MG ROVER''S BIG BIRTHDAY QUIZ
30 September 2004 - MG Rover

Final reaches exciting climax with four team members each winning a car

One mile per hour was all that separated the champions from the runners-up in the Grand Final of MG Rover''s Big Birthday Quiz, held on Saturday September 25 at the Heritage Motor Centre. After an electrifying contest, The Ant Hill Mob representing dealership Paramount Swansea beat off the challenge of the Parabada team from dealership Phoenix of Preston and Chorley by accurately answering the 4th tiebreak question on the world-record speed of a badminton shuttlecock (162mph). Each member of the 4-man winning team was presented with a prize-choice of an MG ZR or a Rover 25.

The final, which celebrated MG''s 80th and Rover''s 100th birthday anniversaries, was presented by Johnnie Walker, BBC Radio 2''s popular Drivetime broadcaster and accompanied by Sky TV presenter Kate Bellamy. It featured 15 of Britain''s top quiz teams from an initial entry of 856 teams (3,424 players). In the process, MG Rover Group raised £35,000 for one of Britain''s best-loved charities - Macmillan Cancer Relief.

Mark Labbett, team captain of ''The Ant Hill Mob'' commented: ''We weren''t the best team on the night, but importantly we were the luckiest. This was a superbly organised event and all credit to MG Rover Group for making it the best, non-televised, quiz of the year.''

MG Rover''s Big Birthday Quiz was supported on the night by entertainment from The Cheeky Girls, Tom O''Connor, Hollyoaks and Coronation Street star Andy Newton-Lee, and guitar duo Pete Smith and John Buckley.

Johnnie commented: ''It was a very exciting quiz with all of the teams achieving high scores and the fantastically captivating final with two sets of nail-biting tie-breaker questions was very exciting. I really enjoyed presenting the quiz and liked the professionalism of the event itself.

''I, myself, have received very good care during my recent illness and it was a pleasure to support this MG Rover initiative, which raised much valued money for Macmillan Cancer Relief.''

All teams entered into the national Big Birthday Quiz competition, each pledging £20 to participate, as they did at local MG Rover Dealerships around the country. The competition attracted some top quiz individuals that included BBC Radio 4''s ''Brain of Britain'' and Pat Gibson, the latest winner of ITV''s ''Who wants to be a millionaire'' programme. The quiz and the value of its prizes - four new MG ZR or Rover 25 cars - is thought to be the largest, non-televised, national event of its kind.

The Big Birthday Quiz included 82 general knowledge questions plus ''Bellamy''s Bonus'' (1 question in 4 parts) and 4 tiebreakers to decide on a winning team. Quiz semi-finalists included the Mersey Rovers, the Chequers ''B'', Parabada and The Ant Hill Mob.

The final was fought out between Parabada and The Ant Hill Mob, who both answered five of the 12 questions successfully. A three-question tiebreaker saw them answer two correctly, prompting another single question to decide the winner. Asked what was the fastest recorded speed of a badminton shuttlecock, Parabada pledged 160mph, but The Ant Hill Mob were nearer with their answer of 161mph - just 1mph separated them from the 162mph answer.

Winning team The Ant Hill Mob included captain Mark Labbett from Newport, his brother Paul from Swansea, Richie Parnell of Llandaf North and Gordon Galliford of Newport.

Paul Stroud, UK Commercial Director, commented: ''The Big Birthday Quiz has proved to be a great national event and allowed us to celebrate MG''s 80th and Rover''s 100th birthday year in great style, combining the launch of our latest 2004 new car range and in so doing, raised money for a deserving cause - Macmillan Cancer Relief.''

Peter Cardy, Chief Executive of Macmillan Cancer Relief, said: ''We''d like to say a huge thank you to MG Rover Group for organising such a fantastic event and raising a tremendous £35,000 for Macmillan Cancer Relief. More than one million people in the UK today have had a cancer diagnosis and all funds raised from this event will go towards helping us provide the expert care and emotional support that cancer patients so desperately need.''

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