Top Gear Test Track
Encyclopedia
The Top Gear test track is used by the BBC
automotive television programme Top Gear
. It is located at Dunsfold Aerodrome
in Surrey
, United Kingdom
. The track was designed by Lotus Cars
. It is used to test both cars and drivers seen on the programme, mainly in Power Laps and Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
and later used by British Aerospace
as a manufacturing and test facility. The track's main route, marked by painted lines and simple structures such as stacks of tyres, was designed by test drivers from Lotus
. The layout of the track is designed to put the car through various conditions, ranging from provoking understeer
to testing brake balance and tyres. The track is approximately 1.75 miles (2.8 km) long. It is considered to be an equaliser for cars since, according to Richard Hammond
, both 0–60 miles per hour (0–96.6 km/h) times and top speed are totally meaningless. The track also incorporates a drag strip
; although this is not used for timed segments, it does feature in some challenges and other features on the show.
The course starts on the perimeter road outside the Top Gear studio. The first bend is a fast right-left kink named "Crooner Curves." "Willson
Bend" is the first proper turn on the track and the first corner usually seen when The Stig
is lapping a car. "Chicago", a long right-hand around a tyre wall onto the main runway, was designed by Lotus as a steady state corner, designed to highlight understeer or oversteer of the chassis. Next is "Hammerhead", a left-then-right corner, which again highlights understeer and oversteer. The track comes to a right-hand curve, then the course turns right through the flat-out section called the "Follow Through". After the left hand "Bentley Bend" named after the person who first "discovered" Jeremy Clarkson and former Top Gear presenter, Jon Bentley
, the course comes to "Bacharach
Bend", which, after the first series, has been referred to as the "Penultimate Corner" or the "Second-to-last Corner" and is often regarded as one of the most challenging on the course. The final turn before the finish line is "Gambon" in honour of Sir Michael Gambon
, who completed the turn on two wheels in episode 8 of Series 1. Prior to this, the corner was known as "Carpenters Corner".
drivers have driven the "Reasonably-priced car" on the show.
To be eligible to appear on the Power Lap Times board, a vehicle must be a road-legal production car and must have sufficient ride height to clear a standard speed bump (referred to by the presenters as a sleeping policeman), although occasionally vehicles that cannot appear on the list are still timed. Whenever a non-qualifying vehicle is raced, the time is compared to the official Power Laps but then removed from the board. The Ferrari FXX
(1:10.7) was taken off the board after because it both failed to meet road legal standards and used slick tyres.
All laps are timed with the car's manufacturer-provided adjustable settings configured for maximum performance — all adjustable suspensions are set at their most efficient, all gear shift maps are at their most aggressive, and driving aids such as traction control are deactivated. Lap times do not offer complete comparisons between the cars, mainly because wet or otherwise poor weather conditions (see time deductions below) can negatively affect lap times.
Due to the size of the list, only the top 20 are shown. See List of Top Gear test track Power Lap Times for the full list.
The second most powerful production car ever featured on Top Gear, the 1001 PS (987 bhp; 736 kW) Bugatti Veyron
, was taken around the track by The Stig on Series 12, Episode 4, after 3 years of waiting. However, it disappointed the team by only managing fifth place on the Power Board (currently 12th), an unexpectedly low position ultimately attributed to the car's kerb weight of abbr=on 1888, more than any of the four faster cars. In Season 15 Episode 5 however, the Stig took the 1,200 PS Super Sport version around the track in 1:16.8, thus setting a new lap record.
For the 1:17.6 lap, the Koenigsegg CCX
(written as "Koenigseggisseggggnignigsegigisegggg CCX with Top Gear wing" on a much-longer magnetic strip, because none of the presenters were able to spell Koenigsegg) was fitted with an optional rear spoiler to provide downforce
after The Stig spun the unmodified version off the track. The Stig allegedly recommended this modification, correctly predicting that the car would then be the fastest ever round the track, although Koenigsegg stated that the improvement was due to other adjustments.
).
The Caparo, Radical, and Westfield are road-legal in the UK but are unable to clear a "sleeping policeman". According to Caparo, the car driven by Top Gear was a prototype that didn't feature the adjustable ride height found on the production model. Because the The Stig set his time in the non-adjustable prototype and the production version has not (yet) been driven around the track, the Caparo's time remains ineligible for the Power Lap board.
Ultima claim that their motive for running a non-televised lap was that they felt that the GTR was being specifically ignored by the producers of Top Gear. Why Dunlop – Injection chose to run a lap of the Dunsfold circuit is not stated, although it is noticeable that the slower "official" Caterham run was limited by cold tyres.
. When first introduced, the car was worth £9995. The car used is stock except for a roll cage
and racing seats added as safety measures. Each guest practices with The Stig before making several attempts to complete the test track in the fastest time. The guest does not learn their time until the interview. Practice laps, crashes and the drivers' facial expressions are also shown during the segment.
The two slowest laps on the Liana celebrity list are held by Terry Wogan
and Richard Whiteley
, both of whom were beaten by Billy Baxter, a Bosnian war veteran who is completely blind. He guided the Liana through the track under direction from Clarkson in the passenger seat in a time of 2 minutes 2 seconds, which was 1.4 seconds quicker than Terry Wogan, and 4 seconds faster than Richard Whiteley.
The fastest non-professional driver was Ellen MacArthur
. Unlike most contenders she made no comments to the camera during her lap. She completed the lap in 1 minute 46.7 seconds, beating Jimmy Carr
by 0.2 seconds.
