Jeremy Clarkson can't drive!
 

So in my talks with Kip Ewing (SVT Engineer, designer), I found out that all external shots of the Ford GT when it was at the TG test track driving were with a Ford factory driver driving, not Jeremy Clarkson... all internal shots were post production to make it look like he was the driver.

Go figure, I wouldn't be surprised if this is the case with most of the cars he drives ;)

I doubt it.. He readily admits he isn't a good driver. IT prolly had something to do with liability.

He sell nice looking vids and shows with perfectly sliding cars so no wonder its not him ho stunt-drive them :wink: .... and he sells those shows pretty well :D

Yep true!

He does admit he's a bad driver. And there are loads of shots and prove that proves that he does most if not everything himself. F430 Review :roll:

soo thats how different american cars are from cars from the rest of the world :P .. interesting :? ..

was your account hijacked by a007apl? I have no idea what you just said.

bahh .. i think a007apl has just as much sleep as me .. :? ...

anyways .. im not surprised by this news atall .... he cant drive sideways with his spine .. now can he :wink: ? ...

Of course he can drive. :roll: See the older TG shows where he is clearly shown driving. The newer shows have a lot more swoopy camera angles that makes it difficult to see who is driving.

Maybe for some of the smoky stunts they employ a testdriver to get the best results.

I would say that he drives better than 99% of the average drivers you encounter on the road.

Exactly what I was on about, someone remember the 360CS vs Gt3 clip or F430 Coupe vs F430 Spider, clearly visible that JC is driving :roll:

I dont think he is that good of a driver - I would hazard a guess most weekend and track day club drivers would lap JC in a couple of minutes.

I hate to say it guys, but I think he is all wind and no sail ;)

But no one can drive in front of burning gasoline with huge plums of fire and smoke better than JC!! The way he kept the car right in line with the cheesy effects for the camera man, that’s what racing is all about! :roll:

Re: Jeremy Clarkson can't drive!
 

Well, it's not just because he's a bad driver. They reshoot a lot of stuff postproduction because they want kind of shots that they couldn't shoot with JC. Like all the epic races. They were real races, but they couldn't possibly shoot that much footage on one day with JC driving and the camera crew following. So what they do is have a driver, apparently the Stig, retrace the route and shoot what they want to have later. It'd sound bad to lots of Top Gear fans, but given the production value of Top Gear, they can't possibly pull off what they have without postproduction reshoots.

I think they need to have Clarkson, Hammond, and May all 3 do a hot lap in the reasonable priced car. That would be tits!! Let’s see which of them is the best driver.

Let's face it JC is a bad driver but that's not his selling point, his personality and his humour towards the car industry is what makes him so appealing from a presenters point of.

Top Gear is Top Gear because of him whereas tiff doesn't even host fifth gear anymore its done by that stupid tim lovehate i mean lovejoy fella.

From what I've seen.. no. He isn't my grandmom but I wouldn't even say his driving is on the level of most casual open trackers. He makes no pretentions that he is to his credit. That being said watching his technique makes things quite obvious.

I think some people here seem to have a highly inflated opinion of their driving abilities :P

LOL!

At last somebody seen it too! :wink:

He has driven almost all sport and supercars of the last 10-15 years.

Of coyrso he doesn't drives as well a professional driver, but I'm pretty sure he's driving skills are better than 99% of us.

I've said this before and I'll say it again: I rather prefer to see a review made by I who really knows how to use the words to describe the feelings and even does some slides and stuff than seeing a guy just driving a car around a track :P

I can't believe this is turning into another Jeremy vs. Tiff argument... :roll: :D

Tiff Jermey and Hamster?

Or would May replace Tiff?

So have most of the hacks at Road and Track/ Car and Driver/ and a million other mainstream car mags. The number of cars youve driven says nothing. Its the amount of on track training you've had, the amount of natural talent you have, etc. Yet again he isn't my grandmom by any means, but like most writers and tv personalities that were only those his skill is lacking. He admits it though yet again. If he were good youd have seen him in amateur racing. Theres a reason you didnt.

No arguement here.. Yet again not our grand mom. He however isn't what Id call a good driver.. Then again I may have high standards given the circles I run in. (And no Im not a good driver either. But when I use to track the camaro I ran with more then one professional winning driver. Come to think about it I don't think Ive ever done a ride along on the track with someone who didn't have a national championship in some class or other, so your mileage may vary.)

Yes I was speculating on whom the 3 musketeers are.

Actually, that is the point... he's not so proficient at it, which is why they filmed somebody else doing those slides... granted, in some videos, its quite clear that JC is powersliding etc.... but perhaps its less then they let on?

