Subaru Impreza Challenge Asian Face-Off

THE AUTHOR with three-time veteran Alex Neblasca, who lasted 69 hours in becoming the last Filipino standing.

Covering the Subaru Impreza Challenge Asian Face-Off is more like a lifestyle than a true motoring event. But the chance of someone winning an exciting car such as the Impreza is always worth watching out for, particularly if it’s in a special, tourist-friendly venue such as Singapore.

With 10 Filipino qualifiers accompanied by members of Motor Image Pilipinas, part of the Motor Image Group under the Tanchong Group of Companies, and members of the motoring media, it was exciting to say the least as this year’s 10th Edition of the regional contest promised to be bigger and better than before with new contestants from Macau and Cambodia joining for the first time in a field of over 300 participants from 10 Asean countries including Singapore.

The venue was the popular high-end fashion district of Ngee Ann City along Orchard Road, complete with non-stop entertainment to lull or refresh the contestants, depending on who was performing at any given time of the day.

Contestants would need to place their right hand on specified points on Subaru Imprezas for the entire duration of the contest but would be given a five-minute break every six hours, one at 7 a.m./p.m. and one at 1 a.m./p.m., with the event starting on Saturday, October 29, 1 p.m., with Motor Image Group Chief Executive Glenn Tan and other local celebrities and VIPs. Motor Image is the Asean authorized distributor of all Subaru vehicles.

The record currently stood at 81 hours and 32 minutes by George Lee of Singapore and the rumors milling about was that people were gunning for 90 hours to break the record. The Philippine team consisted of Robert Ocampo, Edgardo Marcos, Anna Carizo, Roberto Tomas, Danilo Badiog, Rey Pizana, Carlo Garcia, Alex Neblasca, Apple Balibado and Kris Uy. In the final hours of Team Philippines’ struggle for glory, it was Alex Neblasca who lasted for 69 hours before the afternoon sun shone brightly and temporarily blinded Alex who was, as he admits, already delirious as the lack of a fellow-Filipino to converse with to ease the physical pain and help focus the mind meant he was already hallucinating. Shielding the sun from his eyes with his left arm, he accidentally twitched his right thumb away from the palm-mark silhouette, disqualifying him from the contest.

QUALIFIERS from all over Asia start the gruelling Challenge at Ngee Ann City along Orchard Road in Singapore.

Three hours after, freshened up and back to normal, Alex recounted some of the lighter moments in the dreary three days with his hands on the car. He says it was the unique smell of everyone around that was the toughest to cope with. The intense heat, humidity, hunger and physical battery are all things the three-time veteran of this event has prepared himself well for, controlling his diet and food intake as well as muscle relaxation, sleep deprivation and will-power. But the smell of other people, as unique as Asean gets, hastened his mental and physical decline.

I asked Alex, a second-hand motorcycle and spare-parts entrepreneur if he would join again and he says he’s thinking about retiring and letting other people get a chance for glory. Alex still won a special prize so he says the trip was worth it on that alone. Out of the 10 Philippine Team members, five were veterans while five others were rookies and found the event far more difficult than they had imagined, but far more exciting, made more special by being under the bright lights, blazing sun and intense monsoon rains of Singapore.

In the end, after 75 hours and 36 minutes, it was Chong Kiat Chi of Singapore who emerged victorious and walked away with the brand-new Subaru Impreza WRX hatchback valued at over 92,000 Singaporean dollars.

It was a good six hours short of the record but that promises next year’s contest to be even bigger and better.