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Top Gear test track

Coordinates: 51°06′59″N 0°32′29″W / 51.116428°N 0.541463°W / 51.116428; -0.541463
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Top Gear Test Track
Test Track Map
LocationSurrey, England
Time zoneGMT
Coordinates51°06′59″N 0°32′29″W / 51.116428°N 0.541463°W / 51.116428; -0.541463
Major eventsN/A
Road Circuit
Length2.82 km (1.75 miles)
Turns9
Race lap record0:59.0 (The Stig, Renault R24, 2004, F1)
Drag Strip
Length1.87 km (1.16 miles)
Turns1

The Top Gear test track is the test track used by the British automotive television programme Top Gear. Located in Dunsfold Park, it was designed by Lotus engineers and is used to both test cars seen on the programme and in two segments of the show (Power Laps and Star in a Reasonably Priced Car). The course is just under 2 miles (3.2 km) in length and is a rough figure of 8 layout.

A digital version of the track has been released for the videogame rFactor and is set to appear in the upcoming videogame Gran Turismo 5.

Layout

The track is a rough 'figure of 8' layout, and is located in Dunsfold Park in Surrey, England. It was a World War II airbase and British Aerospace manufacturing and test facility. The track has a "road" course, and a drag strip, although the latter is never used for timing purposes. Designed by Lotus,[1][2] the layout of the track is designed to put the car through various conditions, ranging from provoking understeer to testing brake balance and tyres. It is about 1.75 miles (2.82 km) in length, and the track is considered to be an equaliser for cars, since both 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) times and top speed are totally meaningless to the programme according to Richard Hammond.[1]

The course starts on the Perimeter Road outside the Top Gear studio. The first bend is a fast left-hander into a short service road with a double apex, named "Crooner Curves", followed quickly by "Chicago", a long right-hand around a tyre wall onto the main runway, at the end of which is the "Hammerhead", a right-hander back on the Perimeter Road which is followed through a left hand curve until "Wilson Bend" turns the course right, back onto the service road and the section called the "Follow Through", which, after the left hand "Bentley Bend", returns to the main runway. The course now comes to "Bacharach Bend", which, after the first series, has been referred to as the "Second to Last Corner" and is often regarded as one of the most challenging on the course. The final turn before the start/finish line, is "Gambon", the only bend named after the track was put to use. In episode 8 of Series 1, actor Michael Gambon almost rolled the Suzuki Liana used in the show's Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car segment, and did so in such a spectacular fashion (briefly going airborne) that the corner was henceforth named in his honour by host Jeremy Clarkson. Before this, the corner was known as "Carpenter's Corner".[3]

Usage

The track has been used for the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car, but also makes appearances in the Power Laps section. The track is also used for testing cars in the programme, and drag races have been held on the runway section of the track. Several Formula One 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 to compare the performance of various cars. The car tested has usually been reviewed by one of the presenters in the current episode, but sometimes is a carry-over from a previous one.

The qualification for the board is that the vehicle being tested must be a road-legal production car, and must have sufficient ride-height to clear a standard speed-hump,[4] although occasionally vehicles that cannot appear in the list are still timed. Whenever a non-qualifying vehicle is raced, the time is compared to the official Power Laps and then removed from the board. An example is the sea harrier jump jet which holds the all time best lap record, after completing a lap in 0.31.2.[5]

All the laps were timed with the car's manufacturer-provided adjustable settings configured for maximum performance. That is to say, all adjustable suspensions were set at their most efficient, all gear shift maps were at their most aggressive, and driving aids such as traction control were deactivated. These lap times do not offer entirely reliable comparisons between the cars, mainly because of wet or otherwise poor weather conditions (see time deductions below).

The Power Board

The most powerful production car ever featured on Top Gear, the 1,001 PS (987 bhp or 746 kW) Bugatti Veyron, has not yet been taken around the track by the Stig. It will be driven round the track by Stig on Series 12, Episode 4, dated 23rd November 2008. According to Hammond[9] and Clarkson,[10] this is because Bugatti has not given Top Gear permission to run the car through a power lap.

