Santa Monica, California — Eco-Challenge announced today the results of Eco-Challenge New Zealand 2001 competitor registration. Open registration for the event began on January 15, at 10am and in 30 minutes organizers received over 1,000 applications from around the world. Eco-Challenge held random lottery drawings to determine teams for each country represented in the international competition.

The world's top expedition racers are confirmed to compete in New Zealand for a purse totaling US$100,000. The top 15 teams from last year's event in Borneo were invited to pre-register before open registration began. Fourteen of the 15 teams are confirmed to race. Team Eco-Internet of the USA will fight to keep its title of world champions, while previous winners, New Zealand's Team Fairydown, will fight to win in its home country.

Additionally, Eco-Challenge continues to have a highly international roster. Teams from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Finland, France, Guatemala, Ireland, Israel, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Romania, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, The Netherlands, Turkey, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Venezuela, and the United States will all compete next October on the South Island of New Zealand. New Zealand 2001 will mark the eighth-annual Eco-Challenge race and with the world's top teams racing this year, it will be the largest, most competitive field ever assembled in the history of the sport.

Some of the top teams confirmed to compete are:
USA: Team Eco-Internet: Winner, Eco-Challenge Borneo 2000, and members who won Eco-Challenge British Columbia 1996.
NEW ZEALAND: Team Fairydown: Winner, Eco-Challenge Argentina 1999; winner, Eco-Challenge Australia 1997; winner, and members who won Eco-Challenge British Columbia 1996.
FRANCE: Team Spie: 2nd place, Eco-Challenge Borneo 2000; 6th place, Eco-Challenge Australia 1997.
AUSTRALIA: Team Aussie: Winner, 1995 New England Eco-Challenge; 2nd place, Eco-Challenge Australia 1997 and Eco-Challenge Morocco 1998; and 3rd place, Eco-Challenge Borneo 2000.
SPAIN: Team Red Bull: 2nd place, Eco-Challenge Argentina 1999; 3rd place, Eco-Challenge Morocco 1998; 5th place, Eco-Challenge Borneo 2000.
MALAYSIA: Team Sabah 2000: 6th place Eco-Challenge Borneo 2000. USA: Team oobe: 7th place Eco-Challenge Borneo 2000.
UNITED KINGDOM: Team Schroders: 8th place Eco-Challenge Borneo 2000, 5th place Eco-Challenge Morocco 1998; 12th place Eco-Challenge Argentina 1999.
CANADA: Team Subaru Outback: 9th place Eco-Challenge Borneo 2000; 7th place Eco-Challenge Morocco 1998.
USA: Team Hi-Tec: 10th place Eco-Challenge Borneo 2000.
FINLAND: Team Lapland: 5th place Eco-Challenge Argentina, 1999; 13th place Eco-Challenge Morocco 1998.
SWEDEN: Team Human Link: 10th place, Eco-Challenge Australia 1997; 13th place Eco-Challenge Argentina 1999.
*Note: Team Names subject to change.

Founder and Executive Producer Mark Burnett said, "New Zealand, being the birth place of expedition racing, is the perfect location for the top teams in the world to experience the race of a lifetime. This is the highest level of competition ever assembled, and I am confident that this race will be the most exciting and challenging in Eco-Challenge history."

Seventy-five four-person teams representing over 25 countries will converge on New Zealand's South Island in October 2001. They will traverse 400 kilometers of New Zealand's breathtaking terrain using only non-motorized forms of transportation such as mountaineering, horseback riding, mountain biking, kayaking, fixed ropes and pack rafting.

For more details on the race, please log on to www.ecochallenge.com. Also, tune in to USA Network for Eco-Challenge Borneo which airs April 1-5, 2001, at 8pm.

SEE ALSO: Eco-Challenge Announces 2001 Location