Top Gear regularly features various races ranging from "epic" races12 where Clarkson or one of the other presenters drives a car against other forms of transport, to a number of smaller scale 'novelty' races which demonstrate various strengths and, more often, weaknesses of cars. These races usually involve one of the presenters, in a carefully chosen car, racing head-to-head against an athlete in conditions that favour the latter. The programme has also featured a variety of small races, typically lasting a couple of minutes, that pit two similar cars against each other, for example old vs. new.
Epic races
The show has featured a number of epic races, where Clarkson or one of the other presenters drives a car against other forms of transport, typically starting from the studio in Guildford and involving Hammond and May taking the same journey by combinations of plane, train or ferry.
Car vs. Train
Clarkson drove an Aston Martin DB9 from the Dunsfold studio in Surrey to Monte Carlo against Hammond and May who took the TGV and Eurostar. Hammond and May walked two miles to a bus stop, took a bus to Guildford railway station and went on a train to London Waterloo. From there they took the Eurostar to Gare du Nord, the RER to Gare de Lyon, the TGV to Nice, then another train to Monte Carlo. During the race, May compared the contest to the earlier Blue Train Races won by a Rover Light Six and Bentley Speed Six against Le Train Bleu or The Blue Train. Though the result was edited to seem quite close, James later revealed in a radio interview that Clarkson had actually beaten them by almost an hour. Series Four, Episode One
Car vs. Plane
Clarkson tried to beat Hammond and May flying (from the studio) to Verbier in Switzerland in a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti. Hammond and May got a bus to Guildford, took a train to Woking, got a RailAir coach to Heathrow and a plane to Geneva. After landing Hammond and May took the train to Martigny and la Chable, before getting on a coach to Verbier. Series Five, Episode Eight
Car vs. Ferry
Hammond and May raced Clarkson in a McLaren Mercedes SLR from Heathrow to Oslo by flying to Newcastle, taking the ferry to Kristiansand and using a speedboat to Oslo. Clarkson drove over 1,300 miles through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden before arriving in Oslo. On the way from Kristiansand to Oslo, the engine on Hammond and May's speedboat burnt out while the backup chase boat's hull was damaged, so they had to complete the journey by bus. Series Six, Episode Six
Car vs. Private Plane
Clarkson in a Bugatti Veyron raced Hammond and May in a Cessna 182 from Alba to Tower 42 in London. Hammond and May rode scooters to the airport and planned to fly directly to London, but had to land in Lille as May was not licensed to fly after dark. From there they took the Eurostar to London, and then a bus for the final leg of the journey. Series Seven, Episode Five
Car vs. Bike vs. Boat vs. Public Transport
May in a Mercedes-Benz GL-Class raced Hammond on a Specialized Sirrus bicycle, The Stig using public transport and Clarkson by motorboat from Kew to London City. The Stig started on a bus, got on the Tube before taking the DLR. Series Ten, Episode Five
Car vs. Train 2
Clarkson drove a Nissan GT-R through Japan From Hakui to Mount Nokogiri-Yama, while Hammond and May took public transport, most notably the 188 mph Shinkansen. First they took an "ordinary" train from Hakui to Kyoto, before getting on the bullet train to Yokohama, they then had to take the Yokohama Subway to Yokohama Station, where they got on the suburban train to Kurihama and caught the bus to the ferry. They then crossed Tokyo Bay on a ferry. From the ferry Hammond and May used bicycles (carried in their suitcases) to the cable car which got them up to the top of Mount Nokogiri. Series Eleven, Episode Four
Car vs. Car vs. Car (Economy Race)
