Gary Robertson, a 34 year old paramedic from Fivemiletown, Co Tyrone, has beaten over 500 Irish adventure enthusiasts to represent Ireland at the Land Rover G4 Challenge - a month long competition of extreme driving and adventure challenges set in some of the worlds most extreme terrains. He's pictured above with fellow Irish competitors Paul Mahon and Vanessa Lawrenson, both from Dublin.
Fifty-four finalists spent the last week being tested to the limits of physical and mental endurance in a bid to win a place on the month-long Land Rover G4 Challenge.
In addition to driving, the competitors were put through a variety of hellish individual and physical tasks, designed to test strength, initiative, endurance and lateral thinking. The tasks included rafting a Land Rover across an icy lake, spinning a 200kg log triangle about its axis, and mountain biking at breakneck speed through slippery forests.
The 2006 Land Rover G4 Challenge begins in Bangkok, Thailand, on April 23, traverses Laos for 10 days before relocating 10,000 miles away to Rio de Janeiro for the two week South American stage in Brazil and Bolivia.
John Paul Mooney, Marketing manager at Land Rover Ireland, said the Irish team were outstanding, all three being seasoned adventure racers. "In the end there had to be one winner and Gary will do a great job at representing Ireland. We will be behind him every step of the way.”
Rosemary Smith has been teaching Transition Year students the basics of safe driving in a programme of her own, 