The Liana endured considerable abuse from the stars while undertaking their laps. In one incident, actor Michael Gambon
clipped the final corner, almost rolling the car. It was done in such a spectacular fashion that the corner was henceforth named "Gambon Corner". Michael McIntyre
also had a similar experience to Michael Gambon in the Chevrolet Lacetti, almost rolling the car on the last corner. Tom Cruise
also went around the last corner on two wheels in the Kia Cee'd
. When Lionel Richie
drove the car, one of the front wheels fell off, invoking Clarkson to coin the term "pulling a Lionel". Trevor Eve
also lost a wheel. The former British transport minister Stephen Ladyman
added further injury to the Liana by denting the boot when he lost control during practice and slid backwards into a tyre wall. David Soul
managed to destroy the gearbox of two Lianas during his time on the show due to his rough driving style. Patrick Kielty
broke the Liana's front suspension during season 4 when he drove on the grass. Christopher Eccleston
was the only celebrity to use a Liana with an automatic transmission, because a hesitant Eccleston admitted he was "only qualified to drive an automatic." To accommodate his needs, Top Gear succeeded in borrowing an automatic Liana, of which only 40 existed in the UK. As a reference to his role in Doctor Who
, the automatic Liana was shown materialising onto the racing track, with a TARDIS
materialisation sound effect played over it.
The Liana has also been modified on several occasions. David Soul's Liana featured a red police light and a white stripe in reference to his Starsky and Hutch
role. Johnny Vegas
was provided with 'L' plates as he hadn't passed his driving test at the time. When Justin Hawkins
came on the show, the Liana he drove had flame decals pasted on it. Actor Sanjeev Bhaskar
had an ornate tissue box placed in the back, an homage to Indian drivers.
In its service, the Liana covered 1,600 laps of the circuit; its tyres and brakes were changed 100 times; and, it required six new clutches, two new hubs, driveshafts, wishbones, struts and gear linkages and a replacement wing mirror.
In July 2005, Formula One
driver Damon Hill
appeared on the show for the first time as the star. This was kept a surprise to the audience and the viewing public, and when Nigel Mansell
came on the show, it was covered up in magazines and on the internet by saying that the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car would be Alan Titchmarsh
.
For some of the laps more than one person has been present in the car. This was the case for Clarkson's run when he had both Hammond and Jason Dawe
in the car. Trinny and Susannah
were both in the car for each other's runs. Denise Van Outen
was in Johnny Vaughan
's when he did his lap; Van Outen never did a lap driving the car. Clarkson was also present as a navigator for Billy Baxter's laps.
and a new blank scoreboard. The format was changed so that each star would have five practice laps, and then a final timed lap, with no allowance being given for mishaps.
As a starter for the new car and format, an open day was held for any celebrity who wanted to take part. Seven stars recorded times that day: James Hewitt
, comedians Alan Davies
and Jimmy Carr
, rock stars Rick Wakeman
and Justin Hawkins
, footballer Les Ferdinand
, and actor Trevor Eve
who topped the time at 1 minute 47.0 seconds. Jimmy Carr
, who held second place in the Liana behind Ellen MacArthur
, spun off while doing his timed lap and got the slowest time ever around the track at 2 minutes, 8.91 seconds.
On 28 January 2007, Jamie Oliver
posted a time of 1:47.70 in melted snow and standing water. Given the rivalry Oliver felt towards fellow celebrity chef, and then-lapboard leader, Gordon Ramsay
, Oliver asked that the 4-second allowance normally granted for wet laps be used to put him at the top of the leaderboard "just for a day".
Actress Billie Piper
posted a time of 1:48.3 but was deemed by The Stig to have failed to complete a lap properly, as she failed to negotiate some corners. The Stig suggested a three second time penalty, but after Clarkson consulted the audience, it was decided to let the time stand, which her Doctor Who
co-star, David Tennant
, tried to overturn on 23 December 2007 show, at the end of the following series. Clarkson remarked that if Tennant had worn a see through top (like Piper for her interview), he "would have been faster than Simon Cowell".
In the 11 November 2007 episode, Simon Cowell
retook his status as the holder of the fastest lap with a time of 1:45.90. According to Clarkson, the cameramen said they had never seen such consistency in the practice laps. However, Cowell was knocked off the top spot in Series 11 by Jay Kay, who now holds the fastest time in the Lacetti, although Clarkson selected the fastest of Jay Kay's times rather than the last run, which was slower than Cowell's time, seemingly due to a dislike of Cowell (he claimed earlier in the episode that Cowell had been at the top of the leaderboard for too long). Had this not happened, Cowell would have been knocked off the top by Grand Designs
host Kevin McCloud
.
Clarkson has referred to the part of the board with times of 1:51 and over as the 'Thespian
Zone' due to the propensity for classically-trained actors to post slow times.
Series 11 featured a slight change to the format, with two 'Stars' per episode instead of the previous one (although there had been a couple of editions in previous series' with more than one guest). Each of the pair are professionally associated with their fellow guest, usually both either act in or present the same TV show. Unlike previous episodes where two stars have appeared, the stars drove individual laps without the other present in the car.
On 28 March 2010, Richard Hammond attended the demolition of the two 550 ft chimneys at Lafarge Cement's Northfleet Works. On the first episode of Series 15, it was shown that the Lacetti was partially crushed by placing it in the path of one of the falling chimneys.
of the show, Clarkson revealed that they were thinking about getting a new Reasonably Priced Car for the next series. On 27 June during the first episode of the fifteenth series
, it was revealed to be the Kia Cee'd
and, as with the Chevrolet Lacetti, another open day was held to welcome the new car. Peter Jones, Al Murray, Bill Bailey, Peta Todd, and Louie Spence were amongst the initial drivers. Clarkson commonly refers to the Kia phonetically as the "See Apostrophe Dee".
drivers are put into their own list with regard to lap times because of their exceptional skill level. When the Liana was pulled out from retirement to allow Jenson Button
to make a time, Clarkson noted that the Liana would be pulled out for use by Formula 1 drivers in the future. Michael Schumacher
, in retirement on 21 June 2009 episode, was shown attempting the lap but didn't record a time having stalled, this was to disprove the earlier claim that Schumacher was the Stig.
The original 'black' Stig and the first 'white' Stig have done laps around the track in the Suzuki Liana. Both had their times removed from the leaderboard upon their departure.
The first Stig was Perry McCarthy
, who once test drove for the Williams F1
team, as well as having driven for the ill-fated Andrea Moda Formula
One team. The second Stig was Ben Collins; in the first episode of Series 13 the Stig was "revealed" to be Michael Schumacher, although this was a joke in the vein of the rest of his appearance on the show. The second Stig notably takes a different line into the first corner from most of the F1 drivers.
