[sheps]

If the race were genuine why would Clarkson not have used the tunnel rather than a ferry crossing? Answer, because the whole race would have been won before they’d set off. Which means the convoluted "Got to run, he could be here any second' down-to-the-wire bullshit is just that; the races couldn't BE more timed to the second to deliver a 'cliffhanger'. If you purposefully hobble a competitor because you know that person will win, what's the point of the race?

Say what you like about the Chris Goffey/William Woollard era of TG, but it was factual, in-depth and geeky to the point it was a motoring show that appealed to those interested in cars, not an entertainment show with a veil of motoring that appealed to people who don't even like cars (like my brother, for example - despite the fact he drives a RS megane)

The BBC don't feel compelled to do this with anything else, so why should a motoring show get this treatment? They don't f*ck around with football or any other sport, they don't intersperse the news with morons dressed up as idiots, acting like 5 year olds.

Format re-boot urgently required; ditch the star in a car segment (but invite guests who are proper petrolheads, not just C-listers with a book or TV show to promote) loose the stupid 'look at the car we've made' segments and offer some proper engineering insight, look at production facilities/techniques, invite manufacturers in, etc. And, on the opening episode of the reboot, murder Richard Hammond, live on air. Preferably something slow and intensely painful.