'The Amazing Race' teams instructed to keep racing at fourth Pit Stop

The Amazing Race's fourth leg was a non-elimination, as host Phil Keoghan instructed the teams to keep racing during Friday night's broadcast of the CBS reality competition's 27th season.


After "Engaged Couple and Amazing Race super fans" Justin Scheman and Diana Bishop arrived at the fourth Pit Stop at the Rose of Charity Orphanage in Zimbabwe, Africa, Phil told them to keep racing so they didn't win any type of prize.

"Best Friends and Texans" Tanner Kloven and Josh Ahern then stepped on the Pit Stop mat in second place. The episode concluded without all the other teams checking in.

The fourth episode of The Amazing Race began with Tanner and Josh pulling aside "Dating Co-Workers and News Anchors" Kelsey Gerckens and Joey Buttitta to discuss the upcoming U-Turn.

Tanner explained his team would use their Express Pass to skip the Detour in order to get to the U-Turn board first and U-Turn Justin and Diana. Tanner and Josh's plan was then to have the team who reaches the board next U-Turn themselves, filling up the board so Justin and Diana couldn't use it.


In exchange for Kelsey and Joey's cooperation, Tanner and Josh said they'd hand over their other Express Pass. Kelsey and Joey agreed to the plan and thought Justin and Diana would be going home with absolute certainty.

Tanner and Josh then ripped open the first clue of the fourth leg at 3:47PM. The clue instructed them to fly to Livingstone, Zambia -- home to Victoria Falls.

Justin and Diana got their clue in second place at 3:48PM, followed by Kelsey and Joey at 3:56PM, "Best Friends" Jazmine Lewis and Danielle Littleton at 4:14PM, and "Dating Paparazzi Business Partners" Logan Fazio and Chris Gordon at 4:25PM. No other teams' departure times were shown.

The teams first had to travel by bus back to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and then take one of two designated flights -- although only four teams could book seats on the first available flight. Justin said he had a feeling Tanner and Josh would U-Turn them if given the opportunity. He figured his "student of the Race" status was threatening, however, he was still very confident they wouldn't be ousted from the Race.

Tanner and Josh arrived at the travel agency and snagged tickets on the first flight, set to land at 12:30PM. Kelsey and Joey, Jazmine and Danielle, and Justin and Diana also booked tickets on the first flight.


All of the other teams got stuck on the second flight, but it landed only 15 minutes behind the first. "Mother and Son" Denise Williams and James Corley, "Married Couple in Medicine" Cindy Chac and Rick Chac, and "Former NFL Cheerleaders" Tiffany Chantell and Krista Debono also learned of the plan to U-Turn Justin and Diana and thought it was a smart strategic decision.

Once the teams landed in Livingstone, they made their way to Mukuni Village, where they received a traditional welcome. Kelsey and Joey were the first team to hop into a taxi, which was good news to the guys since they were in an alliance together.

Kelsey and Joey arrived at the village in first place, where they were surrounded by thatched-roof huts and women ready to bless them. Tanner and Josh arrived in second place followed by Justin and Diana, Jazmine and Danielle, Cindy and Rick, Denise and James, Logan and Chris, and finally Tiffany and Krista.

Kelsey and Joey then ripped open their next clue, which told them to make their way to Batoka Aerodrome and search for their next clue. They made it to Batoka Aerodrome in first place and were soon followed by Justin and Tanner, Justin and Diana, Jazmine and Danielle, Cindy and Rick, Logan and Chris, Denise and James, and Tiffany and Krista.

One member from each team was then required to complete a Roadblock task, which allowed the participating Racers to fly above Victoria Falls on a microlight -- a motorbike engine with wings and an open cockpit. During the flight, the teams had to locate their next clue -- an Amazing Race flag -- in the mist below and then retrieve their next clue in that spot.


Tanner and Josh read the clue, and since Tanner was afraid of heights, they decided to use their Express Pass. But while running off, Josh realized it'd be a fast Roadblock and he could've accomplished it easily. Instead, the guys crossed the border into Zimbabwe and traveled to the town of Victoria Falls, where they'd find Shoestrings and their next clue. Josh began kicking himself for skipping a fairly quick task.

As for the other teams, Diana, Kelsey, Jazmine, Rick, Logan, Denise, and Krista opted to do the Roadblock.

On the sidelines at the Roadblock, Joey figured Tanner and Josh would get to the U-Turn board first. Justin said it was a dumb move for the Texas boys to use their Express Pass so early. He was convinced their plan wouldn't work.

Afterward, Justin approached Joey about teaming up. Joey said he was fine with it since Justin and Diana were one of the stronger teams and Justin promised to help his team get to the end. Joey told the cameras he was playing both sides, aligning with both Justin and Diana and Tanner and Josh. Joey was proud of himself for being a puppet master.

Kelsey and Joey finished the Roadblock in first place followed by Justin and Diana, Jazmine and Danielle, Cindy and Rick, Chris and Logan, Denise and James, and finally Tiffany and Krista.


Meanwhile, Tanner and Josh were stuck in traffic after getting their passports stamped and crossing the border into Zimbabwe. The gap between them and the other teams was getting smaller and smaller. Cindy and Rick acknowledged Tanner and Josh messed up and potentially ruined their plans of U-Turning Justin and Diana.

Once Tanner and Josh arrived at their next destination, they found keys with release times on them for the next morning. Unfortunately for them, there were two 8AM slots and the subsequent times were only 10 minutes apart from one another. Josh was expecting a Detour but realized they had completely wasted their Express Pass.

To make matters worse for Tanner and Josh, Justin and Diana beat out Kelsey and Joey for the second 8AM release time. Justin, however, was thrilled. Kelsey and Joey got stuck with 8:10AM as well as Cindy and Rick. The four other teams got the 8:20AM release time.

Before taking off, Tanner and Josh decided to join forces with Justin and Diana, and both teams promised not to U-Turn each other. Tanner and Josh thought it was the smart thing to do since they'd be on each other's heels.

It then became time for the teams to complete one of two possible Detour tasks: "Co-op" or "Croquet."


"Co-op" required the teams to stain and polish a wooden giraffe and then wait for it to dry. "Croquet" required the teams to score five points against a local player.

Cindy and Rick, Logan and Chris, Jazmine and Danielle, and Tiffany and Krista chose to paint giraffes, while Justin and Diana, Tanner and Josh, Denise and James, and Kelsey and Joey all opted to play a little croquet.

The painting task seemed to be the longer one of the two.

Justin and Diana finished the Detour in first place, followed by Tanner and Josh, Denise and James, and Kelsey and Joey.

The teams' next set of clues instructed them to make their way to the next Pit Stop at the Rose of Charity Orphanage, where children from six months to 16 years stayed. The teams were also asked to make a donation. They learned, however, a U-Turn was ahead.

Justin and Diana arrived at the U-Turn board in first place, and keeping their deal with the Texans, decided not to U-Turn anybody. They admitted however they'd have no problem U-Turning Tanner and Josh -- the strongest team in their eyes -- next time. Justin and Diana then stepped onto the Pit Stop mat in first place and Phil told them to keep racing.


As Tanner and Josh pulled up to the U-Turn board, they discovered they weren't U-Turned and gained more respect for Justin and Diana.

Tanner and Josh also opted out of using the U-Turn advantage, but they planned to U-Turn Justin and Diana down the road. The guys were also reminded they had to hand over their extra Express Pass immediately. Tanner and Josh didn't want to pick a favorite, nor did they want to hurt any of their alliances, so they didn't know what to do.

When Phil handed over the next clue, the teams learned they must travel to Lookout Cafe.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski