The Amazing Race Asia 1

The Amazing Race Asia 1
Season Information
Version:	Asia
Continents Visited:	2
Countries Visited:	8
Cities Visited:	15
Distance Traveled:	39,000 km (24,000 mi)
Starting Line:	Independence Square, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Finish Line:	Bako National Park, Kuching, Malaysia
Filming Dates:	May 24, 2006 - June 17, 2006
Season Run	November 9, 2006 - February 8, 2007
Number of Legs:	12
Number of Teams:	10
Winners:	Joe Jer & Zabrina
Runners-Up:	Sandy & Francesca Andrew & Syeon
Cast
Season Chronology
Next:	The Amazing Race Asia 2

The Amazing Race Asia 1 is the inaugural season of the reality television show, The Amazing Race Asia. It premiered on November 9, 2006 and ended on February 8, 2007 on AXN Asia.

Production

Applications for this season were due on March 31, 2006. The cast was finalized by mid-May 2006. Host Allan Wu commented that the cast was "diverse, entertaining, and controversial".

Filming began on May 24, 2006 and concluded on June 17, 2006. This season traveled a total of 39,000 km (24,000 mi), across eight countries on two continents.

Sony, Caltex, and AirAsia were the official sponsors of the season and would provide the prizes awarded to first place teams on certain legs, while MSN and Ford sponsored tasks on the third and seventh legs, respectively. The show was supported by Tourism Malaysia, while Nokia was the official mobile partner. Bintan Resorts was the official hospitality partner, with Sequesterville located at Bintan Lagoon Resort in Bintan, Indonesia. Notably, products of sponsors were more heavily involved in tasks featured on the show compared to the original US version in order the cover the costs of the season.

Twists/Changes

• Airline Restriction: Teams were only allowed to book flights on AirAsia, who were the official airline sponsors of the season.
• Roadblock Limits: This season featured 12 Roadblocks, leaving for a maximum Roadblock split of 6-6.
• Surrender Money: A team that comes in last place on a Non-Elimination Leg must relinquish all accumulated money in their possession and would not receive any money at the start of the next leg.
• Yield: Yields are available on certain legs of the Race.
• Superleg: Teams encountered a double-length leg in the ninth leg. They received a clue directing them to meet with host Allan Wu, who surprised them by handing them their next clue and ordering them to continue racing.
• Rules and Penalties: The following rules and penalties unique to The Amazing Race Asia were revealed on this season:
  • A contestant who is injured during the Race must pass a medical evaluation to ensure that they are fit to continue.
  • A team that quits a Roadblock would immediately continue racing, regardless of hours of operation or whether all teams have already arrived at the Roadblock location. However, they would incur a 4-hour penalty, which would be assessed prior to being checked-in at the Pit Stop.
  • A team that hitchhikes from one point to another would incur a 1-hour penalty.
  • A team that is caught speeding by local law enforcement would incur a penalty of 2 minutes for every km/h by which they exceeded the legal speed limit, which would be applied at the start of the next leg.

Teams

Joe Jer & Zabrina  1st place  Joe Jer & Zabrina Co-Workers	Sandy & Francesca  2nd place  Sandy & Francesca Dating	Andrew & Syeon  3rd place  Andrew & Syeon Dating	Marsio & Mardy  4th place  Marsio & Mardy Brothers	Andy & Laura  5th place  Andy & Laura Engaged
Howard & Sahran  6th place  Howard & Sahran Best Friends	Melody & Sharon  7th place  Melody & Sharon Best Friends	Sahil & Prashant  8th place  Sahil & Prashant Models	Jacqueline & Aubrey  9th place  Jacqueline & Aubrey Actress/Model	Ernie & Jeena  10th place  Ernie & Jeena Married

Episodes

A week after the season finale, a special recap episode titled "The Amazing Race Asia: Memories", aired on February 8, 2007 in the show's usual timeslot.

