Season 3
The Amazing Race Asia is an Asian reality competition series based on the American version created by Elise Doganieri and Bertram van Munster, in which teams of two race around the world against other teams, with the first-place team winning $100,000.
The series premiered on AXN Asia on 9 November, 2006 and is hosted by Chinese-American actor Allan Wu.
The Amazing Race Asia premiered in South Africa on DStv's Sony Entertainment Television (SONY) channel on Wednesday 15 April 2009, at 19h00. See "Seasons" below for seasonal broadcast dates and times.
Season 3 premiered on SONY on Sunday 15 August 2010, at 19h45. New episodes broadcast weekly. There are 13 episodes in the third season.
Season 3 Repeats
Mondays: 03h30, 14h00
Season 3
Get ready for Season 3 of The Amazing Race Asia, as 10 new teams face an array of Road Blocks, Fast Forwards, Yields, U-Turns and Detours covering a total of 21,600 kilometres.
This time around viewers can expect more drama, competition, intense excitement and tougher challenges for a range of couples from across the continent.
Nominated for an International Emmy Award, The Amazing Race Asia 3 has been dubbed "the toughest Race ever”, with the focus of this fast-paced season switching to the contestant challenges, designed to test each team's strengths and push their relationships to the limit.
Assembling behind the starting line will be the usual array of friends and family members, including the first couple from Korea, three former beauty queens – including one Miss Universe winner – and a chatty heiress who is definitely not in the Race for the money.
Host Allan Wu returns to guide the teams in their attempt to reach the finishing mat first and take home US $100,000.
Season 3 Teams
Adeline "A.D." Chan and Faeza "Fuzzie" Sirajudin
Friends 15 Years from Singapore
Colourful does not begin to describe long-time friends A.D. Chan and Fuzzie Sirajudin. As one can tell, normal does not describe the default buddies, as they describe themselves, who oddly define their relationship as “an old married couple”.
“We’re like that, except we’re not old, we’re not married, and we’re not a couple!” says Fuzzie, 34, a partner and teacher in an English language centre.
Geoff Rodriguez and Tisha Silang
Dating from Philippines
In 1998, Tisha won the Miss Philippines Universe crown but had to give it up because of her Canadian citizenship. While that win has remained the proudest moment of her life, she’s hoping that taking part in The Amazing Race Asia will trump that.
Joining her is her boyfriend of three and a half years, Geoff, and by all accounts, participating, much less winning the race will be an uphill battle says the couple.
Henry Chan and Bernie Chan
Brother/Sister from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Fans of Asian reality television might recognize model and host Bernie Chan – she was the face of Project Runway Malaysia last year. But few would recognize her race teammate and elder brother, Henry Chan.
It is not because the 43 year old isn’t famous, but rather because the chef and restaurant owner has had reconstructive surgery done in late 2006.
Ida Nerina and Tania Khan
Actress/Heiress from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, or make that a group of 13 females who were shortchanged. Such was the case that involved Malaysians Ida Nerina, 44, and her best friend Tania Khan, 36, in, of all places, a luxury resort.
Throw in a hen party, a burnt rug, hotel management and even the police and the mixture is a potent one that shows what these two will do to get what they deserve.
Isaac Hong and William Hong
Brothers from Seoul, South Korea
These brothers know how to score a goal when they spot an opening, seeing as how the siblings are a staple in the Korean football arena – They are sports commentators and football agents for professional players in what is arguably Asia’s favourite sport.
William and Isaac Hong are definitely looking at bringing their A-game to The Amazing Race Asia, as this is the first time that a Korean team is participating in the race.
Mai Sarasas and Oliver Faivre
Friends from Thailand
Oliver started out as a friend of her brother, and Mai first got to know him when she was dating one of his friends. Fate threw them together, but not in any romantic way, but as best friends.
In a way, actress and model Visa Sarasas, or Mai, as she is known to her friends, is the one person that Oliver Faivre can behave naturally in front of.
Neena Rai and Amit Rai
Cousins from Delhi, India
If one half of this team can “betray” even family to get what he wants, what chance do the other teams have?
Take Amit Rai, 27, for instance. One thing he has never forgiven his cousin, Neena Rai, 24, who used to be an air hostess, for is never introducing him to any of her model and air stewardess friends.
Niroo Asrani and Kapil Asrani
Father/Son from Mumbai, India
Life is about taking chances and sometimes, having to learn fast when thrown into the deep end. For father and son team Niroo and Kapil Asrani, the latter cannot be more true, or literal.
As a child, Kapil wanted to learn how to swim and his father did it the only way he knew how, by picking up his son and tossing him into the pool.
Pailin Rungratanasunthorn and Natalie Glebova
Beauty Queens from Thailand
No Amazing Race season is without its resident eye candy but with leggy beauties Pailin and Natalie, their team has one credential none of the previous good looking teams in race history ever had – being in a Miss Universe pageant and winning one!
Pailin was the first runner up in 2006 Miss Thailand Universe and represented her country as Miss Thailand Earth 2006 as well. As for her good friend Natalie Glebova, the 26-year-old actually was a Miss Universe.
Vince Chung and Sam Wu
Best Buddies from Hong Kong
Both started out as teachers but in their spare time, one is a master of words while the other plays with words.