On 6 July 2011, Sebastian Vettel
managed to top the board with a time of 1:44.0. Vettel's lap was the first time someone taking a 'Formula One drivers' line through the first corner was able to top The Stig's time, as Rubens Barrichello
took the tighter line. Jeremy also mentioned on this episode that the current Stig has yet to do a lap of the track in the Liana, therefore there is currently no time on the board for the Stig.
game, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
, will be able to download episodes of Top Gear within the game, and that the test track is one of the included circuits in the full game (Gran Turismo 5
).
A very basic yet driveable version of the track appeared around 2003 for the PC hardcore racing simulation Grand Prix Legends
. There is also a version of the test track for the realistic PC racing simulation rFactor
, produced with permission from Dunsfold park. The track has also been produced as an add-on for World Racing 2.
Top Gear have also added a basic version of the test track on the games section of their own website, with the title of "Be a star in our reasonably priced car". A Top Gear mobile phone game also features the track.
The game Gran Turismo 5
, developed by Polyphony Digital
features a fully rendered version of the Top Gear Track. Players have the ability to drive and race on the track.
It was confirmed that the track would appear in Forza Motorsport 4
; the Top Gear logo appeared in a trailer for Forza 4 on the Top Gear website. Cars were shown racing in the follow-through section during the E3 2011 trailer.
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
automotive television programme Top Gear
Top Gear (current format)
Top Gear is a British television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style...
. It is located at Dunsfold Aerodrome
Dunsfold Aerodrome
Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, England, near the village of Cranleigh, was built by the Canadian Army and civilian contractors as a Class A Bomber Airfield for Army Co-operation Command...
in Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The track was designed by Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...
. It is used to test both cars and drivers seen on the programme, mainly in Power Laps and Star in a Reasonably Priced Car.
Layout
The track is on a former Canadian airbase constructed during the Second World WarWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
and later used by British Aerospace
British Aerospace
British Aerospace plc was a UK aircraft, munitions and defence-systems manufacturer. Its head office was in the Warwick House in the Farnborough Aerospace Centre in Farnborough, Hampshire...
as a manufacturing and test facility. The track's main route, marked by painted lines and simple structures such as stacks of tyres, was designed by test drivers from Lotus
Lotus Cars
Lotus Cars is a British manufacturer of sports and racing cars based at the former site of RAF Hethel, a World War II airfield in Norfolk. The company designs and builds race and production automobiles of light weight and fine handling characteristics...
. The layout of the track is designed to put the car through various conditions, ranging from provoking understeer
Understeer
Understeer and oversteer are vehicle dynamics terms used to describe the sensitivity of a vehicle to steering. Simply put, oversteer is what occurs when a car turns by more than the amount commanded by the driver...
to testing brake balance and tyres. The track is approximately 1.75 miles (2.8 km) long. It is considered to be an equaliser for cars since, according to Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...
, both 0–60 miles per hour (0–96.6 km/h) times and top speed are totally meaningless. The track also incorporates a drag strip
Dragstrip
A dragstrip is a facility for conducting automobile and motorcycle acceleration events such as drag racing. Although a quarter mile is the best known measure for a drag track, many tracks are eighth mile tracks...
; although this is not used for timed segments, it does feature in some challenges and other features on the show.
The course starts on the perimeter road outside the Top Gear studio. The first bend is a fast right-left kink named "Crooner Curves." "Willson
Quentin Willson
Quentin Willson is a British TV presenter and motoring expert, perhaps most widely known as a presenter of the motoring programmes Britain's Worst Driver, Fifth Gear, and the original incarnation of Top Gear. He lives in Warwickshire with his wife and three children.-Early years:Willson studied...
Bend" is the first proper turn on the track and the first corner usually seen when The Stig
The Stig
The Stig is a character in the British motoring television show Top Gear. The character plays on the anonymity of racing drivers' full-face helmets, with the running joke that nobody knows who, or indeed what, is inside the character's racing suit. The character was the creation of presenter Jeremy...
is lapping a car. "Chicago", a long right-hand around a tyre wall onto the main runway, was designed by Lotus as a steady state corner, designed to highlight understeer or oversteer of the chassis. Next is "Hammerhead", a left-then-right corner, which again highlights understeer and oversteer. The track comes to a right-hand curve, then the course turns right through the flat-out section called the "Follow Through". After the left hand "Bentley Bend" named after the person who first "discovered" Jeremy Clarkson and former Top Gear presenter, Jon Bentley
Jon Bentley (TV presenter)
Jon Bentley is an English journalist and television presenter, educated at Oriel College, Oxford.He has specialised in television production and journalism in the field of motoring. Between 1987 and 1999, he was producer and editor of BBC Two's Top Gear and was series producer of Fifth Gear from...
, the course comes to "Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
Bend", which, after the first series, has been referred to as the "Penultimate Corner" or the "Second-to-last Corner" and is often regarded as one of the most challenging on the course. The final turn before the finish line is "Gambon" in honour of Sir Michael Gambon
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
, who completed the turn on two wheels in episode 8 of Series 1. Prior to this, the corner was known as "Carpenters Corner".
Usage
The track is used routinely for the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car and Power Laps segments on Top Gear. It also serves myriad roles in other portions of the programme, especially in testing cars and in challenges. Cars acquired during challenges must often post lap times (driven by either one of the presenters or The Stig) around the track against either a target time or a time set by The Stig in another vehicle. During many challenges, the track is used in more unorthodox fashion — for instance, serving as a makeshift motorway lane during a challenge testing tailgating prowess with vans. The track is also used for testing cars reviewed on the show or drag races. So far, six Formula OneFormula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
drivers have driven the "Reasonably-priced car" on the show.