Episode		Air Date	Leg	Destination	First Place	Last Place	Finish	Viewership (millions)
1	"I Don't Think I Can Do This"	November 9, 2006	1	Malaysia	Marsio & Mardy	Sandy & Francesa	Non-Elimination Leg
2	"They're Speedy, They're Fast and They're First"	November 16, 2006	2	Malaysia → Indonesia	Sahil & Prashant	Ernie & Jeena	1st Eliminated 10th Place
3	"Give Me the Strength, Give Me the Strength"	November 23, 2006	3	Indonesia	Howard & Sahran	Jacqueline & Aubrey	2nd Eliminated 9th Place
4	"Just Shut Up and Do It"	November 30, 2006	4	Indonesia → Australia	Andrew & Syeon	Howard & Sahran	Non-Elimination Leg
5	"It's Blowing Like Your Mum's Pants on a Windy Day"	December 7, 2006	5	Australia → New Zealand	Andy & Laura	Sahil & Prashant	3rd Eliminated 8th Place
6	"What Have You Been Eating!"	December 14, 2006	6	New Zealand	Sandy & Francesca	Melody & Sharon	4th Eliminated 7th Place
7	"Don't Stand There Doing Nothing!"	December 21, 2006	7	New Zealand → Singapore → Thailand	Andy & Laura	Joe Jer & Zabrina	Non-Elimination Leg
8	"My Legs Are Shaking Like Jelly"	December 28, 2006	8	Thailand	Marsio & Mardy	Howard & Sahran	5th Eliminated 6th Place
9	"This Is Totally, Totally Out of This World!"	January 4, 2007	9	Thailand → India	Andy & Laura	Sandy & Francesca	Ordered to Continue Racing
10	"War Has Begun!"	January 11, 2007		India	Sandy & Francesca	Andy & Laura	6th Eliminated 5th Place
11	"This Is Going to Be Embarrassing!"	January 18, 2007	10	India → United Arab Emirates	Sandy & Francesca	Marsio & Mardy	Non-Elimination Leg
12	"Oh My Goodness, I Have to Eat a Brain!"	January 25, 2007	11	United Arab Emirates	Andrew & Syeon	Marsio & Mardy	7th Eliminated 4th Place
13	"24 Days, 15 Cities, 39,000 Kilometres and It Comes Down to This"	February 1, 2007	12	United Arab Emirates → Malaysia	Joe Jer & Zabrina	Andrew & Syeon	3rd Place
						Sandy & Francesca	2nd Place

Leaderboard

The following teams participated in the Race, with their relationships at the time of filming. Placements are listed in finishing order:

