(credit: BBC)
A few weeks ago, the BBC's new season of Top Gear debuted, complete with a brand new cast (and an online addition, Extra Gear). We weren't too impressed with the premier, suggesting that it was time for the broadcaster to think outside its (gear)box. But three episodes in, we're happy to relay that the rebuilt transmission appears to be bedding in, and things are looking up. And even better, Chris Harris and Neil Carey will be working together again to produce more of the long-form car videos beloved by car nerds on the Internet.
Back to the main event. After the stilted and at times boring season opener, Top Gear appears to be finding its feet (tires?). We got to see Sabine Schmitz make Chris Evans lose his breakfast—strawberries, in case you were curious—by lapping Laguna Seca in an Audi R8. Harris also made his first appearance on the big show, driving a Ferrari 250 Tour de France back to back with its new descendent, the F12 TdF. Rory Reid gave us a great piece on the Ford Focus RS, a car that apparently anyone can drift like the Stig. (We'll be putting that to the test next month when Ford lets us drive the Focus RS, and the company is even bringing one of the former Stigs along to offer some tuition.)
We also got to see the piece that caused a media scandal in the UK earlier this year. Months before Top Gear's new season started, the show was making negative headlines after Ken Block (the hoonatic with a billion YouTube views) showed off his drifting skills in London. Burning rubber and doing donuts within sight of the Cenotaph (a war memorial) did not go down well with UK "Red Tops" that were already on the hunt for bad news about Top Gear.
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