Suspense Galore at Second Eliminations on Ranger Odyssey 2015

After seven action-packed days, some of the most challenging yet spectacular driving on the African continent and a series of special tasks, the remaining 18 Ranger Odyssey contestants have faced off on the second round of eliminations in Palmwag.

Following the departure of two contestants, Johan Henn and Xoliswa Nontanda on 27 July, a further four contestants were lined up for elimination from the competition today.

Giftson Onuiri, a photographer from Lagos in Nigeria, sales manager Gavin Jones from Johannesburg and Pretoria-based IT administrator Monica Nkosna saw their Ranger Odyssey adventure come to an end based on their cumulative scores which are determined by their driving skills, team interaction, vehicle maintenance plus tests on various topics relating to the trip and the African continent.

Moyosore Fawole, the owner of a Nigerian construction company, was also scheduled to head home. However, in a dramatic surprise twist for the remaining 14 contestants, there was an additional voting session where each person was given the opportunity to vote one of the four eliminated contestants back into the game. The results were tallied up along with those of the team of instructors, and Fawole was given a lifeline and the opportunity to continue through to the end of the 2015 Ranger Odyssey.

“I’m really happy to be back in the game, although I had already made peace with the fact that my trip had ended,” Fawole said. “This has been a fantastic experience, and I feel very fortunate to be able to see it through to the end.

“I’ve always had a bucket list and driving across the desert was on it, so the fact that I got to do it in the amazing Ford Ranger was even better,” he commented. “Through the Ranger Odyssey I’ve gained lots of 4x4 driving experience and skills, and I’ve even amazed myself. This whole experience has been a blessing throughout.”

For Monica Nkosna, the elimination came as somewhat of a surprise. “I don’t know what went wrong because I did not see this coming,” she said. “I didn’t do too well when it came to the theory, but when it counted I think I pulled my weight. The experience was great, I learnt a lot and I thoroughly enjoyed my time on Odyssey.”

Gavin Jones was similarly disappointed to be leaving early, but was upbeat about the entire experience. “I’m not surprised and to be honest I’m ok with being eliminated. I had a feeling walking into the elimination that it was going to happen and in all honesty my marks on the exams were indeed shocking. The early mornings don’t go well with me, neither do the tests.

“But it has been a life-changing adventure, and the trip and all the people have been phenomenal.”

Giftson Onuiri has begun his long trek home to Nigeria. “Unfortunately I don’t think the other contestants understood me, but overall I feel good about how I played the game. My scores have been pretty low but I was hoping for a second chance.

“I know that it was a competition and not everybody wins but at the end of the day I think the experience is the real prize. I only wish I got to continue right to the end, even if I didn’t get to win because this journey has been the highlight of my life.

“Ford doesn’t just produce vehicles. Ford is a brand that produces safety, comfort and security – everybody deserves to experience a Ranger,” he concluded.

For the remaining 15 contestants, they have just four days left to raise their game and battle it out for the exceptional ultimate prize: an Odyssey Ranger for a year, plus the equivalent of R5 000 fuel per month.

The winner of Ranger Odyssey 2015 will be revealed at a Ford event in Sandton on 11 August.

The www.rangerodyssey.com website features a leader board that is updated daily for fans to follow the progress, showing which of the contestants are in the top five, along with biographies for each person.

Back Seat Driver Competition

Ranger Odyssey fans are able to follow and participate in the event themselves by entering the ‘Back Seat Driver’ competition hosted on the Ranger Odyssey website (www.rangerodyssey.com).

The competition runs to 4 August, and participants are required to register on the site, interact by viewing the content – including the daily blogs, photographs and videos – and book a test drive. Each interaction scores points, and the more times you visit the site the better the chances of winning.

There are a total of 16 prizes, a selection of which is awarded and then refreshed after every three days based on the highest scores as listed on the Back Seat Driver leader board.

Entrants can only win one of the interim prizes, which include four pairs of Oakley sunglasses valued at over R2 000 each, a Garmin Virb Elite Action Camera (R5 000) and 11 Garmin Nüvi GPS units (R1 600 each).

All entrants qualify for the grand prize – a Garmin Montana GPS unit valued at R9 500 – which will be awarded to the person who scores the highest points over the entire competition period.

The 20 Contestants

Name	Country	City	Age	Status
Giftson Onuiri	Nigeria	Lagos	31	Eliminated 30/07/2015
Gavin Jones	South Africa	Johannesburg	30	Eliminated 30/07/2015
Monica Nkosna	South Africa	Pretoria	34	Eliminated 30/07/2015
Xoliswa Nontanda	South Africa	Durban	32	Eliminated 27/07/2015
Johan Henn	South Africa	Barberton	32	Eliminated 27/07/2015
Deborah Almeida	Angola	Luanda	29
Ismail Diara	Ivory Coast	Abidjan	41
Morou Taoua	Ivory Coast	Abidjan	40
Dino Ribeiro	Mozambique	Maputo	33
Moyosore Fawole	Nigeria	Lagos	31
Amogelang Senokwane	South Africa	Johannesburg	28
Charlton Botha	South Africa	Cape Town	31
Ginette Chubb	South Africa	Pietermaritzburg	37
Helena Higgins	South Africa	Cape Town	42
Israel Skosana	South Africa	Sandton	33
Jacobus Muller	South Africa	Pretoria	28
Liane Van Dyk	South Africa	Pretoria	23
Melani Kruger	South Africa	Vanderbijlpark	25
Mohammed Omarjee	South Africa	Durban	29
Simon Siaga	South Africa	Magaliesberg	31

  

For further information on the Ranger Odyssey go to www.rangerodyssey.com and follow @FordSouthAfrica on Twitter using the #RangerOdyssey hashtag. You can also like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/FordSouthAfrica).