Power Laps
Power Laps is a segment of the programme in which The Stig completes a lap around the track in a reviewed car to compare its performance to previous contenders.To be eligible to appear on the Power Lap Times board, a vehicle must be a road-legal production car and must have sufficient ride height to clear a standard speed bump (referred to by the presenters as a sleeping policeman), although occasionally vehicles that cannot appear on the list are still timed. Whenever a non-qualifying vehicle is raced, the time is compared to the official Power Laps but then removed from the board. The Ferrari FXX
Ferrari FXX
The Ferrari FXX is a high performance race car built by automobile manufacturer Ferrari in Maranello, Italy. The FXX is based on the street-legal Enzo. Production of the FXX began in 2005.- Overview :...
(1:10.7) was taken off the board after because it both failed to meet road legal standards and used slick tyres.
All laps are timed with the car's manufacturer-provided adjustable settings configured for maximum performance — all adjustable suspensions are set at their most efficient, all gear shift maps are at their most aggressive, and driving aids such as traction control are deactivated. Lap times do not offer complete comparisons between the cars, mainly because wet or otherwise poor weather conditions (see time deductions below) can negatively affect lap times.
The Power Board
- 1:15.1 - Ariel Atom V8 500Ariel AtomThe Ariel Atom is a high performance sports car made by the Ariel Motor Company based in Somerset, England and under licence in North America by TMI Autotech, Inc. at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia....
- 1:16.2 - McLaren MP4-12CMcLaren MP4-12CThe McLaren MP4-12C is a sports car designed and manufactured by McLaren Automotive. It is the first production car wholly designed and built by McLaren since the McLaren F1. The car's final design was unveiled on 8 September 2009, and it is set to be launched in 2011...
- 1:16.5 - Lamborghini AventadorLamborghini AventadorThe Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 is a two-door, two-seater sports car publicly unveiled by Lamborghini at the Geneva Motor Show on 28 February 2011, five months after its initial unveiling in Sant'Agata Bolognese. Internally codenamed LB834, the Aventador was designed to replace the ten-year-old...
- 1:16.8 - Bugatti Veyron Super Sport
- 1:17.1 - Gumpert Apollo SGumpert ApolloThe Gumpert Apollo is a sports car produced by German automaker Gumpert Sportwagenmanufaktur GmbH in Altenburg.-History:In 2000 Roland Gumpert proposed a new generation sports car. One of the first concerns of this car was that it would be a street-legal car, ready for the race track. Gumpert...
- 1:17.3 - Ascari A10Ascari A10The Ascari A10 is an automobile produced by the British company Ascari Cars that was conceived by Dutch millionaire Klaas Zwart. It is a road-going evolution of the KZ1-R GT race car currently contesting the Spanish GT Championship, with both cars penned by ex-Formula One designer Paul Brown...
- 1:17.6 - Koenigsegg CCXKoenigsegg CCXThe Koenigsegg CCX is a mid-engined roadster from Swedish car manufacturer Koenigsegg. The CCX has been engineered to comply with the U.S. regulation and market demands and is a newer design that replaced the Koenigsegg CCR....
(with Top Gear WingSpoiler (automotive)A spoiler is an automotive aerodynamic device whose intended design function is to 'spoil' unfavorable air movement across a body of a vehicle in motion. Spoilers on the front of a vehicle are often called air dams, because in addition to directing air flow they also reduce the amount of air...
) - 1:17.7 - Noble M600Noble M600The Noble M600 is a handbuilt British supercar made by Noble Automotive in Leicestershire. It is made from stainless steel and carbon fibre and uses a twin turbocharged V8.-Engine and transmission:...
(cold) - 1:17.8 - Nissan GT-R (2012)
- 1:17.8 - Pagani Zonda Roadster F
- 1:17.9 - Caterham Seven Superlight R500 (cold)
- 1:18.3 - Bugatti Veyron 16.4
- 1:18.4 - Pagani Zonda F
- 1:18.9 - Maserati MC12Maserati MC12The Maserati MC12 is a two-seater sports car produced by Italian car maker Maserati to allow a racing variant to compete in the FIA GT Championship. The car entered production in 2004 with 30 cars produced...
- 1:19.0 - Lamborghini Murciélago LP670-4 SuperVeloce
- 1:19.0 - Enzo Ferrari
- 1:19.1 - Ferrari 458 Italia
- 1:19.5 - Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4
- 1:19.5 - Porsche 997 GT2
- 1:19.5 - Ariel Atom 2 300Ariel AtomThe Ariel Atom is a high performance sports car made by the Ariel Motor Company based in Somerset, England and under licence in North America by TMI Autotech, Inc. at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia....
Due to the size of the list, only the top 20 are shown. See List of Top Gear test track Power Lap Times for the full list.
The second most powerful production car ever featured on Top Gear, the 1001 PS (987 bhp; 736 kW) Bugatti Veyron
Bugatti Veyron
The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engined grand touring car. The Super Sport version is the fastest road-legal production car in the world, with a top speed of . The original version has a top speed of...
, was taken around the track by The Stig on Series 12, Episode 4, after 3 years of waiting. However, it disappointed the team by only managing fifth place on the Power Board (currently 12th), an unexpectedly low position ultimately attributed to the car's kerb weight of abbr=on 1888, more than any of the four faster cars. In Season 15 Episode 5 however, the Stig took the 1,200 PS Super Sport version around the track in 1:16.8, thus setting a new lap record.
For the 1:17.6 lap, the Koenigsegg CCX
Koenigsegg CCX
The Koenigsegg CCX is a mid-engined roadster from Swedish car manufacturer Koenigsegg. The CCX has been engineered to comply with the U.S. regulation and market demands and is a newer design that replaced the Koenigsegg CCR....
(written as "Koenigseggisseggggnignigsegigisegggg CCX with Top Gear wing" on a much-longer magnetic strip, because none of the presenters were able to spell Koenigsegg) was fitted with an optional rear spoiler to provide downforce
Downforce
Downforce is a downwards thrust created by the aerodynamic characteristics of a car. The purpose of downforce is to allow a car to travel faster through a corner by increasing the vertical force on the tires, thus creating more grip....
after The Stig spun the unmodified version off the track. The Stig allegedly recommended this modification, correctly predicting that the car would then be the fastest ever round the track, although Koenigsegg stated that the improvement was due to other adjustments.
