Clarkson, Hammond & May Sunday!

[flipstah]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

A great second episode of the series, nothing like beating the crap out of crazy expensive cars, but they all seemed to hold up very well and that Bentley sounds amazing as a V8! And more number plate jokes again!!

I am all set for Wednesday, it is a full day experience as I am told we will be in the studio for approximately 5-6 hours and plus it is nearly 2 hours to get there even from South London.

Let us know how it goes! Exciting stuff

[flipstah]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

Blair!

I totally forgot to ask this last night but here goes nothing!

If you have the opportunity to get my photo of the Golf printed and autographed by James May, you would make me the happiest boy in the world (squeal!):

[stefan]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

A great second episode of the series, nothing like beating the crap out of crazy expensive cars, but they all seemed to hold up very well and that Bentley sounds amazing as a V8! And more number plate jokes again!!

I am all set for Wednesday, it is a full day experience as I am told we will be in the studio for approximately 5-6 hours and plus it is nearly 2 hours to get there even from South London.

Sounds great, have fun!

[Ur0Drivr]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

A great second episode of the series, nothing like beating the crap out of crazy expensive cars, but they all seemed to hold up very well and that Bentley sounds amazing as a V8! And more number plate jokes again!!

I am all set for Wednesday, it is a full day experience as I am told we will be in the studio for approximately 5-6 hours and plus it is nearly 2 hours to get there even from South London.

They also had another shout out to Chile with the picture of Alexis Sanchez. Chilean striker playing for Arsenal.

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

Blair!

I totally forgot to ask this last night but here goes nothing!

If you have the opportunity to get my photo of the Golf printed and autographed by James May, you would make me the happiest boy in the world (squeal!):

Sorry I did not see this in time, nor do I have a printer at home and there would have been no opportunity for an autograph either.

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

Well this a bit lengthy but I did a small write up of my Top Gear Experience yesterday so I hope you all enjoy! I think you might be able to spot me and Sarah around the ambulance come Sunday too!

A visit to the Top Gear studio is something, and I think most auto enthusiasts would agree, that is a bucket list item and having moved to Greater London the chance of fulfilling this wish has become a lot more realistic for me. However getting tickets is the challenge, depending on who you ask the waitlist is anywhere from 16 to 84 years to fill all the ticket requests, and it has been said it is the most requested television show ticket in the world. I do for sure know that I put my name on the list as soon as arrived in this country (two and half years ago now) with no success, and my wife works with someone who has been waiting for ten years so it is indeed not that easy to score a pair of free tickets to a show that only tapes maybe 8-10 episodes a year.

Last year (series 21) we did discover that a large portion of the tickets are passed on to local groups and charities (possibly 90%) that either pass them on or auction them off to raise funds. Through a work colleague my wife was able to find a small organization that auctioned a pair or two off a year in a silent auction and so when the time came to bid on Series 22 tickets she made sure to put in a generous bid that would most likely ensure a successful result. The bid was indeed successful and we were then allowed to select any day in the series 22 schedule and would be placed on the production guest list for that day.

Fast forward to February 4, 2015 the day we had chosen to attend the filming of Top Gear. Now you are told to arrive at the Aerdrome around 12:15pm with the doors closing at 1:00pm so we had to look at our travel options as we do not own a car over here. Transit is usually our first choice but looking at the times, prices and how close you can actually get, we decided booking a car service door to door was the best option even though it was a bit more money. Living in SE suburban London it is approximately 55 miles (88km) to the test track/studio, but being this is England that takes you 1.5 to 2 hours depending on traffic and so after a couple of wrong turns we arrived on site after 2 hours in the car at just around noon.

The location is actually a proper business park so there are many offices around so we are greeted at the front gate and given wristbands according to our tickets (two colours based on ticket or production list) and told to head to the café in the center of the park to relax until it is time to enter the hangar. There are already a lot of people there and the café has a queue well out the door, so we make the best of standing around and watching the cars fill up the small parking lot. Several enthusiasts cars of course arrive, a few Honda S2000s, a lovely black Audi B8 RS4, a Bentley Conti GTC on SS wheels and the most popular choice seemed to be Fiat 500 Abarths, with at least a half dozen in the lot. The weather was near freezing, but dry, so standing outside was not the most pleasant experience and the café only had seating for maybe 20-25 people with some restrooms, food and some Top Gear souvenirs on sale.

After surveying the lot, dodging cargo trucks, and having a snack we find out that most likely we are not going into the hanger till 2ish, so things are starting to seem a little frustrating and you wonder a bit why you are told to be there so early, but I guess this is to make sure there are no stragglers, although people were still arriving after 1pm, but there was a lengthy queue for parking as well. Finally around two o’clock we are summoned to an area of the parking lot and welcomed by a staff member who gives us some teasers on the show and facts about Top Gear, and explains the rules of the day; only small cameras and pictures only at certain times, no bags, coat check, etc. And so after this brief rundown we are led down the road and around the corner to the actual hangar.

