- by Brian Byrne
Irish duo fight for a single global 4x4 place
24 January 2003: Two Irish 4x4 enthusiasts are today battling it out in the last lap for one of them to get a place in the final of the biggest 4x4 event of the century - the Land Rover G4 Challenge.
Paul McCarthy of Dingle and Warren Keogh from Blessington are both driving as a team and in competition to each other for the only Irish place in the final, after a week of intensive training and evaluation at Eastnor Castle near Birmingham.
The 5,000-acre private estate has been the base for all Land Rover proving of their vehicles since the first generation Range Rover was produced 30 years ago.
But during the last four days, 32 semi-finalists from 16 countries have been taking part in the final selection procedure for the challenge, which will run for a month in April on four continents - the US, Europe, Africa and Australia.
In addition to offroad driving, they are being assessed on personal psychological profiles, endurance tests, climbing and absailing, kayaking, and other outdoor skills.
The G4 Challenge is the biggest-ever competitive promotional event ever mounted by Land Rover, and the two Irish contestants were selected from 40 entrants in the Irish heats, which were run off last month in Aughrim, Co Wicklow.
Of the 32 contestants at Eastnor Castle this week, just 16 will go forward for the final global event. The winners will be announced later this afternoon. IrishCar.Com is the only Irish motoring representative on the spot (or in the mud), and we'll have a full feature report on the event later.
Warren and Paul are pictured grabbing a quick on-the-bonnet lunch yesterday.
©2003 irishcar.com