Yahoo News Race Across the World's favourite pair revealed
The teams are racing from Japan to Indonesia in the BBC travel reality show
Race Across the World has entered its last stages, with the contestants closing in on the final destination of Lombok.
The race got under way in April, with five pairs of hopefuls setting off from Japan with just maps, their backpacks and around £1,400 to get them 15,000km to the Indonesian island. As we've watched them sweat it out on long-haul buses, lose passports and work to boost their budgets, we've become big fans of Brydie and Sharon, Alfie and Owen, Stephen and Viv, Eugenie and Isabel and Betty and James.
But who do we like best? Yahoo has been running a poll to see who fans hope will clinch the £20,000 prize, and after 1,000 votes, we've got the current results.
Alfie and Owen - 34%
At just 20, best friends Alfie and Owen are very much the youngsters of the race, but they have impressed everyone with their determination to push on through, regardless of how tired they may be.
The pair, who are from Hertfordshire, applied because they wanted to travel together. And, as trainee pilot Owen explained, they wanted to "put our friendship to the test, see what we can achieve with it".
So far the pair have seemed comfortable in the race, staying towards the front despite misplacing their map and managing to avoid any rows when Owen wants to stop and see the sights and football ref Alfie wants to keep trekking on. They got 348 votes.
Betty and James - 34%
Brother and sister Betty and James have had the most drama, losing their passports twice. The first time James put down a bag containing their money and travel documents as they sat on a bench, but luckily managed to retrieve it when they ran back to get it.
The second time, Betty, 25, left it on a bus and they spent a night waiting to see if it would turn up - or if their race was over. Luckily, a bus driver had spotted it and the duo were able to go on.
The race isn't Betty's first time travelling, as she has said she has a bit of "wanderlust". But the social media and events manager has said she wanted the experience to broaden 21-year-old James' horizons.
The pair both said they cut down on food before the race, as they are both "foodies" and wanted to get used to eating a bit less so they didn't end up blowing their budget on meals along the way. They also got 348 votes.
Stephen and Viv - 13%
Retired couple Stephen and Viv entered the race after health problems, with Stephen suffering a heart attack and Viv having had a stroke.
Both in their 60s, the pair have said they felt they had another adventure in them so decided to apply. "We’d watched the series on TV, and we just thought we wanted to have a go," Stephen said before setting off.
Their strategy – or apparent lack of it – has intrigued fans, because Stephen and Viv seem to have put new experiences and enjoying themselves front and centre. There were raised eyebrows when they were shown lounging around in a spa as the rest of the teams hotfooted it across Asia.
But it hasn't done then any harm, and the duo are still thought to be contenders as the final approaches. They got 133 votes.
Eugenie and Isabel - 11%
Early in the race, fans were convinced that Eugenie and Isabel wouldn't be around long because they burned through their budget so fast. The mum and daughter splashed out plenty on their travel and it took them a minute to make it back, leaving people thinking they wouldn't be able to afford to go the distance.
However, they wised up and started spending more carefully. And thanks to trainee clinical scientist Isabel's knack for picking the best route, have remained in with a good shot.
Isabel, 25, has said she thought the show would be a good way of bonding with teacher Eugenie, 60, explaining: "Mum and I are not as close as we could be so I thought it would be a good opportunity to explore." However, it hasn't all been plain-sailing and they have bickered a bit on the way. They secured 112 votes.
Sharon and Brydie - 8%
Mum and daughter Sharon, 52, and Brydie, 25, were popular with viewers but they weren't as strong as some of the other teams – on one occasion not making it checkpoint by the end of the episode as they were busy picking chestnuts miles and miles away.
Viewers were convinced they were in danger when it was announced that the team who were last to a particular checkpoint would be eliminated – and they were right. As a result, they only got 82 votes.