Lap times of non-qualifying vehicles
A "non-qualifying" vehicle is one that does not meet the presenters' requirements to remain on the board; that is, one that is not a "road car." This means being available to buy and being fully road-legal (lights, indicators, registration, profile tyres, etc.), as well as being street-worthy (i.e. able to negotiate a speed bumpSpeed bump
A speed bump is a speed-reducing feature of road design to slow traffic or reduce through traffic, via...
).
|
The Caparo, Radical, and Westfield are road-legal in the UK but are unable to clear a "sleeping policeman". According to Caparo, the car driven by Top Gear was a prototype that didn't feature the adjustable ride height found on the production model. Because the The Stig set his time in the non-adjustable prototype and the production version has not (yet) been driven around the track, the Caparo's time remains ineligible for the Power Lap board.
Non-televised laps
Occasionally attempts at the Power Lap record are made without the support of the BBC. The following laps of Dunsfold were recorded, filmed and promoted independently of the Top Gear television programme.
|
Ultima claim that their motive for running a non-televised lap was that they felt that the GTR was being specifically ignored by the producers of Top Gear. Why Dunlop – Injection chose to run a lap of the Dunsfold circuit is not stated, although it is noticeable that the slower "official" Caterham run was limited by cold tyres.
Star in a Reasonably Priced Car
Star in a Reasonably Priced Car is a recurring segment on Top Gear. During most programmes, a celebrity (usually, but not exclusively of British fame) is interviewed by Jeremy Clarkson. Discussion is normally amusing, and focuses on car-related matters, such as the celebrity's car history. Then Clarkson and the studio audience watch the guest's fastest lap on the Top Gear test track.Suzuki Liana (2002–2005)
For the first seven series, the car driven for lap times was a Suzuki LianaSuzuki Aerio
The Suzuki Aerio is a compact car that was built by Suzuki Motor Corporation. It was introduced in 2001 as a replacement for the Suzuki Esteem/Baleno, with a tall 5-door SX model hatchback and a 4-door sedan body...
. When first introduced, the car was worth £9995. The car used is stock except for a roll cage
Roll cage
A roll cage is a specially constructed frame built in the cab of a vehicle to protect its occupants from being injured in an accident, particularly in the event of a roll-over. Roll cages are used in nearly all purpose-built racecars, and in most cars modified for racing...
and racing seats added as safety measures. Each guest practices with The Stig before making several attempts to complete the test track in the fastest time. The guest does not learn their time until the interview. Practice laps, crashes and the drivers' facial expressions are also shown during the segment.
The two slowest laps on the Liana celebrity list are held by Terry Wogan
Terry Wogan
Sir Michael Terence Wogan, KBE, DL , or also known as Terry Wogan, is a veteran Irish radio and television broadcaster who holds dual Irish and British citizenship. Wogan has worked for the BBC in the United Kingdom for most of his career...
and Richard Whiteley
Richard Whiteley
John Richard Whiteley, OBE DL , usually known as Richard Whiteley, was an English broadcaster and journalist. He was famous for his twenty-three years as host of Countdown, a letters and numbers arrangement game show broadcast most weekdays on Channel 4...
, both of whom were beaten by Billy Baxter, a Bosnian war veteran who is completely blind. He guided the Liana through the track under direction from Clarkson in the passenger seat in a time of 2 minutes 2 seconds, which was 1.4 seconds quicker than Terry Wogan, and 4 seconds faster than Richard Whiteley.
The fastest non-professional driver was Ellen MacArthur
Ellen MacArthur
Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, DBE is an English sailor, up until 2009, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in West Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. She is best known as a solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005 she broke the world record for the fastest solo...
. Unlike most contenders she made no comments to the camera during her lap. She completed the lap in 1 minute 46.7 seconds, beating Jimmy Carr
Jimmy Carr
James Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr is an English-Irish comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery and dark humour. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television....
by 0.2 seconds.
The Liana endured considerable abuse from the stars while undertaking their laps. In one incident, actor Michael Gambon
Michael Gambon
Sir Michael John Gambon, CBE is an Irish actor who has worked in theatre, television and film. A highly respected theatre actor, Gambon is recognised for his roles as Philip Marlowe in the BBC television serial The Singing Detective, as Jules Maigret in the 1990s ITV serial Maigret, and as...
clipped the final corner, almost rolling the car. It was done in such a spectacular fashion that the corner was henceforth named "Gambon Corner". Michael McIntyre
Michael McIntyre
Michael Hazen James McIntyre is an English stand-up comedian. He is well known for appearing at many British stand-up comedy events and for several roles on television stand-up programmes such as Live at the Apollo and his own show, Michael McIntyre's Comedy Roadshow...
also had a similar experience to Michael Gambon in the Chevrolet Lacetti, almost rolling the car on the last corner. Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
also went around the last corner on two wheels in the Kia Cee'd
Kia cee'd
The Kia Cee'd is a front wheel drive small family car released in the European market by the Korean manufacturer Kia Motors in December 2006—superseding the Kia Spectra—and available as a five-door hatchback, three-door hatchback , and five-door estate with a choice of up to four...
. When Lionel Richie
Lionel Richie
Lionel Brockman Richie, Jr. , is an American singer-songwriter, musician and record producer. Since 1968, he has been a member of the musical group Commodores signed to Motown Records...
drove the car, one of the front wheels fell off, invoking Clarkson to coin the term "pulling a Lionel". Trevor Eve
Trevor Eve
Trevor John Eve is a British film and television actor. In 1979 he gained fame as the eponymous lead in the detective series Shoestring and is also known for his role as Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd in BBC television drama Waking the Dead.-Early life:Eve was born in Sutton Coldfield,...
also lost a wheel. The former British transport minister Stephen Ladyman
Stephen Ladyman
Stephen John Ladyman is a British Labour Party politician who was the Member of Parliament for South Thanet from 1997 until 2010.-Early life:...
added further injury to the Liana by denting the boot when he lost control during practice and slid backwards into a tyre wall. David Soul
David Soul
David Soul is an American-British actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television programme Starsky and Hutch . He gained British citizenship in 2004.-Early life:...
