has been offered to the Mongolian Red Cross to support their Social Care projects. These projects aim to help the many vulnerable families in Mongolia and provide them with home care, referral services and a move to inclusion in the community. As a result of this it is estimated that over 10,000 people will be reached.
Choijilsuren Ariuntungalag, Social Care and Volunteer Programme Manager of the Mongolian Red Cross commented, “The Land Rover G4 Challenge is providing vital funding support to help the Mongolian Red Cross Society deliver a Social Care Programme which aims to improve the quality of life of the most vulnerable families in Ulaanbaatar”,
-
The Challenge is an environmentally sensitive and fully carbon offset event run in accordance with Land Rover’s Fragile Earth Policy, a global promise to ensure that the company’s actions minimise environmental damage. It will leave a lasting legacy both in the event location and in participating nations through the International Federation partnership.
-
Competitor recruitment began for the 18 national teams from around the world earlier this year. Members of the public from a competing nation can sign up on the website, landroverG4Challenge.com, to enter the Challenge. National Selections are taking place in participating countries from now until the end of November. The International Selections will take place in early 2009 to decide the one man and one woman chosen to represent each national team in the Challenge Finals.
-
Mongolia is the most sparsely populated independent country in the world; it is home to a nomadic and semi-nomadic population, many of whom live in Ger (traditional felt covered yurts) tents. Approximately 2.9 million people reside in an area of 1.5 million square kilometres.
The 18 participating nations are:
-
Australia
-
China
-
Netherlands
-
Turkey
-
Austria
-
France
-
Norway/Sweden
-
UK
-
Belgium/Luxemburg
-
Germany
-
Russia
-
USA
-
Brazil
-
Ireland
-
South Africa
-
Canada
-
Italy
-
Spain
Land Rover G4 Challenge
The Land Rover G4 Challenge was inaugurated in 2003, when Belgian fighter pilot Rudi Thoelen emerged victorious from a cliff hanging finale in the Moab desert, USA. The next Challenge, in 2006, went deep into rugged, remote locations in Thailand, Laos, Brazil and Bolivia, coming to an end at an altitude of over 4000m with South African Martin Dreyer emerging victorious.
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies is the world’s largest humanitarian organisation, providing assistance without discrimination as to nationality, race, religious beliefs, class or political opinions.
It comprises 186 member Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, seven regional zone offices, more than 60 delegations and a secretariat in Geneva. Working in partnership with communities, the International Federation aims to reduce the impact of disasters, diseases and public health emergencies, to make communities stronger and more resilient, and to promote respect for diversity and human dignity.
