Butler
Member
Registered: 2nd Jun 05
Location: London
User status: Offline
|
Every family has its own Christmas traditions, in our house breakfast usually precedes a viewing of that years Le Mans highlights on DVD! Many can agree though, there are certain things Christmas just wouldn't be the same without, 'The Great Escape' for example. In recent years, however, it has become somewhat of a ritual that for every christmas, a new Jeremy Clarkson DVD is released, and on Saturday I went along to Lydden Hill race circuit in Kent, to see this years helping in production.
Apparently, this years DVD is to follow a story loosely based on that of 'The Italian Job', although it isn't immediately evident how filming at Lydden will fit into such a story line and despite the fact it was a fairly quiet day on the spectator front, rumours were flying around the paddock in numbers. I was, however, pleasantly surprised to hear from the producers, that this one is set to feature less of the explosive antics and slapstick tomfoolery, though I am reluctant to believe it-- Clarkson being no stranger to conformity.
The day had been arranged in association with members of the Classic Touring Car racing club (classictouringcars.com), inviting them to come along and take part in a twenty minute race, in which Clarkson would drive in a MK1 Ford Escort, prepared for him by the Top Gear development center. Also taking part would be a near identical escort camera car, this one much more powerful, running a TVR 4.2 litre V8 AJP engine making it easier to be on the track where it needed to be at the right time. Not unnerved at the prospect, twenty participants made the event.
Whilst the morning was spent filming a new Chevrolet Camaro on the track, final preparations were made in anticipation for the afternoons race. After suffering recurring clutch problems in testing, it became an increasing worry that Clarksons car wouldn't even make the grid. In classic Top Gear (and if you ask me, coincidental) fashion though, it eventually did.
There had been much speculation as to what power the Escort might be running, and the producers didn't seem willing to give much away. At the heart was a 2.0 Zetec on twin carbs. It also featured 5-link rear suspension and a widened track, with a bubble arched shell to accommodate, finished in 'Ford Ultimate Green', as seen on the newer shape Focus RS. Needless to say, this car was completely sorted, and far better specced than most, if not all of the cars on the grid. For anyone other than Clarkson, winning this race should have been a walk in the park.
Typically though, he didn't, finishing somewhere around the middle of the pack. The race was won by David Hickton in his Opel Ascona, closely followed by the Jaguar XJ12 of David Howards. Tim Scott Andrews took third place in his Rover SD1, overtaking the Escort RS2000 of Steve Cripps on the very last lap. There were trophies for the winners, as well as medals for everybody that took part.
No official release date for the DVD is available as of yet, but I would guess sometime before christmas...
|
, well he runs it anyway, doesnt drive it 