managed to destroy the gearbox of two Lianas during his time on the show due to his rough driving style. Patrick Kielty
Patrick Kielty
Patrick Kielty is an Irish comedian and television personality from Dundrum, Northern Ireland.-Background:He was affected by The Troubles in Northern Ireland. On 25 January 1988 his father, businessman Jack Kielty, was shot dead by the Ulster Defence Association /"Ulster Freedom Fighters" , a...
broke the Liana's front suspension during season 4 when he drove on the grass. Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston
Christopher Eccleston is an English stage, film and television actor. His films include Let Him Have It, Shallow Grave, Elizabeth, 28 Days Later, Gone in 60 Seconds, The Others, and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra...
was the only celebrity to use a Liana with an automatic transmission, because a hesitant Eccleston admitted he was "only qualified to drive an automatic." To accommodate his needs, Top Gear succeeded in borrowing an automatic Liana, of which only 40 existed in the UK. As a reference to his role in Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
, the automatic Liana was shown materialising onto the racing track, with a TARDIS
TARDIS
The TARDISGenerally, TARDIS is written in all upper case letters—this convention was popularised by the Target novelisations of the 1970s...
materialisation sound effect played over it.
The Liana has also been modified on several occasions. David Soul's Liana featured a red police light and a white stripe in reference to his Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch
Starsky and Hutch is a 1970s American cop thriller television series that consisted of a 90-minute pilot movie and 92 episodes of 60 minutes each; created by William Blinn, produced by Spelling-Goldberg Productions, and broadcast between April 30, 1975 and May 15, 1979 on the ABC...
role. Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas
Johnny Vegas is an English actor and comedian. He is known for his angry rants, portly figure, high husky voice and support of St Helens rugby league club. More recently he has moved into dramatic acting.-Early life:He was born in St Helens, Lancashire, the youngest of four children of Laurence...
was provided with 'L' plates as he hadn't passed his driving test at the time. When Justin Hawkins
Justin Hawkins
Justin David Hawkins is an English musician and singer-songwriter, best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist of The Darkness, alongside his brother, guitarist Dan Hawkins...
came on the show, the Liana he drove had flame decals pasted on it. Actor Sanjeev Bhaskar
Sanjeev Bhaskar
Sanjeev Bhaskar, OBE is a British Indian comedian, actor and broadcaster, best known for his work in the BBC Two comedy series Goodness Gracious Me and as host of The Kumars at No. 42...
had an ornate tissue box placed in the back, an homage to Indian drivers.
In its service, the Liana covered 1,600 laps of the circuit; its tyres and brakes were changed 100 times; and, it required six new clutches, two new hubs, driveshafts, wishbones, struts and gear linkages and a replacement wing mirror.
In July 2005, Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
driver Damon Hill
Damon Hill
Damon Graham Devereux Hill OBE is a retired British racing driver. In 1996 Hill won the Formula One World Championship. As the son of the late Graham Hill, he is the only son of a world champion to win the title...
appeared on the show for the first time as the star. This was kept a surprise to the audience and the viewing public, and when Nigel Mansell
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series...
came on the show, it was covered up in magazines and on the internet by saying that the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car would be Alan Titchmarsh
Alan Titchmarsh
Alan Fred Titchmarsh, MBE DL is an English gardener, broadcaster and novelist. After working as a professional gardener and a garden journalist, he established himself as a media personality through appearances on gardening programmes...
.
For some of the laps more than one person has been present in the car. This was the case for Clarkson's run when he had both Hammond and Jason Dawe
Jason Dawe (television)
-Biography:Born and raised in Cornwall, England, Dawe worked at auto dealerships and as a motoring industry trainer. Dawe became a presenter on the Top Gear television show on its first series after it was relaunched in 2002...
in the car. Trinny and Susannah
Trinny and Susannah
Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine are two British fashion advisors, presenters and authors. They originally joined to write a weekly style column in The Daily Telegraph which lasted for seven years, but they are best-known for presenting the BBC television series What Not to Wear for five...
were both in the car for each other's runs. Denise Van Outen
Denise van Outen
Denise van Outen is an English actress, singer and television presenter. Her most notable roles to date are as a presenter on The Big Breakfast, and as Roxie Hart in the musical Chicago on both the West End and on Broadway.- Early life :Born Denise Kathleen Outen in Basildon, Essex, she is the...
was in Johnny Vaughan
Johnny Vaughan
Jonathan Randall Vaughan is an English broadcaster and journalist. Vaughan has become well known as a television and radio personality and has also built a reputation as a film critic. He co-presented Capital Breakfast alongside Lisa Snowdon on 95.8 Capital FM between 2004 and 2011...
's when he did his lap; Van Outen never did a lap driving the car. Clarkson was also present as a navigator for Billy Baxter's laps.
Liana leaderboard
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Chevrolet Lacetti (2006–2010)
Starting with the eighth series, the Liana was replaced by a Chevrolet LacettiDaewoo Lacetti
The Daewoo Lacetti is a compact car made by the South Korean automaker GM Daewoo since 2002. The first-generation Lacetti was available as a four-door sedan, a five-door hatchback or a five-door station wagon. The sedan and wagon were designed by Pininfarina, and the hatchback by Giorgetto Giugiaro...
and a new blank scoreboard. The format was changed so that each star would have five practice laps, and then a final timed lap, with no allowance being given for mishaps.
As a starter for the new car and format, an open day was held for any celebrity who wanted to take part. Seven stars recorded times that day: James Hewitt
James Hewitt
James Hewitt is a former British household cavalry officer in the British Army. He had an affair with Diana, Princess of Wales for five years, receiving extensive media coverage after revealing details of the affair.-Early life:...
, comedians Alan Davies
Alan Davies
Alan Davies is an English comedian, writer and actor best known for starring in the TV mystery series Jonathan Creek and as the permanent panellist on the TV panel show QI.- Early life :...
and Jimmy Carr
Jimmy Carr
James Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr is an English-Irish comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery and dark humour. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television....
