Kuala Lumpur, 3 November 2009 - The heat is on as participants of the MediaCorp Subaru Impreza WRX Challenge: The Asian Face-off enter into the third day of the competition. Battling it out against the elements of nature, the remaining 56 contestants fight on in the brutal endurance battle, a drastic drop from the original 400 contestants just two days ago.
 
Hot favourite team to win the regional title, Thailand is still going on strong, with four members out of the running. The Hong Kong, China and Taiwan teams have completely dropped out of the competition, while the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia teams have dwindled down to their last members.

46 from the original 321 Singapore contestants remain in the competition.

The Malaysian team – Chong Yee Moon, Ch’ng Hien Sing, Mohd Norhisham Mohd Hanafiah, Stephen Prakash Santhanasamy, Soh Kee Leong, Lee Hui Gnoh, Dzul Fadly Ismail, Koh Kim What, Siti Yuhani Mohamed Tahir and Mohd Adzraf Mohamed Tahir – who won the Malaysian leg of the challenge at the Curve, Petaling Jaya last month were flown in to Singapore for the grand finale which started on Saturday. In a sudden twist of events, Mohd Norhisham dropped out due to an accident, leaving the Malaysian team with one less person to fight for the Country Winner title.

The competition, which is held at Ngee Ann City’s Civic Plaza requires contestants to stand with their palm pressed flat on designated palm decals on the Subaru Impreza. The last man standing wins the car.

At the event today, supporters watched on with bated breath as it started to pour, and contestants began to drop out at a faster rate, both drenched and discouraged.
 
Contestants who made friends with those standing beside them encouraged each other in the wet weather, while those who were alone looked to their family and friends for strength. Some contestants started dancing to the music to make light of the dreadful situation they were in, and passers-by shook their heads and looked on in awe as the weather beat down on the dreary contestants.

Despite the heavy and sustained rainfall, a large number of determined participants in the Public Challenge remain with their palms firmly placed on the car, in hopes of winning a range of Subaru merchandise.
  
The current record stands at 81hours and 32 minutes held by the 2008 Winner, Singaporean, George Lee.