Place	Team	Leg 1	Leg 2	Leg 3	Leg 4	Leg 5	Leg 6	Leg 7	Leg 8	Leg 9		Leg 10	Leg 11	Leg 12	Average
										1st Half	2nd Half
1	Joe Jer & Zabrina	3	4	5	6	3	3	6	5	4	4	3	2	1	3.75	6-6
2	Sandy & Francesca	10	9	2	3	5	1	4	3	5	1>	1	3	2	3.67	6-6
3	Andrew & Syeon	5	8	8	1	2	4	2	4	2	3	2	1	3	3.58	6-6
4	Marsio & Mardy	1	2	6	4	6	5	5	1►	3	2	4	4		3.64	6-4
5	Andy & Laura	7	7	7	7	1	2	1	2	1	5<				4.33	5-4
6	Howard & Sahran	9	3	1	8	4	6	3	6						5.00	4-3
7	Melody & Sharon	6	5	3	2	7	7								5.00	3-2
8	Sahil & Prashant	8	1►	4	5	8									5.20	2-2
9	Jacqueline & Aubrey	4	6	9											6.33	1-1
10	Ernie & Jeena	2	10												6.00	0-1
Notes		[1][2]		[3]	[4]	[6]	[7]			[8]
Legend:      The team finished in first place      The team finished in last place and was eliminated from the race      The team finished in last place in a non-elimination leg      The team that won The Amazing Race      The team that crossed the Finish Line second      The team that crossed the Finish Line third ► The team used the Fast Forward pass > The team used the Yield < Recipient of the Yield
Notes: 1: Andrew & Syeon initially arrived 1st. However, they did not follow the marked jungle trail to the Pit Stop as instructed in their clue, and were asked to complete it before checking in. Four teams checked in during that time period, dropping them to 5th. 2: For unknown reasons on the subsequent Leg, the starting placements of Howard & Sahran and Sahil & Prashant were switched, resulting in Howard & Sahran starting in 8th place and Sahil & Prashant starting in 9th. 3: Five of the nine teams arrived at the Pit Stop after receiving a four-hour penalty for failing to complete the Roadblock (Joe Jer, Marsio, Andy, Syeon and Aubrey). The initial placements for all teams are as follows (The four italicized teams were not given the penalty): 1st: Joe Jer & Zabrina; 2nd: Howard & Sahran; 3rd: Sandy & Francesca; 4th: Marsio & Mardy; 5th: Andy & Laura; 6th: Andrew & Syeon; 7th: Melody & Sharon; 8th: Sahil & Prashant; 9th: Jacqueline & Aubrey. However, Jacqueline & Aubrey were not issued the penalty and were eliminated. 4: Laura suffered an injury to her left leg on the way to Oceanworld Manly. After tests were done, she was allowed to continue the next leg of the Race. 5: Howard & Sahran were issued a four-hour penalty because Howard failed to complete the Roadblock. They checked in the Pit Stop last, but were notified that it was a non-elimination Leg. The four-hour penalty they took from the Roadblock would be instead applied at the starting time at Leg 5. 6: Sahil & Prashant initially arrived 5th, but were issued a one-hour penalty because they were driven around in a private vehicle in Devonport, breaking a Race rule prohibiting hitch-hiking. The last three teams (Sandy & Francesca, Marsio & Mardy, and Melody & Sharon) checked in during their penalty time, dropping them to last and eliminating them. 7: Andy & Laura were caught speeding at 146 km/h while the speed limit was 100 km/h. The penalty was 2 minutes for every km/h by which they exceeded the legal speed limit. They were issued a 92-minute penalty to be assessed at the start of the following Leg, therefore departing the Pit Start last. 8: Leg 9 is a double-length Leg with two Detours and two Roadblocks, shown over two episodes. The placements listed in the first column reflect the order teams arrived at the leg's halfway point. The Yield appeared before the second Detour.

Records

Franchise

• First international season.
• First season to have an all-female team win the Race.
• First season to visit Indonesia.
• First season to have a team representing Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Thailand.
• First season not to feature a parent-child team.
• First season to feature a Non-Elimination Leg on the first leg.
• First season to visit only two continents.
• First season to have five Non-Elimination Legs (in standard format).
• First season to have only ten teams participate (in standard format).
• First season that the majority of contestants in the final three are female (in standard format).
• Closest spread between team with the best finishing average and the worst finishing average.

Asia

• First season to visit Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Thailand, India, and the United Arab Emirates.
• First season to visit the continent of Oceania.
• First season to implement the Surrender Money penalty for a team coming in last on a Non-Elimination Leg.
• First season to have a Superleg, where teams met host Allan Wu at the Pit Stop mat, only to have him give them their next clue instead of checking them in.
• First season to feature the Yield, which allows any one team to force another team to stop racing for a predetermined amount of time.
• Only season to have multiple Fast Forwards available.

Reception

• Surajit Agarwal at Television Asia (04/01/2006): "AXN to WOW Asian audiences with original productions: the Amazing Race Asia will be AXN's biggest initiative in the region."
• indiantelevision.com (07/15/2006): "Over 1000 teams apply for AXN's The Amazing Race Asia"
• Jerry Donato at PhilStar Global (10/08/2006): "New twists and turns in The Amazing Race Asia"
• exchange4media News Service (10/10/2006): "The Amazing Race Asia' set to debut on AXN this November"
• Walden Sadiri at Manila Bulletin (11/05/2006): "The 'Amazing Race Asia' Is On"
• Vicki Rothrock at Variety (11/14/2006): "Race ratings roar"