Jess and Lani

SINGAPORE—Theirs is a story of spandex and broken collarbones. The two Filipino teams representing the country in the Season 4 of “The Amazing Race Asia” (TARA) prove that it takes a special kind of man or woman to join a grueling race with tasks and roadblocks across Asia without losing their humor and spirit.

“The Amazing Race Asia 4” introduced its 10 new teams vying for US$100,000 to VIP guests and members of the Asian media in a junket held at the glorious Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. In a subsequent special entitled “Racers Revealed” that aired on Sept. 2 on AXN

(with a special online preview whole week prior to the broadcast), fans also already got their preview.

Championing the Filipino pride this season are the tag-team of Richard Herrera (actor) and Richard Hardin (pro basketball player), who call themselves "The Riches," and the lovely ladies Jess James (ex-strip club manager and tattoo artist) and Lani Pilinger (model).

“I tapped some resources that I never knew I had before,” Herrera says of their audition tape. “And because of Facebook, I was able to find some of his (Hardin) old friends… and even his father. And I was very persistent in my gathering of footage…”

The research paid off. “In that process I ended up gathering a lot of blackmail material,” he boasts.

Hardin, on the other hand, reveals they were bitter rivals in the beginning. “There’s a football league in the Philippines and we really hated each other. We didn’t know each other; we see each other and just gave each other dirty looks.”

But Herrera can’t help but tease his now good buddy. “I have so much respect for this guy,” he says of Hardin. “He went up against out team of experienced players. He led a bunch of ragtag individuals who never really played football. Even beat us on certain occasions. But generally we got the better of him. In time he got tired of just getting beat up all the time and decided, ‘Maybe I should go to Herrera and ask for some advice on how to do well in life, how to succeed…'”

“Uh, no,” Hardin interjects, much to the media’s amusement.

But despite their strong drive to win, Herrera admits, “We had no strategy. We wanted to be comfortable and we wanted to run fast… so we wore spandex and we ran! It was lots of spandex… Long, short, hard, stretchy spandex…”

Meanwhile, James explains her rather colorful former occupation in Australia’s Gold Coast. “My friend, who had never owned a nightclub before, traveled all through Vegas searching for all the best pieces to put together the ideal club. And he decided that he not only wanted to open a club (called Hollywood), but he wanted it to be a partial strip club. He asked me to manage it. And yeah, it was a really fun experience.”

“And it’s such an irony because she’s hotter than the strippers and she’s the manager,” Herrera drawls.

Meanwhile, her teammate, Pilinger, shares, “I’ve struggled a lot growing up in Australia in an all-white town. And I was the only Filipino. So coming here was like, I actually found a family and a home, and I felt like I belong for once.”

But this only made her strong. At one point during the race, James shares, “Lani came out with quite a severe injury… So that was probably the worst. But she’s a tough girl!”

“I did break a collarbone,” Pilinger said, smiling. “I’ve never broken a bone in my life… and I hope that never ever happens to anyone else.”

More than resilient, TARA executive producer Michael McKay recalls, “When they came to the final casing, those girls lit up the room. We were exhausted after half an hour… they’re a bit outrageous but I think our viewers will find them quite funny.”

“We’re putting a lot of bleeps this series,” McKay jokes. “And I tell you what, they don’t take any crap from people… from taxi drivers and what have you. They’re pretty full on.”

Of The Riches, McKay says, “These boys are very fit, very determined [but with] a sort of laidback approach. They’ll be a good team. They come from a professional sports background so they’re not used to giving up. They fight very hard but I find them very likeable guys.”

While only the race will reveal how our Filipino teams will fare, McKay nevertheless declares, “For some reason, we always get strong teams from the Philippines. You can make a whole series just out of the Philippines!”

And characteristic of the new season’s humor, he shoots, “I think it’s something in the water… but keep drinking it… Keep eating the balut and drinking the San Mig and that’ll be good…”

James, Pilinger and The Riches will go up against two teams from India, two from Indonesia (including show’s first-ever father and daughter tandem, two Malaysian buddies, rebel pals from Singapore, dating actors from Hong Kong, and a husband and wife team from Malaysia.

With over 34 million viewers in the region over the last three seasons, the highly anticipated “The Amazing Race Asia 4” premieres on September 23 on AXN, with an online premiere on www.axn-asia.com/tara on Sept. 16, 2010.