The excitement and anticipation for the 2015 Ford Ranger Odyssey is building rapidly, and the action has spread across numerous African countries, including Nigeria which held its in-market selections on Friday 29 May.
Following the initial call to action, which received around 800 entries, twelve finalists were chosen to take part in the Ranger Odyssey evaluation in conjunction with local Ford dealer group, Coscharis Motors Limited.
The participants had the opportunity to drive the Ford Ranger in a variety of conditions, and were assessed and scored on a variety of factors in terms of brain and brawn during group and individual tasks.
This included testing their driving abilities along with several challenges to assess their interpersonal and communication skills, leadership abilities, interaction and competitiveness. Proficiency in English was also evaluated.
Ultimately only four contestants could be selected for the next step on Ranger Odyssey – to represent Nigeria at the Boot Camp in South Africa from 18 to 21 June.
Ford increased the number of contestants from one to four this year, giving Nigeria a great opportunity chance to really represent in Namibia.
The Nigerian representatives include Giftson Onuiri, who came first in the contest. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in law, and claims to have a big heart and great driving potential.
Onuiri will be joined by Moyo Fawole and John Amadi who came second and third respectively. Both showed great capability behind the wheel of the Ranger and are looking forward to representing their country at Ranger Odyssey 2015.
The fourth and final contestant is Chinonso Okezuo, the winner of last year’s contest. Okezuo was unable to attend last year due to the travel restrictions implemented as a result of the Ebola outbreak, but has been given a second chance, one which he is very grateful for.
A total of 40 contestants from South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa will be chosen to attend the Boot Camp in the Karoo region of South Africa from 18 to 21 June. They undergo four days of extensive training and assessment in order to determine the top 20 finalists that will go through to the final event in Namibia.
Ranger Odyssey 2015 will take the selected contestants on a life-changing 12-day expedition through the remote and extremely challenging north-western region of Namibia, from 23 July to 3 August 2015.
For the first time, the Ranger Odyssey will feature two elimination rounds during the course of the trip. The two lowest-scoring contestants will leave the group on day four, while another four contestants depart on day 10.
The winner will be selected from the final 14, and ultimately stands to win an Odyssey Ranger for a year, plus an equivalent in local currency of ZAR5 000 worth of fuel per month – a truly spectacular prize!
The Ranger Odyssey website, www.RangerOdyssey.com, will include a leader board that will be updated daily with current scores throughout the main event. However, the organisers will retain an element of mystery and intrigue with the scores and ranking of the top performers remaining secret right through to the announcement of the winner on 11 August at an event in Sandton.
There is an added bonus for fans, family and friends with the ‘Back Seat Driver’ competition that runs on the Ranger Odyssey website, with lots of fantastic prizes up for grabs.