New Top Gear – haters assemble

How? It’s a news report that’s it.

Well that doesn’t sound good:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-65056723

Sounds like FF may be off.

Maybe they’ll restrict who drives?

The Beeb’s reporting on the advisement always seems remarkably tight lipped on what happened. Suffice to say, driving cars at the specs they do, even on a closed circuit, represents an enormous risk.

<span style=”font-size: 0.8rem;”>Shame though, because the current line up where quite watchable.</span>

Without any knowledge of the accident or injuries sustained, isn’t this the result of having celebs rather than car nuts doing the presenting? If Chris Harris had the off I am sure he would rationalise it as “occupational hazard” and get back in a car (I accept he has an economic incentive because it is his occupation), but Freddie is more likely to be thinking there are other things he can be paid to do which doesn’t involve a visit to hospital.

I think the other issue is FF is a bit of a nutcase, he takes far more risks than a professional driver would. It’s entertaining but probably isn’t something that will be allowed going forward

Must have been severe as the accident happened in December – does anyone know what happened ?

Have their insurers finally had enough? I don’t see how the format can continue without non-expert presenters and celebs at the wheel.

Ah, apparently crashed a three wheeled Morgan Super 3 – facial injuries and broken ribs

The wording is interesting. The BBC have apologised to Freddie, suggesting they are at fault not him.

Must have been severe as the accident happened in December – does anyone know what happened ?

I sort of do – it was via a friend of a friend, so I don’t know 100% of the details.

Suffice to say the man doesn’t fit in a Morgan and he won’t be winning any beauty contests when he eventually recovers.

I can’t help but think its run its course anyhow.

YouTube now gives you everything you could want car wise from proper reviews to messing around in vehicles. Any new car that comes out now about 10 YouTube vids are released the same day. By the time TG did that new Aston Martin, it had already been on YouTube a few months, even with Chris Harris.

The only thing YouTube doesnt do is the epic journeys across continents, but to be fair they have all been pretty much done too.

I watched a Chris Harris vid on YT recently and he looked like he had put a load of weight on, and dishevelled. Paddy Mc is just highly annoying and cant drive.

I think the format is a little tired and they do take too many risks in the name of entertainment. It’s unfortunate that FF has been injured but who on earth thought it would be a good idea to stick him in a 3 wheeler in the first place? I know he has a bit of a rep as the crash test dummy but that was just reckless.

I think that YT has proven there’s a market for a serious entusiast car show on tv and whilst this has become the TG format there’s probably a good argument for changing things.

The wording is interesting. The BBC have apologised to Freddie, suggesting they are at fault not him.

Yeah the wording is a bit weird – I wonder if the directors ‘encouraged’ a funny tip-the-car-over type of crash (like the one with the Reliant Robin back in Clarkson days).

Although it is nowhere near as easy to tip a 3 wheeled car over when the 2 wheels are at the front…

It’s one thing doing that in a battered old Reliant, another deliberately doing it in a lovely old Morgan.

My guess is that they failed to carry out a proper assessment on the safe limits of the car plus a big lad and Freddie, knowing no better, and with no grown up holding him back, pushed it way too hard.

Did HSE get involved?

Think it said on breakfast news that no further action is being taken.

It’s one thing doing that in a battered old Reliant, another deliberately doing it in a lovely old Morgan.

It was a Morgan Super 3 (the brand new one that is presumably somewhat safer to crash in that a 70 year old one)

Harry’s garage is good if you want epic road trips and grown up car reviews

A few days ago I saw a Top Gear clip called “Speed Week 22 on Three Wheels” where Stig had the Super 3 on two wheels while cornering. This video has now been deleted but I suspect Freddie was trying to replicate the Stig but without his skills.

The top gear thread on piston heads is interesting. There’s claims of fractured jaws, terminated contracts and Fred sueing the bbc. Rumoured £15m!

As above fractured jaw and then some.

Without any knowledge of the accident or injuries sustained, isn’t this the result of having celebs rather than car nuts doing the presenting?

I seem to be in a minority thinking this but I quite liked it when it started up again with Chris Harris and Rory Reid. Even what’s his face from Friends at least had an interest. There was a glimmer of an actual car show. Then they pivoted and ran in the complete opposite direction, with some attempt at comedy and zero substance.

Whether it contributed to his accident or not I don’t know, but Flintoff always seemed intent on outdoing everybody else to stroke his own massive ego. He was always a liability.

Doubt there are many people at the BBC standing up for keeping a car show hosted by three native white men running really.

but Flintoff always seemed intent on outdoing everybody else to stroke his own massive ego.

world class sportsman in competitive nature shocker

Doubt there are many people at the BBC standing up for keeping a car show hosted by three native white men running really.

The accounting dept probably are! It’s a big earner…

Doubt it’ll have been a ‘gag’ gone wrong, just FF getting abit too sendy as usual. Tiff Needell nearly tipped one on 5th gear years ago too.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/66755339
Flintoff looks battered several months on

He looks better than I thought he would tbh. Pleased he’s out and about.

Just seen it on the news – looks like the poor guy has had a lot of reconstruction done.

Glad he’s up and about though.

Given that is how he is looking now after all that time, I hate to think what he actually suffered. Definitely nasty…but glad to see he is now out and about.

Chris Harris was on Joe Rogan this week and talks quite openly about the demise of Top Gear and Flintoff’s accident. He’s scathing of the BBC, claiming he repeatedly warned them there would be a serious accident.

I think I read somewhere that he was wearing an open face helmet too. Not to say he wouldn’t have been injured in a full face helmet but sounds like another example of lack of adequate risk assessment for an open topped three wheeler to me.

After he flipped that hearse they should have had a massive change in their H&S processes and culture.

Slight segue but Chris Harris on Joe Rogan’s podcast the other day was quite entertaining.

Rory also saying he warned the bbc.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgjveqdz5g9o

Even worse, says he wasn’t wearing a helmet…

Paddy and Chris are back with a new series called Road Tripping on the beeb.