December 19th, 2004

[JoeBlo1]

Maybe the Top Gear crew made all outside shots of the car before or after the race, so Clarkson could race without having to wait for the crew to get a certain distance ahead of him to make the shot. The inside shots, of course, were made as the race was developing. It would be really difficult to have to catch up to Clarkson as he is racing along in a Ferrari.

Some of it, unfortunately, could just well be made up to look good on Top Gear. That's the only problem I have with the show; some segments are too well executed to seem real.

[Inflex]

Originally Posted by JoeBlo1

That's the only problem I have with the show; some segments are too well executed to seem real.

Most of the time scripted drama is a lot better than real life drama. Maybe that's why I can't stand reality TV... it's boring.

[Daniel]

Originally Posted by Inflex

Most of the time scripted drama is a lot better than real life drama. Maybe that's why I can't stand reality TV... it's boring.

Agreed

[chaos386]

I liked the episode. Especially since I've been to the town on the other side of the mountain from Verbier.
We usually take the same route Richard and James took: we arrive by plane to Geneva, and take a train to Martigny. Only from there we take a taxi.

[JoeBlo1]

The Amazing Race is exciting.

But Top Gear is supposed to be reality TV and Clarkson says all the segments are authentic.

[olemt]

Originally Posted by JoeBlo1

The Amazing Race is exciting.

But Top Gear is supposed to be reality TV and Clarkson says all the segments are authentic.

Well, I can tell you a bit about the authenticity, as I work with the bobsleigh-driver in the bob vs rallycar-challenge. They recorded the sequence during two days. They had to race 15 times to get all the cool shots they wanted (rallycar under bridge with bobsleigh on top of bridge for example, requires careful timing). They also moved the finish line for the bobsleigh 150 meters to give the rallycar a fair chance. The bobsleigh still won each time.

However, Richard did ride with the bobsleigh every time. He would not miss one chance for a ride. That's very brave, as I only did one run myself, and suffered various forms of pain for more than a week after it.

James however, didn't seem to enjoy himself very much. Everyone can see his fear is authentic! He should be afraid of course. The driver is Henning Solberg. That's the brother of Petter Solberg. Henning is much better on snow and ice than Petter has ever been. He's in his privately owned Mitsubishi Evo in the Top Gear sequence, but he will drive 2005 WRC in a Ford Focus.

[Buba]

As everybody could see on the map, the 2 tracks cross once... In the film you saw that like 5 times...
However, I belive, that the race to verbier was that close...

Buba

[andyhui01]

I think TG has a mixture of Scripted stuff and reality stuff... no matter what... it is still funny... thats what I like about it.
in FG... everything is scripted and it is never funny... they try to be scarcastic while being funny but it never works

[Overheat]

Originally Posted by olemt

Well, I can tell you a bit about the authenticity, as I work with the bobsleigh-driver in the bob vs rallycar-challenge. They recorded the sequence during two days. They had to race 15 times to get all the cool shots they wanted (rallycar under bridge with bobsleigh on top of bridge for example, requires careful timing). They also moved the finish line for the bobsleigh 150 meters to give the rallycar a fair chance. The bobsleigh still won each time.

However, Richard did ride with the bobsleigh every time. He would not miss one chance for a ride. That's very brave, as I only did one run myself, and suffered various forms of pain for more than a week after it.

James however, didn't seem to enjoy himself very much. Everyone can see his fear is authentic! He should be afraid of course. The driver is Henning Solberg. That's the brother of Petter Solberg. Henning is much better on snow and ice than Petter has ever been. He's in his privately owned Mitsubishi Evo in the Top Gear sequence, but he will drive 2005 WRC in a Ford Focus.

Thanks for the information olemt and welcome to the forums. Always nice to hear about what happens behind the scenes on the show

[Daniel]

Originally Posted by olemt

Well, I can tell you a bit about the authenticity, as I work with the bobsleigh-driver in the bob vs rallycar-challenge. They recorded the sequence during two days. They had to race 15 times to get all the cool shots they wanted (rallycar under bridge with bobsleigh on top of bridge for example, requires careful timing). They also moved the finish line for the bobsleigh 150 meters to give the rallycar a fair chance. The bobsleigh still won each time.

However, Richard did ride with the bobsleigh every time. He would not miss one chance for a ride. That's very brave, as I only did one run myself, and suffered various forms of pain for more than a week after it.