, rock stars Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman
Richard Christopher Wakeman is an English keyboard player, composer and songwriter best known for being the former keyboardist in the progressive rock band Yes...
and Justin Hawkins
Justin Hawkins
Justin David Hawkins is an English musician and singer-songwriter, best known for being the lead singer and lead guitarist of The Darkness, alongside his brother, guitarist Dan Hawkins...
, footballer Les Ferdinand
Les Ferdinand
Leslie "Les" Ferdinand MBE is a former English footballer. His playing career included spells at Queens Park Rangers, Besiktas J.K., Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers F.C., during which period he earned a number of appearances for England...
, and actor Trevor Eve
Trevor Eve
Trevor John Eve is a British film and television actor. In 1979 he gained fame as the eponymous lead in the detective series Shoestring and is also known for his role as Detective Superintendent Peter Boyd in BBC television drama Waking the Dead.-Early life:Eve was born in Sutton Coldfield,...
who topped the time at 1 minute 47.0 seconds. Jimmy Carr
Jimmy Carr
James Anthony Patrick "Jimmy" Carr is an English-Irish comedian and humourist. He is known for his deadpan delivery and dark humour. He is also a writer, actor and presenter of radio and television....
, who held second place in the Liana behind Ellen MacArthur
Ellen MacArthur
Dame Ellen Patricia MacArthur, DBE is an English sailor, up until 2009, from Whatstandwell near Matlock in Derbyshire, now based in West Cowes, on the Isle of Wight. She is best known as a solo long-distance yachtswoman. On 7 February 2005 she broke the world record for the fastest solo...
, spun off while doing his timed lap and got the slowest time ever around the track at 2 minutes, 8.91 seconds.
On 28 January 2007, Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver
James "Jamie" Trevor Oliver, MBE , sometimes known as The Naked Chef, is an English chef, restaurateur and media personality, known for his food-focused television shows, cookbooks and more recently his campaign against the use of processed foods in national schools...
posted a time of 1:47.70 in melted snow and standing water. Given the rivalry Oliver felt towards fellow celebrity chef, and then-lapboard leader, Gordon Ramsay
Gordon Ramsay
Gordon James Ramsay, OBE is a Scottish chef, television personality and restaurateur. He has been awarded 13 Michelin stars....
, Oliver asked that the 4-second allowance normally granted for wet laps be used to put him at the top of the leaderboard "just for a day".
Actress Billie Piper
Billie Piper
Billie Paul Piper is an English singer and actress.She began her career in the late 1990s as a pop singer and then switched to acting. She started in acting and dancing and was talent spotted at the Sylvia Young stage school by Smash Hits magazine who wanted a "face" for their magazine...
posted a time of 1:48.3 but was deemed by The Stig to have failed to complete a lap properly, as she failed to negotiate some corners. The Stig suggested a three second time penalty, but after Clarkson consulted the audience, it was decided to let the time stand, which her Doctor Who
Doctor Who
Doctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
co-star, David Tennant
David Tennant
David Tennant is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr...
, tried to overturn on 23 December 2007 show, at the end of the following series. Clarkson remarked that if Tennant had worn a see through top (like Piper for her interview), he "would have been faster than Simon Cowell".
In the 11 November 2007 episode, Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
retook his status as the holder of the fastest lap with a time of 1:45.90. According to Clarkson, the cameramen said they had never seen such consistency in the practice laps. However, Cowell was knocked off the top spot in Series 11 by Jay Kay, who now holds the fastest time in the Lacetti, although Clarkson selected the fastest of Jay Kay's times rather than the last run, which was slower than Cowell's time, seemingly due to a dislike of Cowell (he claimed earlier in the episode that Cowell had been at the top of the leaderboard for too long). Had this not happened, Cowell would have been knocked off the top by Grand Designs
Grand Designs
Grand Designs is a British television series produced by Talkback Thames and broadcast on Channel 4 which features unusual and often elaborate architectural home-building projects....
host Kevin McCloud
Kevin McCloud
Kevin McCloud is a British designer, writer and television presenter best known for his work on the Channel 4 series Grand Designs. He lives in a 15th-century farmhouse in Frome, Somerset, with his wife Suzanna "Zani" who runs an online interior decoration business, and their two children, Milo ...
.
Clarkson has referred to the part of the board with times of 1:51 and over as the 'Thespian
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
Zone' due to the propensity for classically-trained actors to post slow times.
Series 11 featured a slight change to the format, with two 'Stars' per episode instead of the previous one (although there had been a couple of editions in previous series' with more than one guest). Each of the pair are professionally associated with their fellow guest, usually both either act in or present the same TV show. Unlike previous episodes where two stars have appeared, the stars drove individual laps without the other present in the car.
On 28 March 2010, Richard Hammond attended the demolition of the two 550 ft chimneys at Lafarge Cement's Northfleet Works. On the first episode of Series 15, it was shown that the Lacetti was partially crushed by placing it in the path of one of the falling chimneys.
Lacetti leaderboard
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Kia Cee'd (2010–)
In the last episode of the fourteenth seriesTop Gear (series 14)
Top Gear returned for a 14th series, aired on BBC Two and BBC HD, on 15 November 2009, with the usual presenting team of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and The Stig. The series contained 7 episodes...
of the show, Clarkson revealed that they were thinking about getting a new Reasonably Priced Car for the next series. On 27 June during the first episode of the fifteenth series
Top Gear (series 15)
Top Gear returned for a 15th series, aired on BBC Two and BBC HD, on 27 June 2010, and concluded on 1 August 2010, with the usual presenting team of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, James May and The Stig. Prior to the series, the channel advertised the show's return by featuring a home video...
, it was revealed to be the Kia Cee'd
Kia cee'd
The Kia Cee'd is a front wheel drive small family car released in the European market by the Korean manufacturer Kia Motors in December 2006—superseding the Kia Spectra—and available as a five-door hatchback, three-door hatchback , and five-door estate with a choice of up to four...
and, as with the Chevrolet Lacetti, another open day was held to welcome the new car. Peter Jones, Al Murray, Bill Bailey, Peta Todd, and Louie Spence were amongst the initial drivers. Clarkson commonly refers to the Kia phonetically as the "See Apostrophe Dee".
