With June holidays right around the corner, TomTom has released a timely study of road trip realities of about 5,000 mums from around the world. The independent study reveals that it takes on average just 27 minutes for children to get bored on long car journeys.

Of those countries surveyed, children in Australia get bored the quickest at 23 minutes and children from New Zealand appear to be the most patient, with boredom kicking in only after 34 minutes.

The study suggests that the average holiday car journey lasts around five hours. With so much time spent in the car, mums are resourceful at keeping their children amused. 74% make up games, 52% offer treats and rewards, and 24% admitted that they lie about the estimated time of arrival to make the journey seem shorter.

"Road trips are quite popular for Singaporeans so we think this study provides good insight," says Valerie Cross, Public Relations Manager, TomTom Asia Pacific. "Whilst we can't stop children from getting bored, we can make sure family journeys are the best they can be. From avoiding endless hours spent in traffic jams, to finding the best places to stop en route, TomTom is an ideal travel companion for a family road trip."

Whilst 60% of mums said that "being together as a family" is the best part of a family trip, they also found it could be stressful. 41% thought that being in the car with their children is far more stressful than being in the office and 36% said they are likely to argue with their partner during the journey.

TomTom aims to make family journeys better by reducing the time spend in traffic and by offering driver-friendly content and services to help families make the most of their time together. For example, new TomTom Search & Go features help families find and navigate to recommended places such as restaurants and play areas along the way.

Average time for children aged 2-8 years old to get bored on a long car journey:

Australia 23 minutes

UK 24 minutes

Spain 25 minutes

Italy 26 minutes

Netherlands 27 minutes

US 30 minutes

France 30 minutes

Germany 31 minutes

New Zealand 34 minutes

The average time taken for children to get bored was calculated based on feedback from 3295 mums with children aged 2 to 8 years old and based on journeys over 30 minutes in length, where children had no form of amusement such as a DVD player in the car. This sample was chosen out of the total interviewed women.

The survey was commissioned by TomTom and conducted by the research company Ipsos MORI in the period 1-19th of March 2012 in the UK, USA, Australia, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy and Spain. A total of 4,113 women were surveyed with children ranging in age from 2 to 8 years old. An additional survey was carried out in New Zealand by HorizonResearch in the period 31 March to 3 April 2012. A total of 1,117 women were surveyed, of which 632 had children aged 2-8.

This year's Ferrari Challenge Asia Pacific took place in Shanghai with 32 drivers across 29 Ferrari 458 Challenge cars. The Challenge consists of two races: the Trofeo Pirelli and Coppa Shell. Amongst the top finishers in both races were Singaporeans Ringo Chong who came in 1st for the Trofeo Pirelli and Gregory Teo in 2nd for the Coppa Shell.

Singaporean Greg Teo first on the left

After the incredible success of the first Ferrari Racing Days at Suzuka, the Asia Pacific Ferrari Challenge came to the Shanghai circuit for the second round of the season on the last weekend of April. It was a truly unique spectacle put on by the Maranello marque, with its racing owners at the wheel of their own cars, competing in action packed high class races.

Established in 2011, the Asia Pacific series immediately proved to be a great success for those taking part, continuing a tradition established in Europe way back in 1993. That was when the company’s racing DNA was translated not just into the ever present Formula 1, but also through the birth of a championship that has evolved until it is now considered the benchmark for this type of racing. That success has extended to the Asia Pacific series which, in this second year, can already boast a field of 29 Ferrari 458 Challenge cars with 32 drivers entered.

One of the main reasons behind the success of this series is the spectacle it produces, thanks to the driver-owners, some complete novices and others with a higher level of racing experience. The former group race in the Coppa Shell, with their own classification and final title, while the latter run in the Trofeo Pirelli, which also has its own title up for grabs. Starting this year, to avoid unfair competition, the pros and the gentleman drivers now compete in their own separate races. The Trofeo Pirelli features well known names, who tackle the Challenge to increase their own reputation and that of the Concessionaires for whom they race. But there are also youngsters with a little bit of experience behind them, who through the challenge and the famous Ferrari name hope to find the launch pad for a future career. The Coppa Shell races are also particularly closely contested, featuring gentleman drivers of all ages and varying levels of experience.

In the Trofeo Pirelli, the first race was won by Pasin LATHOURAS (Thailand) who crossed the line ahead of Ringo CHONG (Singapore) and Philippe PRETTE (Italy) while at the end of the second event, victory went to Ringo CHONG (Singapore), who got the better of Hisamori HAYASHI（Japan）and Alain LI (France). The Coppa Shell was a close fought contest, with Race 1 being won by Alex AU (Hong Kong) followed past the flag by Eric CHEUNG (Canada) and Francis Hideki ONDA (Japan) while Alex AU (Hong Kong) came out on top in Race 2 again, with the second and third places going to Gregory TEO (Singapore) and Eric CHEUNG (Canada).

The event was a great success, confirmed by the fact that over 30 thousand people, owners and spectators, attended over the weekend and the action was shown live on www.corseclienti.ferrari.com, the new channel entirely dedicated to all the activities of the department set up by the Maranello marque to look after those owners who want to go racing.

The next round will be held on 16 - 17 June at Shanghai again.

Inside, watch your favourite drifters turn into comic book heroes as they drift across the pages of this exclusive manga!

Copies of this limited edition Formula Drift ASEAN (2011) Graphic Novel will be available at all rounds of the Formula Drift ASEAN series, including Formula Drift Malaysia this weekend.

A minimum purchase of official Formula Drift merchandise will entitle you to your very own Formula Drift ASEAN graphic novel.

Here's the first sneak preview as we count down to the opening round of the 2012 Formula Drift ASEAN series:

Here's a peek at what you can expect:

These caps are from the Formula Drift USA range, flown in specially for drifting fans of this region!

These 2 t-shirt designs are exclusively sold in Asia, in collaboration with urban subculture gurus FLESH IMP. 

Both designs are available in limited quantities only.

For more information, visit www.formuladriftasia.com.