For the 1:17.6 lap, the Koenigsegg CCX was fitted with an optional rear spoiler to provide downforce, after the Stig spun the original version off the track. The Stig allegedly recommended this modification, correctly predicting that the car would then be the fastest ever round the track,[11] although Koenigsegg themselves state that the improvement was due to adjustments other than the spoiler.[12] Its lap time was later bettered by the Ascari A10. The Koenigseggs on the board have their names mocked; the CC8S is dubbed 'Koenegseggggggsegggegggegigioabbaviking CC' with the 'Viking' section mocking how it comes from Sweden, and the CCX 'Koenigseggegkenegonisogoenekosenoseningoegg'.

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, etc.), as well as being street-worthy (i.e. able to negotiate a speed bump).Cite error: The opening <ref> tag is malformed or has a bad name (see the help page).[13][14][15][16][17]

  1. 0:31.2 – BAE Sea Harrier[18]
  2. 0:59.0 – Renault R24 Formula One car (Mildly moist)
  3. 1:08.6 – Aston Martin DBR9
  4. 1:10.6 – Caparo T1
  5. 1:19.1 – Radical SR3
  6. 1:22.6 – Westfield XTR2
  7. 1:24.3 – Prodrive P2 (Active differentials on.)

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.

  1. 1:12.8 - Ultima GTR720 sponsored by Ultima Sports, anonymous driver.[19]
  2. 1:17.4 - Caterham CSR 260 sponsored by Dunlop - Injection, driven by Rob Jenkinson.[20]

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.[21] Why Dunlop - Injection chose to run a lap of the Dunsfold circuit is not stated.

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, the guest and the studio audience watch the guest's fastest lap on the Top Gear test track.

Suzuki Liana

For the first seven series of its current incarnation, the car driven was a Suzuki Liana. The car used is stock, except a roll cage and racing seats have been 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 for amusement.

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 wrenched the Liana through the track under directions 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 when 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". 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, as 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 gear linkages and a replacement wing mirror.[22]

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.

Liana leader board
  2. 1:46.7 – Dame Ellen MacArthur
  3. 1:46.9 – Jimmy Carr
  4. 1:47.1 – Simon Cowell
  5. 1:47.3 – Ronnie O'Sullivan
  6. 1:47.8 – Ian Wright
  7. 1:47.9 – Chris Evans
  8. 1:47.9 – Rory Bremner
  9. 1:48.0 - Ewan McGregor
  10. 1:48.0 – Justin Hawkins
  11. 1:48.0 – Jodie Kidd
  12. 1:48.0 – Paul McKenna
  13. 1:48.0 – Trevor Eve
  14. 1:48.0 – Patrick Kielty
  15. 1:48.3 – Jay Kay[23]
  16. 1:48.6 – Rob Brydon
  17. 1:48.8 – Stephen Ladyman
  18. 1:49.0 – Neil Morrissey
  19. 1:49.6 – Roger Daltrey (Moist)
  20. 1:50.0 – Jeremy Clarkson (With passengers)
  21. 1:50.0 – Patrick Stewart
  22. 1:50.0 – Martin Clunes
  23. 1:50.0 – Jamie Oliver
  24. 1:50.0 – Gordon Ramsay
F1 leader board

All Formula One 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. The most recent F1 driver to drive the Liana was Lewis Hamilton on the 2 December 2007 show.

Both Stigs, the original 'black' Stig and the current 'white' Stig have done laps around the track in the Suzuki Liana. Still topping the all-time list for the Liana is the second Stig (1:44.4), who took the car out for its last run (except the subsequent times that it has been brought out for F1 drivers to use).

It should be noted that the identity of the second 'Stig' has not been confirmed by BBC Top Gear (the first was Perry McCarthy, who once test drove for the WilliamsF1 team). The second Stig notably takes a different line into the first corner from most of the F1 drivers.

