LAND ROVER G4 CHALLENGE NEVADA PASSAGE ADVENTURE COMPETITION GETS UNDERWAY ON MAY 6

Land Rover G4 Challenge Nevada Passage Adventure Competition Gets Underway on May 6

Nevada hosts only U.S. qualifier – one of 18 national selection events worldwide

Editor’s Note:  During the competition, daily updates and high-resolution, digital photos are downloadable at www.nevadapassagephotos.com (User Name: PrintMedia; Password: usage2008), and b-roll footage available by going to www.thenewsmarket.com.       

CARSON CITY, Nev. – Twenty amateur adventure athletes will drive, run, bike, climb and kayak through the wide-open Nevada landscape as Land Rover North America and the Nevada Commission on Tourism kick off the Land Rover G4 Challenge Nevada Passage, May 6. The four-day multistage competition, which lasts through Friday, is the United States’ sole qualifying event for the prestigious international Land Rover G4 Challenge.

The top two teams will advance to the international selection event at Eastnor Castle in Herefordshire, United Kingdom, in early 2009, where one team will be selected to represent the United States against teams from 17 other countries in the three-week-long finals taking place in Asia mid-2009.

Ranging in age from 25 to 47 years of age, male and female athletes from 13 states have been paired into 10 coed teams to race across the majestic mountains, scenic deserts and historic lakes of Nevada. 

With driving at the core of the competition, each team will be equipped with a fully outfitted 2008 model year chawton white Land Rover LR3 HSE vehicle brilliantly logoed for the event.  Teams will navigate their way across hundreds of miles of existing, yet off the beaten path, 4WD dirt roads throughout southern Nevada and camp under the stars each night.

The specifics of each day’s challenge are a secret to the competitors, they only know there will be some off-road driving, navigating, trail running, mountain biking and kayaking involved. 

 “We can hardly wait to get this competition underway and showcase Nevada’s incredible recreational opportunities to a wide-ranging audience across the country and around the world,” Lt. Gov. Brian K. Krolicki, Nevada Commission on Tourism chair, said.  

The Land Rover G4 Challenge is recognized as one of the world’s top off-road driving and adventure events and is held every two years with national selection events taking place in 18 countries around the world. This year marks only the second time the United States has participated in the global competition since the inaugural event in 2003.

“We are so excited to partner with Land Rover, a brand that promises class and rugged adventure, to create an event that truly distinguishes Nevada as an outdoor adventure mecca,” Director Tim Maland of the Nevada Commission on Tourism said.

In 2005, the tourism commission created Nevada Passage as a dynamic and entertaining way to brand the state as a premier outdoor adventure destination. Nevada Passage is a made-for-television adventure competition and is syndicated in more than 80 markets across the country, along with regional and resort cable networks. To date, Nevada Passage has showcased 18 different locations and adventures to 25 million potential television viewers nationwide and earned $5.6 million in free publicity.

Past competitions have included events such as back-country skiing in the Sierra Nevada, sand boarding near Fallon, kayaking on the Truckee River in downtown Reno and rock climbing in Red Rock Canyon, just outside Las Vegas. Land Rover North America saw the Nevada Passage as a natural fit for the G4 Challenge.

“The Land Rover G4 Challenge epitomizes the spirit of adventure,” Finbar McFall, vice president of marketing for Land Rover North America, said. “The competition was designed to reward teamwork, athleticism and strategic thinking. The grueling mental and physical challenges take competitors from extreme off-roading in the desert to kayaking through some of Nevada’s rockiest waters. In the end, the winning team of the Land Rover G4 Challenge will be rewarded for their endurance and stamina in navigating one of the world’s most demanding adventure competitions.”

The roster of confirmed athletes lists the competitors by name, age, profession and city of residence, with the woman’s name first and grouped by team.  A profile on each competitor is available online at www.nevadapassage.com.           

Team No. 1 / Green
Linda Lindsay, 43, office administrator from Petaluma, Calif.
Tim Menoher, 37, bank sales director from Erlanger, Ky.

Team No. 2 / Gray
Emma Garrard, 27, photo journalist from Truckee, Calif.
Dean Kruuse, 35, repair shop owner from San Diego, Calif.

Team No. 3 / Lime Green
Laura Home, 34, middle school teacher from Santa Cruz, Calif.
Phillip Glenn, 31, emergency medical technician from Reno, Nev.

Team No. 4 / Orange
Sage Grossi, 30, college professor from Tempe, Ariz.
Nathan Brown, 31, hyperbaric technician from Cedarburg, Wis.

Team No. 5 / Purple
Lisa Lieb, 37, property manager from Durango, Colo.
Tom Lyons, 47, real estate investor from Reno, Nev.

Team No. 6 / Royal Blue
Caroline Colonna, 44, doctor of oriental medicine from Taos, N.M.
Adam Chase, 42, attorney from Boulder, Colo.

Team No. 7 / Turquoise
Sarah McMahan, 36, sales representative from Incline Village, Nev.
Peter Hanson, 43, sports medicine physician from Minneapolis, Minn.

Team No. 8 / Burgundy
Rachel Cieslewicz, 29, personal trainer from Salt Lake City, Utah
Scott Fredricksen, 33, sales manager from Greenville, S.C.

Team No.  9 / Yellow
Marne Smiley, 25, director for Michigan MTB Assoc. from Ann Arbor, Mich.
Garrett Wheeler, 27, glass blower from Waitsfield, Vt.

Team No. 10 / Red
Brandyn Roark-Gray, 29, mental health counselor from Sandpoint, Idaho
James Perkins, 34, construction company sales from Huntington Beach, Calif.

For more information on the Land Rover G4 Challenge Nevada Passage, visit www.landroverG4challenge.com. For highlights and information on previous Nevada Passage competitions, visit www.nevadapassage.com.

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Fact Sheet

The 18 participating nations:

Land Rover G4 Challenge
Land Rover has a lasting heritage of adventure, with one of the best known expeditions run in 1970 when two Range Rovers became the first vehicles to complete a land crossing of the Darien Gap swamplands that divide North America from South America. The Land Rover G4 Challenge was inaugurated in 2003, when Belgian fighter pilot Rudi Thoelen emerged victorious from a cliff hanging finale in Moab, Utah. 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 13,000 feet with South African Martin Dreyer emerging victorious.

The Nevada Commission on Tourism
The Nevada Commission on Tourism is the marketing agency for the state of Nevada. It developed the Nevada Passage in 2005 to showcase the state’s outdoor activities to the world. Viewers can watch the Telly Award winning 2005, 2006, and 2007 shows online at www.nevadapassage.com.                                  

Land Rover North America
Land Rover North America is part of Ford Motor Company's Premier Automotive Group with headquarters in Irvine, Calif.  Land Rover established operations in the United States in 1986, and now imports and distributes Range Rover, Range Rover Sport, LR3 and LR2 vehicles manufactured by Land Rover in Solihull and Halewood, England. Land Rover’s worldwide operations are wholly owned by Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Mich. For information about the Land Rover retailer nearest you, call 800-FIND-4WD or log on to www.LandRoverusa.com.

Vehicle specifications and features are subject to change. For the latest Land Rover pricing and product information, contact Land Rover North America Product Communications at (949) 341-5800. Land Rover-related press releases and electronic photos of the company’s products are available on-line in the Land Rover section of Ford Motor Company’s news media Web site (media.landrover.com).

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