Meet Vince Matthew Chung, the former primary school teacher turned full time comedian cum host, and his best bud Samuel Wu, a university lecturer who ranks as one of the top players on the online word game, Prolific.
Format
10 Teams from all over Asia join host Allan Wu to get the usual introduction before grabbing their packs and getting on their way.
Each of ten teams on The Amazing Race Asia is composed of two individuals who have a pre-existing. The participants are all required to be able to communicate in English.
The contestants chosen to appear are from various Asian countries and not limited to one country of origin. Participating countries include all citizens of the continent of Asia except the Middle East as well as non-Asian workers who are living in Asia for a long period of time.
From Season 2 onwards, Japanese residents are able to participate, having been ineligible for Season 1.
At the beginning of each leg of the race, each team receives an allowance of cash with their first clue, with the cash usually in U.S. dollars. Any money left over after a leg of the race can be used on subsequent legs.
The exception to this is the purchase of airline tickets, which the teams pay for using a credit card supplied to them by the show.
In The Amazing Race Asia, the route markers are also coloured yellow and red with the exception in the second leg of Season 3, when the route markers were coloured yellow and white to avoid confusion with the flag of South Vietnam.
For the Asian edition, teams do not depart immediately from starting city. Instead, they remain in the starting city during the first leg entirely (Season 1) or in part (Seasons 2 and 3) depending on the clues.
All route information and clues in The Amazing Race Asia are adopted from the original American version. Season 2 introduces the Intersection marker, while Season 3 introduces the U-Turn marker. Generally, both formats are similar, but a few differences still can be seen in the race.
Like in the Roadblock, teams can generally perform the task without a time limit; however, if the tasks require the teams to form a queue, generally the clues will state that teams must perform within a predefined amount of time.
If a team fails to do the task within the time limit, that team will lose their turn and will be required to let the next team try.
The structure of the race is similar in both versions of the show. The teams travel to different locations by following the route information, performing some various tasks, and checking in at the Pit Stop.
Teams normally complete all tasks and check in at the Pit Stop before they are eliminated. Occasionally, on an elimination leg, if all other teams have checked in and the last team is very far behind, Route Markers may instruct them to go directly to the Pit Stop without completing the rest of the leg.
Exceptions implemented in The Amazing Race Asia are: the teams unable to get to the next Route Marker because they have to do some task to earn it while all other teams already checked in or the location of a task is closed beyond the hours of operation.
In this case, teams will be led by the production staff to the Pit Stop and be eliminated by Wu or Wu himself coming out to the team's current location to announce their elimination there.
In some legs, the first teams to arrive win prizes, usually from the show's sponsors. Season 3 is the first season to award prizes in every leg of the Race.
The clue which directs a team to the Finish Line mentions it not as such but as a "Final Pit Stop." Instead of having an elevated red carpet with The Amazing Race logo enlarged on it as is used in the American edition, the Finish Line consists only of a regular check-in mat for the final three teams.
Each race has a number of predetermined non-elimination legs, in which the last team to arrive at the Pit Stop is not eliminated and is allowed to continue on the race.
Most of the rules and penalties are adopted directly from the American edition; but in some of cases, the Asian version has been seen to have a unique set of additional rules.
Each team will sign a confidential agreement preventing themselves from revealing the details of the Race before airing. Teams will be fined with five million U.S. dollars if the contract is breached.
If a team member is injured during the race, he/she has to pass medical evaluation to ensure they are fit to continue the race.
In the American edition, if the injury is not serious or life-threatening, the team may choose to continue or quit the race. This occurred to Marshall & Lance during Season 5. Margie suffered heatstroke at the end Leg 7 in Season 14 and their team was allowed to continue.
Teams must follow local road laws and regulations and be responsible to pay any fines and demerits they incur during the race.
If teams violate speeding laws, the number of minutes for the time penalty is the amount of speed in kilometers per hour that the team traveled minus the legal speed limit then multiplied by two minutes.
However, this penalty is only served at the beginning of the next leg of the race, and causes criticisms from among the teams. While speeding is also against the rules in the American version (as shown in Season 2 and Season 13), the penalty is not given in a measurement of time additional miles per hour over the speed limit but rather of time gained plus an additional 30 minutes.
In the American edition, the teams who quit a Roadblock must serve a four-hour penalty assessed starting from when the next team arrives at the task site, whereas in the Asian edition, this four-hour penalty applies at the Pit Stop prior to checking in and not at the Roadblock itself.
Hitchhiking (travelling in privately owned vehicles) is prohibited; if a team violates this rule, they incur a one hour penalty. In the American version, a hitchhiking team generally does not incur a time penalty. But if the clue says that the team must take an appropriate form of transportation, they are asked to go back and take it as directed.
Winners
Season 1: Zabrina Fernandez and Joe Jer Tee
Season 2: Adrian Yap and Collin Low
Seasons
The series airs exclusively on SONY
Season 1 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 15 April 2009 | Finale: 8 July 2009 | Wednesdays, 19h00
Season 2 (13 episodes)
Premiere: 3 January 2010 | Finale: 28 March 2010 | Sundays, 19h45
Season 3 (11 episodes)
Premiere: 15 August 2010 | Finale: 24 October 2010 | Sundays, 19h45