  1. 1:44.4 – The Stig (II)
  2. 1:44.6 – Nigel Mansell
  3. 1:44.7 - Lewis Hamilton (Wet & Oily)

Chevrolet Lacetti

Starting with the eighth series, the Liana was replaced by a Chevrolet Lacetti, 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, (whom the presenters claimed not to recognise, his name on the board is "Well Spoken Man"), 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 McArthur, 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".

Doctor Who star 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 co-star, David Tennant (the Tenth Doctor himself), tried to overturn on the 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 - the Stig apparently claimed that the consistency of his lap times, on both appearances, marked him out as someone who had a natural ability.[25] However, Cowell was knocked off the top spot in Series 11 by Jay Kay, who now holds the fastest time in the Lacetti.

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.

Lacetti leader board
  1. 1:45.8 – Jay Kay[26]
  2. 1:45.9 – Simon Cowell
  3. 1:46.1 – Jennifer Saunders
  4. 1:46.3 – Gordon Ramsay
  5. 1:46.9 – Peter Jones
  6. 1:47.0 – Trevor Eve
  7. 1:47.1 – Peter Firth
  8. 1:47.4 – Lawrence Dallaglio
  9. 1:47.4 – Les Ferdinand
  10. 1:47.6 – James Hewitt
  11. 1:47.7 – Jamie Oliver (Melted snow)
  12. 1:47.7 – Hugh Grant
  13. 1:48.0 – Ewan McGregor
  14. 1:48.1 – Rupert Penry-Jones
  15. 1:48.3 – James Blunt (Wet)
  16. 1:48.3 – Billie Piper (Cut corner)
  17. 1:48.4 – Justin Hawkins
  18. 1:48.5 – Simon Pegg
  19. 1:48.5 – Theo Paphitis
  20. 1:48.7 - Mark Wahlberg
  21. 1:48.8 – David Tennant
  22. 1:48.9 - Will Young (Damp)

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

Term Conditions Adjustment
HOT Track surface or car performance affected by high temperature / humidity -2 seconds
Mildly moist (MM) Track surface slightly damp after light rain or drizzle -2 seconds
Wet (W) / Melted snow (MS) Track surface wet due to light rain / melted snow -4 seconds
Very wet (VW) Track surface wet (with large puddles) due to heavy rain -7 seconds

Maps

Appearance in games

On 24 October 2007 it was announced that players of the forthcoming PlayStation 3 game, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, will be able to download episodes of Top Gear within the game, and that the test track will be one of the included circuits when the full game (Gran Turismo 5) is released.[27][28] A very basic yet driveable version of the track appeared around 2003 for the PC 'hardcore' racing simulation Grand Prix Legends. There's also a version of the test track for the realistic PC racing simulation Rfactor, produced with permission from Dunsfold park.[29] 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".

