Land Rover G4 Challenge Cancelled
Rob Howard / 21.12.2008
Given the state of the global economy, and the car industry in particular, it came as no great surprise to hear the Land Rover G4 Challenge for 2009 has now been cancelled.With the company owners and British government discussing multi-million pound rescue packages and talking of mass lay-offs, continuing with the G4 Challenge was always going to be difficult if not impossible and the announcement of the cancellation came over the weekend.
It will be a major disappointment to those who have won their national selections in the participating countries, some of them very recently. They will have been planning for the international selections in February and hoping to travel to Mongolia for the challenge final later in 2009, but its not to be.
The news comes shortly after the announcement of Saab’s withdrawal from the Saab Salomon Mountain-X Race, which has also been cancelled for 2009.
The full text from Land Rover’s statement is given below (although at this stage there is nothing on the G4 website.)
\"Given the severity of the global economic downturn and trading conditions, we need to make some tough decisions and that means prioritising our budgets on new product launches. We are disappointed for the competitors who have shown so much commitment and put tremendous effort into succeeding as representatives of their nation. We have and will continue to take swift and decisive actions for the benefit of the business; unfortunately that means the Land Rover G4 Challenge has to come to an early close,\" said Phil Popham, Managing Director Land Rover.
Popham continued: \"We want to thank the suppliers and sponsors who formed an integral role in the Challenge to date. The Challenge played a part in bringing the adventurous spirit of our brand and products to life. We will continue to look at other opportunities which will enable us to engage with our customers and reach new audiences.\"
