Peter Jordan from Castlebar, Cormac MacDonnell, Ronan Ryan and Patrick O’Hora, all from Ballina, have been selected to compete in the national selections of the Land Rover G4 Challenge, one of the world’s most gruelling 4x4 driving and adventure events. The national selections are taking place on Sunday November 30 and Monday December 1 at Eastnor Castle, Ledbury in the UK.
Peter, Cormac, Ronan and Patrick are four of 24 competitors who will brave the elements as they take part in adventure activities including kayaking, mountain biking, orienteering and off-road driving.
There are 16 men and eight women all vying for four places in the international selections, where one man and one woman will be chosen to represent Ireland at the challenge finals in Mongolia.
The 24 men and women from around the country have been chosen from over 100 applicants to take one step closer to the four-week world adventure that is helping to generate more than €1.5m for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
The group is being flown to Eastnor Castle near Birmingham in England where they will be put through two days of physical and aptitude challenges including extreme 4x4 off-roading, navigation, kayaking, abseiling, overnight camping and many other activities.
The national selections are a test of initiative, strategic thinking and team spirit as well as physical fitness, sporting skills and driving ability. The challenge is designed to test every aspect of the competitor’s character, demanding the flexibility to work as a team.
Following the international selections the Irish team of one man and one woman will take part in the global challenge finals, competing against 17 other nations.
The finals of this ultimate global adventure will take place during 2009 in the most sparsely populated independent country on the planet – Mongolia. A blend of terrain offering arid steppes, mountains and the extreme climate of one of the world's largest deserts, the Gobi, makes Mongolia a natural fit with the Land Rover G4 Challenge.
