Krugersdorp - The 2020 Toyota Fortuner Challenge was a tough contest for the four contestants and their hero partners.
Unlike before, the event this year was wrapped up in just one day in the Krugersdorp area, with the contestants and their hero partners having to do just five tasks in their bid to drive home in a Toyota Fortuner valued at over R700 000.
The participating media houses this year were IOL’s parent company Independent Media, Arena Holdings, Media24 and Supersport.
Independent Team - contestant Andries Kruger and fitness enthusiast, Mapule Ndhlovu.
Arena Team - contestant Harold Durnez and rugby player Junior Pokomela.
Supersport Team - contestant Carla Erasmus and race driver Giniel de Villiers.
Media24 Team - contestant Mark Keeling and obstacle course racer Hanneke Dannhauser.
The contestant who won the Fortuner Challenge, stood to win R100 000 for the media house which selected them for the competition.
In this case, the winner was Mark Keeling, who was roped in for the Fortuner Challenge by the Media24 group.
Keeling and Dannhauser had finished strong, winning task 3, 4 and 5 with a clear majority.
In task 4 of the competition, where the contestants were expected to compete in a 9 kilometre biking trail in the woods, Keeling was a clear winner, beating his competitors with a sizable gap.
In task 3, which saw contestants and their hero partners run 2 kilometres in the bush while carrying a heavy wooden-piped object and have to assemble a pyramid in a tricky brain teaser, Keeling took the points home there too.
In the final challenge, which saw the teams having to endure in one last endurance test, Keeling came top as well, with the pairing of Erasmus and de Villiers a close second.
At the winner announcement, where Keeling was announced as the winner, he was a bit star struck for a moment.
“I seriously won this, I can’t believe this,” he said before hugging his hero partner, Dannhauser. .
“I can’t believe this, I didn’t come here to win, I just came here to have a fun time and meet some cool people, and for me it’s a bonus to walk away with a car, I couldn’t believe it,” said the 22-year-old.
Keeling said he would now be returning his dad’s Corolla and drive his own Toyota Fortuner.
Dannhauser meanwhile, said: “I just want to say well done, I am so happy you were my partner, we were a mean team”.
IOL