With the team booked to switch on the Blackpool Illuminations, the three were presented with a challenge to determine which one of them would get the honour of actually throwing the switch. This took the form of a race from Basel in Switzerland to Blackpool, taking a route of their choice and using any unmodified production car they chose, with the restriction that they were only allowed to use a single tank of fuel. May selected a Subaru Legacy Diesel, Clarkson a Jaguar XJ6 and, to the scorn of his compatriots, Hammond chose a Volkswagen Polo BlueMotion. Hammond narrowly won but the Stig stole his big moment of switching on the lights. Series Twelve, Episode Four
Car vs. Boat
Hammond drove a Ferrari Daytona against May and his co-driver in an XSR 48 powerboat from Portofino to Saint-Tropez. Both were stopped by the Italian police at different points to check documents, with Hammond being taken to the nearby police station. Series Twelve, Episode Five
Car vs. athletes
- Car vs. aerobatics plane: Hammond presented a race between The Stig in a Radical SR3 against British Aerobatic Champion, Tom Cassells,3 in a CAP 232 Aerobatic Plane around the Top Gear test track. Series One, Episode Nine
- Car vs. racing pigeons: May used a Ford SportKa equipped with satellite navigation to compete against racing pigeons in a point-to-point race. Series Four, Episode Four
- Car vs. all-terrain skateboarder: Hammond presented a pair of races on the "Green Mile", a half-mile downhill course in Wales, between double world champion all-terrain skateboarder Tom Kirkman4 and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution Group N rally car, and then a Bowler Wildcat, both driven by Ben Collins. Series Five, Episode Two
- Car vs. marathon runner: Clarkson raced a Fiat Nuova Panda against marathon runner A.C. Muir around the London Marathon circuit during the morning rush-hour. Series Six, Episode Seven
- Car vs. snowmobile - over water: Hammond visited Iceland and raced a modified off-road vehicle against a snowmobile over Lake Kleifarvatn. Series Six, Episode Ten
- Car vs. rock climbers: Clarkson, in an Audi RS4, competed against two rock climbers, Leo Houlding and Tim Emmett, in a race from the bottom of a French gorge to the top. Series Seven, Episode Two
- Car vs. urban downhill cyclist: May raced a Renault Clio III down the narrow streets of Castle of São Jorge's district in Lisbon against downhill bike racer Gee Atherton. Series Seven, Episode Four
- Car vs. greyhound: Hammond drove a Mazda MX5 against Ireland's most expensive greyhound, Mama Tina, around Shelbourne's greyhound track in a one-lap pursuit style race. Series Seven, Episode Six
- Car vs. speed skater: Clarkson, in a Jaguar XK8, raced against speed skater Eskil Ervik around a speed skating track. Winter Olympics Special
- Car vs. trail of fuel: Clarkson raced a Chevrolet Corvette Z06 against a trail of fuel. The race began when the quarter mile trail of gasoline was lit. Series Eight, Episode Two
- Car vs. motor powered kayak: Hammond visited Iceland and raced a TVR-powered Tomcat 4x4 against a motorised kayak, piloted by its inventor Shaun Baker5, over Jökulsárlón. Series Eight, Episode Two
- Car vs. parachutist: Hammond raced two miles (3 km) against a British army parachuter in Cyprus with a Porsche Cayenne Turbo S. Series Eight, Episode Four
- Car vs. traceurs: May raced two traceurs, Daniel Ilabaca and Kerbie, over six miles (10 km) across Liverpool in a Peugeot 207 1.6L Diesel, from the edge of the city to the Liver Building. Series Eight, Episode Seven
- Car vs. fighter jet: Hammond raced a Bugatti Veyron against a Eurofighter Typhoon, piloted by RAF Squadron Leader Jim Walls, to see which one could travel two miles faster (the Bugatti along a runway and back, the Eurofighter climbing a mile straight up and back down). Series Ten, Episode Three
- Car vs. rollerblades: Hammond drove an Aston Martin V8 Vantage against Dirk Auer, a man on roller skates with a turbo powered rocket backpack, in a straight half-mile drag race. Series Ten, Episode Five
- Car vs. tall man: May used an Alfa Romeo 159 in a race against Graham Boanas, to discover who could cross the 1.5-mile (2.4 km) wide6 Humber River faster without using the Humber Bridge. Series Ten, Episode Six
- Car vs. BMX bikes: May travelled to Hungary and raced a Fiat Nuova 500 against some BMX cyclists through the streets of Budapest. Series Ten, Episode Nine