After a quick security check again (wristbands required) and some last minute queuing we enter the famous hangar, which is actually a lot smaller than you think. The permanent fixtures are there, the seats in the middle, the cool wall, the Toyota Hilux, Jaguar sports train and for this week’s show something under a tarp and an NHS ambulance. Most people try and get the prime spots near the seats and the stage but I make my way to the ambulance as it is roped off with some lighting and cameras and get fairly close to the side of it. After we all get into the hangar (there are approximately 800 of us in there) the floor manager gets on stage and gives us a few more details about what will happen and how to keep laughing on multiple takes and not to wave or make faces in the back of shot and such. Next, the director does a quick speech, asks everyone to vote on their favorite car from the Outback episode (the Bentley was the overwhelming choice) and gives a prize away to someone who was given a trivia questionnaire and scored the best, although I am not sure where that occurred. Finally James, Richard and Jeremy are introduced and come out and have some brief chats with the crowd and one thing that is instantly obvious is they are even funnier in person and they swear a lot too! We are also shown a quick blooper real with them making many hilarious jokes and comments that are not fit for television, complied over the last few years.

Now it is time to start filming the show, and they film in order as it is shown so the first scene is by the NHS ambulance and Jeremy comes over to deliver his intro of the episode and hits it on the first take which promptly results in a f**k you to Hammond, as he predicted it would take a few attempts. They do another take anyway and it goes smoothly as well and we are now left to watch the first segment of the show, which if you have not figured it out is the ambulance challenge episode. These segments are of course done in advance and already edited for viewing, although there was a swear or two that was uncensored in some parts.

Next we move on to the news, so everyone moves into the center and gets ready for this next segment. The people who are in the prime area in the back of the shot are told to move back and people with special wristbands (not sure where they got them or how they were chosen besides looks of course) were placed in those areas and we were ready to film. The news segment covers the big items, like the new Ferrari 488 GTB, Focus RS and such and they do a lot of joking and get the audience involved as well. There will be a lot edited out and I am sure this is the section that balances the runtime of the episode as well so it will be interesting to see what airs on Sunday as there was some funny audience interactions amongst the slightly more serious discussion. You can tell that the hosts are pros and well routined as they know exactly where to start if they make a mistake and the segment just flows along for a while until they are comfortable they have covered everything. As the news is finished we are back at the ambulance filming the introduction to the second part of the ambulance race with Jeremy and he does take a few more goes on this one, and blames it on the fact he has given up drinking to lose some weight.

We are now watching the second part of the ambulance races and it is extremely funny, a bit over the top of course but so entertaining. Upon completion of that it is time to introduce the star and it is F1 driver Daniel Ricciardo, who is introduced by Jeremy a couple times before he is actually ready to come out, which is done on a different cut. After everything is prepped Daniel comes out from the crowd and sits down with Jeremy and the interview begins. There are of course lots of different questions asked and the audience is allowed to shout out some questions too, which results in a couple funny moments when he is asked about the back of Lewis Hamilton’s car. Like the news there will be some edits made on this part and they just chat and talk about a variety of subjects before we get to the all-important lap. We are asked to keep the time a secret so I will oblige and just say that the track was dry so he has a chance at the top of the board.

Now being British it is time for a tea break and we are allowed to go outside and get some tea and biscuits or stay inside and take pictures in the hangar of the various set elements. The break last for 20 minutes or so and then we begin to fill the hangar near the now uncovered ambulance creations and they set the stage for the final two filming segments, the intro to part three of the ambulance race and the conclusion of the episode. It takes more time to get the crowd in place then it does to film the sections but the final portion with the calculation of scores and the bombshell is quite lengthy and fun but they do a couple takes to make sure all the lines are correct. Finally Jeremy does the voice over for the shows intro and we are thanked and pleaded to drive home fast and then sent on our way, the time is approximately 6pm a little ahead of schedule. The drive home only took 1 hour and 40 minutes so not too bad, and before we had hit the M25 I had even spotted two BMW i8s.

Overall it was an amazing experience and for the time and cost my wife and I put in I would say it was well worth it and I would do it all again in a heartbeat. My wife did say that with the exception of the standing in the cold she had way more fun than she expected. It may come down to the episode as the ambulance challenge is extremely funny, but the entire process was fun, relaxing and entertaining and the hosts are funny, welcoming and very good at what they do!

[theedge111]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

Wow, just wow...awesome...

Thanks so much for taking the time to truely take us through the day Blair!

I'll definitely be watching for you Sunday!

[jonnie5]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

thanks, neat story.

[stefan]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

Sounds like an awesome time, Blair. Thanks for the write up. Will keep an eye out for you for sure!

[Chris]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

Awesome write-up, Blair! Thanks for taking the time to document it. I'm of course seething with jealousy, but content to experience this vicariously through you.

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

Wow, just wow...awesome...

Thanks so much for taking the time to truely take us through the day Blair!

I'll definitely be watching for you Sunday!

thanks, neat story.

Sounds like an awesome time, Blair. Thanks for the write up. Will keep an eye out for you for sure!

Awesome write-up, Blair! Thanks for taking the time to document it. I'm of course seething with jealousy, but content to experience this vicariously through you.

Thanks guys it was an amazing day and glad I could share it with you in some way. Here are a couple pics but the lighting and my phone did not agree so this is the best I can offer.

[Ur0Drivr]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

Thanks buddy for the write up. Brought a big smile to my face


Sent from my perch atop Mount Olympus

[Canadian Turbo]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

Thanks buddy for the write up. Brought a big smile to my face


Sent from my perch atop Mount Olympus

No problem and just for you the Chilean references are continuing all series

[flipstah]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

Awesome! So jealous that you're able to go.

One day! :(

[RobG]

Re: Top Gear Sunday!

Great write up! I wish I could do it, but it sounds like the odds are not in my favor. Thanks for sharing.