Land Rover G4 Challenge Nevada Passage Show Airs in More Than 80 Cities Nationwide

As the Land Rover G4 Challenge Nevada Passage hits the airwaves nationwide this month, television audiences will have the opportunity to experience the adventure competition from the point of view of 20 elite athletes as they explore the lost city of St. Thomas in Lake Mead, run through beautiful Cathedral Gorge and compete in a winching competition at the Nellis Dunes. "The Nevada Passage," which is now in its fourth year, highlights the state of Nevada and allows viewers to witness the abundance of outdoor adventure activities in the Silver State, Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki announced today.

The adventure competition took on a new twist this year, as it became the Land Rover G4 Challenge Nevada Passage and served as the North American qualifier for the G4 Challenge international selection event taking place in the United Kingdom in early 2009.

"Partnering with Land Rover for this year's the Nevada Passage enabled us to explore different areas of Nevada, incorporate a new level of competition with the use of Land Rovers and navigation testing, while continuing to showcase Nevada's outdoor activities found throughout the state," Krolicki, Nevada Commission on Tourism chair, said.

The top two teams in the Land Rover G4 Challenge Nevada Passage will represent the United States during the international selection event. First-place finishers Lisa Lieb of Durango, Colo., and Tom Lyons of Reno, Nev., will join second-place winners Peter Hanson of Minneapolis and Sarah cMahan of Incline Village, Nev., in England. Two of these four will advance to the international finals in Asia in late 2009.

"Nevada Passage has always featured top adventure athletes testing their skills against the untamed landscape of our state," Nevada Commission on Tourism Director Tim Maland said. "We're excited that our athletes, including two Nevadans, will represent the United States in such an elite international competition."

In 2005, the tourism commission created the Nevada Passage as a dynamic and entertaining way to brand the state as a premier outdoor adventure destination. The Telly award-winning Nevada Passage, produced by TEAM Unlimited of Hawaii, features 20 athletes from around the country in a 1,000-mile adventure competition.

The one-hour syndicated program will air on ABC, NBC, CBS and Fox affiliates in more than 80 U.S. markets from August 2008 through February 2009. This year's "Land Rover G4 Challenge Nevada Passage" will air in top metropolitan markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Las Vegas, Minneapolis, Denver, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Salt Lake City and San Antonio. In the Silver State, the "Land Rover G4 Challenge Nevada Passage" will air in both northern and southern Nevada. Reno residents can watch the premiere of the episode on KOLO Channel 8, an ABC affiliate, on Saturday, Aug. 30, at 9 p.m. In Las Vegas the episode will air on KLAS Channel 8, a CBS affiliate, at a later date and time. It will be available for viewing early next year at www.nevadapassage.com, where past Nevada Passage episodes are viewable and downloadable.

2008 Land Rover G4 Nevada Passage Adventure Competitors:

Team No. 1
Linda Lindsay, 43, office administrator from Petaluma, Calif.
Tim Menoher, 37, bank sales director from Erlanger, Ky.

Team No. 2
Emma Garrard, 27, photo journalist from Truckee, Calif.
Dean Kruuse, 35, repair shop owner from San Diego, Calif.

Team No. 3
Laura Home, 34, middle school teacher from Santa Cruz, Calif.
Phillip Glenn, 31, emergency medical technician from Reno, Nev.

Team No. 4
Sage Grossi, 30, college professor from Tempe, Ariz.
Nathan Brown, 31, hyperbaric technician from Cedarburg, Wis.

Team No. 5
Lisa Lieb, 37, property manager from Durango, Colo.
Tom Lyons, 47, real estate investor from Reno, Nev.

Team No. 6
Caroline Colonna, 44, doctor of oriental medicine from Taos, N.M.
Adam Chase, 42, attorney from Boulder, Colo.

Team No. 7
Sarah McMahan, 36, sales representative from Incline Village, Nev.
Peter Hanson, 43, sports medicine physician from Minneapolis

Team No. 8
Rachel Cieslewicz, 29, personal trainer from Salt Lake City
Scott Fredricksen, 33, sales manager from Greenville, S.C.

Team No. 9
arne Smiley, 25, director for Michigan MTB Assoc. from Ann Arbor, Mich.
Garrett Wheeler, 27, glass blower from Waitsfield, Vt.

Team No. 10
Brandyn Roark-Gray, 29, mental health counselor from Sandpoint, Idaho
James Perkins, 34, construction company sales from Huntington Beach, Calif.

For more information on the Land Rover G4 Challenge Nevada Passage, visit www.landroverG4challenge.com. For highlights and information on previous Nevada Passage competitions, visit www.nevadapassage.com.

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 Moab, Utah. 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 13,000 feet with South African Martin Dreyer emerging victorious.

The Nevada Commission on Tourism

The Nevada Commission on Tourism is the marketing agency for the state of Nevada. It developed the Nevada Passage in 2005 to showcase the state's outdoor activities to the world. Viewers can watch the Telly Award-winning 2005, 2006 and 2007 shows online at www.nevadapassage.com.

Land Rover North America

Since 1948 Land Rover has been manufacturing authentic 4x4s that represent true 'breadth of capability' across the model range. Defender, Freelander 2 (LR2), Discovery 3 (LR3), Range Rover Sport and Range Rover each define the world's 4x4 sectors, with 78% of this model range exported to over 140 countries. Land Rover employs 8,500 people and supports a further 40,000 jobs supported in the supply chain. Land Rover takes its responsibility to the environment seriously. Emissions have been cut with all new models and, together with Jaguar, it is investing £700m on technology specifically aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions. Also, since September 2006, carbon dioxide generated by Land Rover manufacturing activities and UK customer vehicle use has been balanced through an industry leading offset programme run by Climate Care.

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