- Car vs. skiers: Hammond travelled to Les Arcs in the French Alps to race an Audi RS6 estate against two skiers, Antoine Montant (the Columbia world speed flyer champion 2007) and François Bon7, down a mountain from Arc 1950 to Villaroger. Series Eleven, Episode Two
- Car vs. hunters: Clarkson and Hammond travelled to Gloucestershire to combine Green Laning and Fox hunting into a new sport where the prey is a 'green laner' in an off-road vehicle. Clarkson raced a Daihatsu Terios nine miles cross-country to the designated finishing point at Tewkesbury Park, while Hammond and a group of hunters chased him. Series Eleven, Episode Five
Small races
- Old cars vs. new cars — road circuit aka Top Gear Generation Game: five of Clarkson's older cars versus five of Hammond's modern vehicles. The pairings were: Golf GTi MKI vs MKIV, Toyota MR2 old vs new, Ford Escort Cosworth vs Focus RS, Peugeot 205 vs 206, Nissan 300ZX vs 350Z. Series Three, Episode Eight
- Diesel vs. petrol: A race between Clarkson in a diesel Skoda Fabia and Hammond in a petrol Mini Cooper to see if diesel had caught up to petrol. Series Four, Episode Eight
- Old cars vs. new cars — road circuit, race vs. showroom: three pairs made up of one classic racer and one showroom car raced against the clock in The Stig's hands. The pairings were: 1974 British Rally Championship-winning Ford Escort vs Ford Focus RS, Four times Le Mans-winning (1966-69) Ford GT40 vs Noble M400; 1983 World Rally Championship-winning Audi Quattro vs Mitsubishi Evo VIII MR FQ-340. Series Five, Episode Eight
- RWD vs. 4WD — rally special stage: May took The Stig to an indoor exhibition rally track of the World Rally Championship at the Millennium Stadium to compare the RWD and 4WD Porsche 911 Carrera. Series Seven, Episode Five
- Old cars vs. new cars — hill climb: May and Hammond oversaw a race against the clock at the Prescott Hill Climb course, which featured an Austin-Healey Sprite and a modified Peugeot 306, both driven by The Stig. Series Seven, Episode Six
- Real life vs. a computer game — road circuit: Clarkson travelled to the Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca to compare a real life lap in a Honda NSX with one he did earlier using the same car in the Playstation 2 game Gran Turismo 4. Series Seven, Episode Six
- Biathlon: Clarkson (in a Volvo XC90) raced May (in an Audi Q7), in a car-biathlon, with cross-country driving instead of skiing. Winter Olympics Special
- RWD vs. 4WD — off-road slalom: Clarkson (in a RWD Jaguar XK) and May (in a 4WD Land Rover Discovery) created a slalom course on a frozen lake and raced against the clock. Winter Olympics Special
- Supercar MPG - fuel economy part 1: Clarkson staged a race between five supercars (Ferrari 599, Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, Lamborghini Murciélago LP640, Aston Martin DBS, and Audi R8) to see which could travel the furthest on one gallon of petrol. Series Eleven, Episode One
- Hybrid vs. petrol - fuel economy part 2: Clarkson then held a race between a petrol BMW M3 and Toyota Prius to see if hybrid cars really are more economical than petrol. Series Eleven, Episode One
References
- ^ Top Gear Series 4, Episode 1 2004.05.09 Jeremy Clarkson: No train can be faster than cars, not possible okay? And to prove the point I organised an epic race.
- ^ Top Gear Series 10, Episode 5 2007.11.11 Jeremy Clarkson: And now it is time for one of our epic races, you know the sort of thing where a Bugatti races across the Alps against a truffle, or a McLaren-Mercedes races a power boat to Oslo.
- ^ "Tom Cassells". www.skyboard.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
- ^ "Tom Kirkman". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
- ^ "Shaun Baker". www.topgear.com. Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
- ^ "Graham Boanas". www.creativetalent.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-01-26.
- ^ "Antoine Montant and François Bon". www.natives.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-06-30.
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