PRESS RELEASE
September 11, 2007
Land Rover G4 Challenge 2008/09 – will support the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
Land Rover’s global adventure Challenge to generate funds for humanitarian causes
A total of 18 national teams of one male and one female competitor
Vehicle donated to the winning nation’s Red Cross or Red Crescent National Society
Challenge will run on an 18-month cycle with 2008/09 location to be in Asia
Event will be environmentally sensitive and fully carbon offset through Climate Care
The partnership will generate more than £1m for the International Federation over the next two Challenges
Land Rover has entered a landmark association that will see the Land Rover G4 Challenge run in support of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies on its return in 2008/09. This new global partnership with the world’s largest humanitarian organisation will ensure the adventure competition leaves a positive legacy by acting as a platform to generate funds and assist life-changing humanitarian projects around the world.
Land Rover Managing Director Phil Popham said: “The Land Rover G4 Challenge is an incredible programme that demonstrates our products’ breadth of capability and displays our desire to always push the boundaries of adventure. It is ideal to work as a fundraising and awareness building platform for a humanitarian organisation and we are delighted that we can now make the most of the Challenge’s success and leave a lasting positive legacy by working with the International Federation.
“Land Rover is a strong brand that has a natural fit with humanitarian organisations in general. Our association with the International Federation goes back a long way, to 1954, when Land Rover supplied a long-wheelbase Series 1 to the British Red Cross for use in Dubai as a mobile dispensary. We are now looking forward to forging closer links with the International Federation through the Land Rover G4 Challenge.”
Sir Nicholas Young, the CEO of the British Red Cross, speaking on behalf of the International Federation, said: “An association with the Land Rover G4 Challenge offers a unique and positive way for the International Federation to reach completely new audiences. It will enable us to activate projects that may otherwise not be possible. This will be a partnership that will save lives - it’s as simple as that.”
The ultimate global adventure bringing together 18 nations in mixed-gender teams
In a significant expansion to the previous events run in 2003 and 2006, the 2008/09 Land Rover G4 Challenge will involve mixed-gender national teams. Competitors from 18 different countries, who can now register their interest on www.landroverg4challenge.com, will battle through a rigorous national and international selection process. The best male and female from each nation will enter the Challenge itself, which will take place in Asia in early 2009.
The event will again have off-road driving at its core, combined with adventure sports and extreme initiative challenges for an ultimate test of team spirit and physical fitness. The entire Land Rover fleet will be involved, with the Range Rover Sport, Freelander 2 and Discovery 3 all in action as competition vehicles in the distinctive Tangiers Orange colour. The victorious national team will win a Land Rover for their National Red Cross or Red Crescent Society.
Martin Dreyer, winner of the 2006 Challenge, said: “The last Challenge was an amazing experience and it was a fantastic feeling to win after such a tough competition against competitors from all around the world. I am sure that the new format, with national teams and more female competitors, will make the next Challenge even more exciting.”
The Challenge will follow Land Rover’s brand-wide environmental programme and will be fully CO2 offset, supporting specifically identified global projects through Land Rover’s partner Climate Care. This programme, coupled with considerate competition design, will ensure the event has neutral environmental impact while leaving a positive humanitarian legacy with International Federation projects around the world.
For more information and high-resolution photographs, log on to the Land Rover G4 Challenge online media facility at www.media.landrover.com or contact: Will Gray wgray@prismteam.com +44 (0) 207 711 6885
Note to Editors:
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 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 185 member Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, a Secretariat in Geneva and more than 60 delegations strategically located to support activities around the world. 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.