Cee'd leaderboard
F1 drivers
All Formula OneFormula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
drivers are put into their own list with regard to lap times because of their exceptional skill level. When the Liana was pulled out from retirement to allow Jenson Button
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...
to make a time, Clarkson noted that the Liana would be pulled out for use by Formula 1 drivers in the future. Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher
Michael Schumacher is a German Formula One racing driver for the Mercedes GP team. Famous for his eleven-year spell with Ferrari, Schumacher is a seven-time World Champion and is widely regarded as the greatest F1 driver of all time...
, in retirement on 21 June 2009 episode, was shown attempting the lap but didn't record a time having stalled, this was to disprove the earlier claim that Schumacher was the Stig.
The original 'black' Stig and the first 'white' Stig have done laps around the track in the Suzuki Liana. Both had their times removed from the leaderboard upon their departure.
The first Stig was Perry McCarthy
Perry McCarthy
-Career:Born in Billericay, Essex, McCarthy grew up to work for his father's company servicing North Sea oil rigs. Unlike most Formula One drivers, McCarthy did not start racing in karts...
, who once test drove for the Williams F1
WilliamsF1
Williams Grand Prix Engineering Limited, trading as AT&T Williams, is a British Formula One motor racing team and constructor. It was founded and run by Sir Frank Williams and Patrick Head...
team, as well as having driven for the ill-fated Andrea Moda Formula
Andrea Moda Formula
Andrea Moda Formula was a Formula One team, created by Andrea Sassetti, a shoe manufacturer from Italy. In September 1991 he bought the Coloni F1 team after it had failed to pre-qualify a car for every single race that year....
One team. The second Stig was Ben Collins; in the first episode of Series 13 the Stig was "revealed" to be Michael Schumacher, although this was a joke in the vein of the rest of his appearance on the show. The second Stig notably takes a different line into the first corner from most of the F1 drivers.
On 6 July 2011, Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel
Sebastian Vettel is a German Formula One racing driver, currently driving for Red Bull Racing. He is the current World Champion, having won the championship in and ....
managed to top the board with a time of 1:44.0. Vettel's lap was the first time someone taking a 'Formula One drivers' line through the first corner was able to top The Stig's time, as Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Barrichello
Rubens Gonçalves "Rubinho" Barrichello is a Brazilian Formula One racing driver. He is currently racing for Williams F1.Barrichello has scored the seventh highest points total in Formula One history. Barrichello drove for Ferrari from to , as Michael Schumacher's teammate, enjoying considerable...
took the tighter line. Jeremy also mentioned on this episode that the current Stig has yet to do a lap of the track in the Liana, therefore there is currently no time on the board for the Stig.
F1 leader board
Time deductions
Sometimes an additional term is written next to the time (such as Hot). This indicates that The Stig and the Top Gear team consider that the prevalent weather conditions have affected the lap time or car's performance. The time on the board is not adapted: e.g. 1:50 MM (Mildly Moist) is deemed to be equivalent to 1:48 on a normal dry track. The following list describes how many seconds it costs a car or gives a car an advantage. These deductions are also not applied to Formula 1 drivers.| Term | Conditions | Adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| HOT | Track surface or car performance affected by high temperature or humidity | −2 seconds |
| Mildly moist (MM) / Damp (D) | Track surface slightly damp with some dry patches after light rain or drizzle | −2 seconds |
| Moist (M) | Track surface slightly wet due to shower of rain | −3 seconds |
| Wet (W) / Melted snow (MS) | Track surface wet due to light rain or melted snow | −4 seconds |
| Very wet (VW) | Track surface wet (with large puddles) due to heavy rain | −6 seconds |
Maps
Appearance in games
On 24 October 2007 it was announced that the PlayStation 3PlayStation 3
The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
game, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue is a PlayStation 3 exclusive title which was announced at the E3 2007. This short version title was a precursor and sampling of Gran Turismo 5 and replaced Gran Turismo HD Concept...
, will be able to download episodes of Top Gear within the game, and that the test track is one of the included circuits in the full game (Gran Turismo 5
Gran Turismo 5
is the fifth edition of the Gran Turismo racing video game series. Developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, it was released for PlayStation 3 on November 24, 2010...
).
A very basic yet driveable version of the track appeared around 2003 for the PC hardcore racing simulation Grand Prix Legends
Grand Prix Legends
Grand Prix Legends is a computer racing simulator developed by Papyrus Design Group and published in 1998 by Sierra Entertainment...
. There is also a version of the test track for the realistic PC racing simulation rFactor
RFactor
rFactor is a computer racing simulator, designed with the ability to run any type of four-wheeled vehicle from street cars to open wheel cars of any era. rFactor aimed to be the most accurate race simulator of its time...
, produced with permission from Dunsfold park. The track has also been produced as an add-on for World Racing 2.
Top Gear have also added a basic version of the test track on the games section of their own website, with the title of "Be a star in our reasonably priced car". A Top Gear mobile phone game also features the track.
The game Gran Turismo 5
Gran Turismo 5
is the fifth edition of the Gran Turismo racing video game series. Developed by Polyphony Digital and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, it was released for PlayStation 3 on November 24, 2010...
, developed by Polyphony Digital
Polyphony Digital
Polyphony Digital, Inc. is an internal video game developing company of Sony Computer Entertainment and is part of Sony Computer Entertainment Worldwide Studios...
features a fully rendered version of the Top Gear Track. Players have the ability to drive and race on the track.
It was confirmed that the track would appear in Forza Motorsport 4
Forza Motorsport 4
Forza Motorsport 4 is a racing video game released by Turn 10 Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the fourth installment in the Forza Motorsport series, and was released in North America on October 11, 2011 and in Europe on October 14, 2011...
; the Top Gear logo appeared in a trailer for Forza 4 on the Top Gear website. Cars were shown racing in the follow-through section during the E3 2011 trailer.