References and notes

  1. ^ a b Top Gear Series 1, Episode 1 2002.10.20
  2. ^ Vijay, Pattni (2007-10-30). "Ultima GTR smashes Top Gear lap record". www.autotrader.co.uk. Trader Media Group. Retrieved 2008-01-10.
  3. ^ "Driving the Top Gear test track feature - Features - Top Gear".
  4. ^ "Top Gear Power Laps". Retrieved 2006-11-13. In order to qualify for the power laps board, a car must be road legal, and be a car. For this reason the F1 car (0.59.0), Aston Martin DBR9 (1.08.6) and Sea Harrier (0.31.2) do not appear.
  5. ^ Top Gear Series 5, Episode 8 2004.12.19
  6. ^ Top Gear Series 8, Episode 4 2006.05.28 – Jeremy Clarkson: "This, 1:20.4, the old Koenigsegg lap, we don't need it anymore." – Removed from board
  7. ^ Top Gear Series 7, Episode 2 2005.11.20 – Jeremy Clarkson: "You know we put it around the track this morning, with the Stig driving it, OK, 1:25-point-something." – Actual lap not shown
  8. ^ Top Gear Series 5, Episode 4 2004.11.14 – Richard Hammond: "Where does it compare to the old one?" Jeremy Clarkson: "It's at 1:36.2 but it was the wettest day we've ever had so you can't do anything about that..."
  9. ^ Top Gear Series 8, Episode 2 2006.05.14 – Richard Hammond: "You know, I think the only time that the Zonda F is gonna get knocked off the board is when Bugatti finally let us put a Veyron round our track."
  10. ^ Top Gear Series 9, Episode 2 2007.02.04 - Jeremy Clarkson: "The problem is that Bugatti is happy to have one here, happy for you to do that, but they won't lend The Stig one."
  11. ^ Top Gear Series 8, Episode 2 2006.05.14 – Jeremy Clarkson: "After the accident, Stig said he reckons this car would be 4 seconds faster than it was if it had a big wing on the back."
  12. ^ Svensson, Gunnar. "Koenigsegg får Top Gear-vinge", Bilsport, 2006-06-05. Retrieved on March 12, 2007.
  13. ^ Top Gear Series 5, Episode 8 2004.12.19 - Renault R24 Formula One car. Jeremy Clarkson: The thing is though, this is only for cars with ashtrays and noses that you can get over the... uh, speed bumps, it's only for road cars.
  14. ^ Top Gear Series 5, Episode 9 2004.12.26 - Ariel Atom review. Jeremy Clarkson: You can use it on the road because... the test that we have for our Power Board, 'cause only road cars can go on this, is whether they can get over a speed bump."
  15. ^ Top Gear Series 6, Episode 6 2005.07.03 - Aston Martin DBR9. Jeremy Clarkson: "You can't buy this car so it has no place on our board." James May: "But he's right though, those are the rules."
  16. ^ Top Gear Series 10, Episode 5 2007.11.11 - Caparo T1 review. Jeremy Clarkson: "You know the rules James, if a car can't get over a sleeping policeman it can't go on that board. Look at that nose. Never mind a sleeping policeman, you'll rip that off if you run over Gandhi"
  17. ^ Top Gear Series 10, Episode 9 2007.12.09 - Ascari A10 review. Jeremy Clarkson: "Now because this has a hydraulic lifting nose, which we can see here, it is able to get over speed bumps and that means it is a road car and that means it can go on our board."
  18. ^ Top Gear Series 3, Episode 3 2003.11.09 – James May: "The pilot did go a bit wide in some of the corners, didn't he?" Jeremy Clarkson: "He did say, with a Harrier, it would be possible to actually follow the confines of the track and it would still be faster than the car. But we said no no no, go for it."
  19. ^ Vijay Pattni (30 October, 2007). "Ultima GTR smashes Top Gear lap record". Autotrader. Retrieved 2008-11-23. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Dunlop - Injection, Episode 11
  21. ^ Ultima Sports Ltd
  22. ^ Top Gear Series 8, Episode 1 2006.05.07 - As mentioned by Jeremy Clarkson while introducing the new car.
  23. ^ Top Gear Series 2, Episode 8 2003.07.06 - Original time of 1:48 was prior to recording fractional seconds. Jeremy Clarkson to Jodie Kidd: "We don't have points on this, but actually you were point three of a second faster than Jay Kay."
  24. ^ Top Gear Series 5, Episode 9 2004.12.26 - Jeremy ACTUALLY wrote 1:46.1, but placed her in the right place. (look for it at the 25 minute mark.)
  25. ^ Top Gear Series 10, Episode 5 2007.11.11
  26. ^ "Top Gear Celebrity Laps". BBC. Retrieved 2008-11-12.
  27. ^ "BBC Top Gear goes virtual on PS3". BBC News. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  28. ^ "Top Gear on GT5". TopGear.com. 24 October 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-24. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  29. ^ "Top Gear track permission". 06 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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