MediaCorp Subaru Challenge 2012 – The Asian Face-off a WINNER! AFTER 78 HOURS AND 30 MINUTES

The MediaCorp Subaru Challenge 2012 – The Asian Face-Off came to a sensational close today, with 42-year-old Singaporean Gan Yu Shen Tholmas taking top honours in a grueling 78 hours 30 minutes face-off, clocking the second longest winning time in the 11 years of the Challenge. The three-time participant, Mr Gan, was a direct entry contestant who was selected from an online competition organized by Motor Image on the “I Love Subaru’ Facebook fan page.
In the end, the third-time participant who works as a software engineer, Gan Yu Shen Tholmas, finally edged out his rivals in a marathon event that fell just short of the 80-hour 32-minute record set in 2008.  Mr Gan acknowledged his victory by thanking his supporters and asked for a bottle of iced water.
Mr Glenn Tan, Executive Director, Tan Chong International Ltd and Ms Dahlia Z, Vice President, English Programming (Music), MediaCorp, presented the coveted prize, a Subaru XV 1.6 worth S$80,800 (without COE) to a surprisingly still-lucid Mr Gan.
Runner up, Mr G Jaishanker received a S$5,000 cash prize. The 47-year-old catering officer is a first-time participant in the challenge and he promised to return to the next year.
In recognition of their efforts, the title of Country Winner and a cash prize of S$1,000 went to the last standing representative from each country. (Please refer to Annex A for the list of Country Winners). The last-standing regional contestant, Samach Tepsen from Thailand walked away with S$5,000 in cash and the title of Asian Winner. He was also the second runner-up with a timing of 76 hours 8 minutes.  The Country Team Winner title – with a cash prize of S$10,000, was awarded to the Vietnam team who achieved the longest combined standing time of 528 hours and 56 minutes (the total time of all 10 representatives from the same country).