Race Across The World fans ‘obsessed’ with ‘savage’ rule change as series four kicks off with drama in Japan

Race Across The World returned to the BBC on Wednesday night, with a cheeky new rule.

In the fourth series, five teams race from Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands, to Lombok, an idyllic Indonesian island paradise.

The BBC show has strict rules where teams of two are not allowed to fly between pit stops while sticking to a budget.

They also have to leave their smartphones behind and have no internet access or access to bank cards.

But a new rule has been introduced for the fourth series and a new means of transport is prohibited.

Teams were told in the opening minutes of the first episode that they were not allowed to travel on Japan’s famous Shinkansen bullet trains.

Viewers laughed at the line and joked that it was “savage,” while another commented: “lol that Shinkansen is off-limits for this length in Japan because otherwise this episode would be finished in ten minutes.”

For the fourth series, five teams will compete to reach the finish line on Lombok first and win £20,000.

The new teams include the race’s youngest competitors: trainee pilot Owen and football referee Alfie from St Albans, both aged 20.

Retired couple Stephen, 61, and Viv, 65, from Rutland, are this year’s oldest racers as they embark on a quest for one last adventure before they ‘dribble into old age’.

For the first time in the show, there are two mother and daughter pairs, including Isabel, a trainee clinical scientist, and her mother Eugenie, a teacher.

Sharon, 52, a cleaner from Kent, and her daughter Brydie, 25, a snowboard instructor, are also competing for the prize.

The contestants consist of brother and sister Betty, 25, and James, 21. Betty has traveled extensively, but her sibling is more used to holidays in Magaluf with the boys.

In the fourth series, five teams race from Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s four main islands, to Lombok, an idyllic Indonesian island paradise.

A new rule has been introduced for the fourth series and a new mode of transport has been banned: the Shinkansen bullet trains

Viewers laughed at the line and joked that it was ‘savage’, while another commented: ‘lol that Shinkansen is off-limits for this length in Japan otherwise this episode would be finished in ten minutes’

Retired couple Stephen, 61, and Viv, 65, from Rutland, are this year’s oldest racers as they embark on a quest for one last thrilling adventure before they ‘dribble into old age’.

For the first time in the show, there are two mother and daughter pairs, including Isabel, a trainee clinical scientist, and her mother Eugenie, a teacher.

Sharon, 52, a cleaner from Kent, and her daughter Brydie, 25, a snowboard instructor, are also competing for the prize

The competitors consist of brother and sister Betty, 25, and James, 21. Betty has traveled extensively, but her sibling is more used to holidays in Magaluf with the boys

Race Across The World has previously seen teams race from London to Singapore, across Canada and from Mexico City to Argentina.

Last year, a spin-off of celebrity weather presenter Alex Beresford and his father Noel won the race from Marrakesh, Morocco to Tromsø, Norway.

The GMB star knocked race car driver Billy Monger, McFly star Harry Judd And All saints singer Melanie Blatt in the first celeb series.