James however, didn't seem to enjoy himself very much. Everyone can see his fear is authentic! He should be afraid of course. The driver is Henning Solberg. That's the brother of Petter Solberg. Henning is much better on snow and ice than Petter has ever been. He's in his privately owned Mitsubishi Evo in the Top Gear sequence, but he will drive 2005 WRC in a Ford Focus.

Thanks a lot for the info and welcome!

[Pete]

Does anybody know the music they used at the finish line of the bobsleigh race? Just after Richard says he doesn't want to die in tights. Thanks in advance.

Also here is some information on some of the music used throughout the episode:

Start of bobsleigh Race: Juno Reactor - Mona Lisa Overdrive
Mountain Pass in 612: Armageddon Theme - Trevor Rabin
Drastic Wiper Suppression: Deep Blue Something - Breakfast at Tiffany's

[RiCh]

Check here mate

http://forum.finalgear.com/viewtopic.php?t=2065

[Swervo]

Originally Posted by Buba

As everybody could see on the map, the 2 tracks cross once... In the film you saw that like 5 times...
However, I belive, that the race to verbier was that close...

Buba

They do actually cross twice, once near the top and once near the bottom, and they only show it on the segment twice, I actually just checked to see

They do repeatedly show the crossovers though, and definitely out of sequence, if one of them is just after the first turn on the bobsleigh run

[modisch]

hands down, one of my favorite episodes of Top Gear yet.. if not the best, close to.

But on the race to Verbier... I'm not going to question whether it was real, but it was stacked to make it competitive.

if I recall correctly, the race started with Clarkson zooming off in the 612 and James and Richard waiting for an hour for the bus to the train depot. At about 2:50 in the show, you see them standing at the bus stop with Richard saying "Well that's an hour gone" after walking the mile from the studio. It doesn't take an hour to walk a mile, even dragging skis.. which means if they planned their departure based on the bus schedule, they'd have shaved at least 50 minutes off their trip. If all three set off based on that, Jeremy would have pulled into the lodge well after James and Richard had checked in.

In all honesty, if they didn't set off at the same time, the optimal trip for James and Richard would be shorter in time than Jeremy. Car loses.

Of course, there are tons of other ways the whole thing could be stacked or rigged. The whole race started perfectly timed for Clarkson to get to the first cat across the channel. A different choice of starts could have put clarkson waiting on the docks while optimizing transfers for James and Richard.

Bottom line though, as far as I'm concerned, if you can get to Verbier with 2 hours of the time it takes to fly and take public ground transportation, then by all means... the car wins. I'd much rather do that trip in my own car. Cheaper..and for me, far more pleasant than anything...anything at all..that involves an airport. Sadly, for me... it's about 10 hours drive to.... Vermont. That's a far cry from Verbier. *sigh*

-m

[Overheat]

tbh, I can't see how a thing like that can't be fixed considering all the camera angles that have to be shot etc. Professional camera equipment isn't that easy to get from A to B. But ntl, still a great race and piece of entertainment.

[modisch]

Originally Posted by Overheat

tbh, I can't see how a thing like that can't be fixed considering all the camera angles that have to be shot etc. Professional camera equipment isn't that easy to get from A to B. But ntl, still a great race and piece of entertainment.

i dunno about that. rewatching the 'overtaking'.. if you see at 52:04 or so, when Clarkson says, "I can't believe this", you see the SUV that was following clarkson (the chase car), has pulled ahead of him, the tailgate up, and another camera crew pulling running from it... prior to that, the only cameras appear to be the in car and the guy on foot following james and richard.

[Leppy]

regardless of whether or not its rigged... I WANT JAMES AND RICHARD TO BEAT JC ARSE!!!

[ed_the_mac]

this ep was one of the all time greats!

modisch, very good point - even if the car hadn't won, how much rather would you have been driving the 612 for slightly longer than lugging ski bags round airports and along alpine high streets?

about the F1 drive: is that not the best sounding vehicle EVER to go round the TG track?

[bimmercrazyJS]

http://www.topgear.com/content/featu...38clarkson/01/
you guys should check this out - its an intersting perspective of the races and such from clarkson. still dunno how they do the outside angles of the car but i think it adds a little validity to the races.

[kanderson]

This was an interesting comment: "I made enquiries about getting hold of a Ford Lightning pickup, or a Bentley Arnage; something with a bit of character, something I could get excited about."

I wonder if this was his usual sarcasm or whether he really did make inquiries.