Long-Time Contestant Finally Wins A Subaru

Taking part in the Mediacorp Subaru Car Challenge for the 12th time has paid off for 38-year-old Sunawr Ali S/O Idris Ali from Singapore. Keeping one hand on the car for an impressive 75 hours and 58 minutes, and in blazing heat on the final day, won him the Overall Winner title and a Grand Prize of an all-new Subaru XV 1.6 I-S worth S$ 69,600 (excluding Certificate of Entitlement).

Sunawr Ali, who finished in 2nd place in the 2013 Challenge (ending at 75 hours and 1 minute), was up against Analiza Bte Mokhtar (who finished 2nd in 2014) of Singapore and Alex Neblasca of Philippines in the final stint; both dropped out at 75 hours and 57 minutes and 73 hours and 50 minutes respectively. The first and second runners-up stood to win cash prizes of S$ 5,000 and S$ 2,000 respectively.

The Challenge was a challenge as participants braved a mix of heat and rain with the help of supporters cheering them from the side lines with words of encouragement and banners. The supporters also supported the participants through an online game where they could win their participant-of-choice additional five-minute breaks on top of the standard breaks every 6 hours.

Elated and relieved after being told of his win, Sunawr Ali said that he “feels very great” about finally winning on his 12th attempt. He credited his win to the unwavering support of his family and friends, and said that “it may have taken years” but what matters is that he has accomplished the feat at long last. Despite finishing the Challenge with swollen feet, Sunawr Ali said the first thing he wanted to do when he got home was to “have some fried chicken”.

Presenting the Grand Prize to Sunawr Ali, was Mr Glenn Tan, Executive Director, Tan Chong International Ltd and Ms Debra Soon, Head, Family English Segment, Mediacorp.

“I’m very happy that 12-time contestant Ali has finally taken home the prize. He has demonstrated sheer grit, endurance and determination from start to finish, in both his 12-year quest for the Grand Prize, and also for the past 75 hours and 58 minutes during the Challenge. He told me that this will be his last Challenge win or lose and I’m glad that it has ended on a high note for him.” said Mr Tan.

“15th year into the Challenge and the Mediacorp Subaru Car Challenge is still growing strong. We are heartened with the response we have received on social media and on site. Thousands of people have been watching our videos and posting words of encouragement online. Congratulations Ali for his big win – a truly deserving winner for his show of strength and tenacity,” said Ms Soon.

The team from Philippines achieved the longest combined standing time of 490 hours and 42 minutes to bag the Country Team Winner title. This is despite a disadvantage of having only nine regional participants, when one participant had to back out at the last minute. Most of the other regional teams who competed had a full crew of 10 participants. The Philippines team will be going home with a cash prize of S$ 10,000, which will be divided equally among the team members.

In recognition of the efforts by other regional contestants, the last-standing representative from each participating regional country will also leave with the title of Country Winner and a cash prize of S$ 1,000. In addition, Alex Neblasca from the Philippines, the last standing regional contestant also won the Asian Winner title, walking away with an additional S$ 5,000 cash.

The list of Country Winners are: