Top Gear Winter Olympics
| Top Gear Winter Olympics | |
|---|---|
| Presented by | Jeremy Clarkson Richard Hammond James May The Stig |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| No. of episodes | 1 |
| Production | |
| Producer | Andy Wilman |
| Running time | 60 minutes |
| Original release | |
| Network | BBC Two |
| Release | 12 February, 2006 |
| Related | |
| Top Gear Top Ground Gear Force | |
Top Gear Winter Olympics is an episode of Top Gear.
Summary
Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May travel to Lillehammer, Norway for a special edition of the show, themed on the Winter Olympics.
The show consists of Winter Olympic sports that have been adapted to be played using motor cars, with the losers of each challenge having to eat golden snow.
The end credits of this show were edited to show Jeremy Clarkson as Bjorn Clarkson, Richard Hammond as Benny Hamond, James May as Agnetha May and The Stig as Anni-Frid Stig. Whilst every other crew member in the credits had their first name replaced by Bjorn. This is a reference to popular Swedish pop band Abba.
Biathlon
Clarkson raced a Volvo XC90 against May in an Audi Q7, cross-country, with 2 shooting rounds mid-course while every missed target gives 5 penalty seconds(the loser had to eat "golden snow"). May used a standard Biathlon .22 rifle, while Clarkson opted for a H&K MP5 Sub machine gun. Despite the increased firepower, Clarkson missed every target and felled a tree. May missed only 2 targets in the final shooting round. However, near the end, he crashed into a tree and had to dig himself out. Despite this, May re-overtook Clarkson at the end and won the race.
Cold Weather Endurance
Hammond was subjected to Arctic temperatures in a Citroën C1, in a bid to see who will crack first: man or machine? After being subjected to a temperature of about minus-40 Celsius, Hammond narrowly beat the car, concluding that 'if you're going to drive to the North Pole, buy a Hammond'. (Ironically disproved in later series by his runner-up placing in the Polar Challenge)
Speed Skating
Clarkson ('Torville' with no ability to walk on ice) raced a Jaguar XK against a human skater (Introduced by May as Eskil Ervik) on the ice course of Vikingskipet Olympic Arena. Clarkson was terrible at this event as his Jag had no grip whatsoever, being lapped twice by Ervik.
Off-Road Slalom
May and Clarkson raced a four-wheel drive Land Rover Discovery and a two-wheel drive Jaguar XK against the clock, on just about five inches of frozen lake. May declared himself the winner as he was the fastest with 2:03.28, but was disputed by Clarkson, who claimed his run to have been more graceful and interesting.
Bobsleigh
In a repeated segment from Series 5 Episode 8, Hammond and a bobsleigh team race against May and a Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution rally car piloted by Norwegian Henning Solberg, along near-identical courses. Hammond won with 59.68 in the end, May's time was 1:02.24
Ice Hockey
Ten Suzuki Swifts played 5-a-side hockey, in teams captained by Hammond and May, and refereed by Clarkson. May's team was called "primetime television" playing in Buffalo Sabres colours, while Hammond's team was called "daytime television" playing in Montreal Canadiens colours.[1] At one point, Hammond's team were winning 2-0, but a biased Clarkson intervened and successfully helped May to 2-2. In the end Hammond crashed into May's car and was sent to penalty box, so May could score 2 more goals. The result was 5-4 to Hammond's team.
Ski Jump
The trio attempt to find out if a rocket-powered Mini could jump further than a skier from a downhill slope. The Mini didn’t manage to beat the skier and ended up crashing into a wall of hay made at the end of the ski jump. The challenge was then concluded by a ski jump on a snowmobile driven by The Stig.
Vehicles
Reception
Top Gear Winter Olympics was viewed by 5 million people on its first showing, 12 February 2006 [2] and by 530,000 on a 19 February 2006 repeat.[3]
References
- ^ "BBC Top Gear Winter Olympic Production Notes".
The special team colours worn by the Suzukis were based on those of two real-life hockey teams. Sadly, we can't remember which ones.
- ^ TV ratings: February 12.
- ^ Just let everything slide