Why should I demote myself to please you? I never claimed to be a world class race series winner - but I can hold my own around the track corners thank you :)

I never said I was better than JC, I just said he sucked - he is not a "great and world class series winning" driver by any stretch of the imagination.. at least not from videos of him that I've seen. Lots of showmanship, and broadsliding - but nothing denoting turning quick lap times. ;)

But if you want to make a point of it, I am willing to bet I am a better driver than he is, and would go so far as to say in a head to head I would turn in faster lap times that he would.. perhaps you might email him and get him to set up a little tit-for-tat ;)

Almost every show he does the driving he ends up spinning and laughing uncontrollably at some point - usually as soon as the speed gets nothed up a few pegs :)

where have I mentioned i pwn at driving ever? I enjoy spirted drives, and track time.

I bring some new information regarding Top gear, and somehow this turns "But you guys can't drive" WTF man, wtf.

regarding ol Jezz'as speed around a fake track, lets see... 1:50 self admited TG track time in the Sizuki, which is 3 seconds off pace of other total amature drivers, and 5 seconds off of the Stig's time.... and 45 seconds off Sabine's time in the Jag diesle...

no, I simply tell a story directly from one of the mouths' that feed. you've taken your own spin here. :|

Brembo... i think you are getting yourself confused...

RC's first response
Does this equate to RC saying "Im way better then JC" at this point? No.

Here is your statement, assuming RC, Gray, and myself all make claims to be better then mr. Clarkson... out of nowhere, I have no idea where you're coming from man... but after such statements, then how do you suspect RC would react? I dono. I may be a better driver then JC... but How would I have a comparison? I dont, so I cant... I simply know he's nowhere near as good as the pro driver supplied by FoMoCo.

I'm sorry to say, but you are creating words that didn't exist, and naturally assuming things that haven't been said... I'd almost think you were visiting us from Amsterdamn ;)

damn.. got me scared there for a sec.. I was sure its gonna be something about his back.. :lol:

I don't claim to be great - never have - I am just willing to bet in a head to head I would beat JC.

Until you and he arrange it we will never know will we.. so if you feel like proving me wrong, arrange the event.

Until then I maintain I will lap quicker than he will :)

Now we all know you in your superiority will be lapping both JC and myself at least 12 times.

I would loooove to see most JW members against JC on a race, it should be hilarious!! :D

Ok, he surely isn't a Schumacher, but he isn't suposed to be... he's no racing driver. But, hey, I bet he drives better than me!!! :D

Your challenge mate - you pay the shipping and airfare both ways and you are on.

Things just dont change do they? oh well.....


Ill go play in my sandbox.

I still maintain JC is a good driver. From what I have seen him do on the shows, I think he is a lot better than me. :)

Comparing him to a racing driver is doing disservice to the latter. But I still maintain he is going to better than most people you see driving on the road today :)

Here's how I see it froma skill standpoint:
Average road driver < Journos/enthusiasts < Track day fiends <<< Club Race drivers <<<<<< Professional race drivers <<< Champcar/GP2/DTM/BTCC/Nascar, Le Mans et al <<< F1/WRC/Moto GP <<< Kimi, A_lonso, Loeb, Rossi <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Michael Schumacher = God

He is a good driver. But he does not have what it takes to go around the track fast, that is concentration and confidence, or sheer talent (which is a must, all F1 drivers were superstars from the first time they sat in a kart or whatever).


Race car drivers is a whole different breed. Hence they are called race car drivers.

JC is a good driver. Like my dad is a very good driver, but he cant go fast around the track, cause his brain just seems wired differently.

^ I agree totally :)

Ladies and gentlemen.

Please refer to the new Clarkson DVD "The good, the bad, andtheugly."

Atthe end, it not only show's JC drifting a Ford GT, it then shows him drifiting a GTX1. If ford are precious about a car, it's this one. Unless he stole it.

Mind you, he did big up the following Ford products.

GTX1
GT
Roush Mustang (Slated GT500)
Range Rover Supercharged
Jaguar XK

It's great DVD, the septics should give ita watch, you might find it funny, but more likely, highly offensive as an Ariel Atom kicks the ass of a SRT10.

Lots oflove,

D

uhh, well Im sure SOME of the shots were of stunt drivers........and I know he isnt the worlds best driver.

But all of you people bashing JC would do well to watch his nurburgring attempt with the Jaguar oil burner!!! I mean what he did is pretty impressive considering he'd never been to the 'Ring before, even considering Sabine was coaching him.....and he was in a big sedan........with other traffic. Sure, if you actually watch the vid it wasnt a "true" full lap....but for crying otu loud he still did a good job of driving around that beast of a track........

Bravo, well said.

simply put.......you cant pull that sort of time around the Nurburgring in a big Jaguar luxury sedan and be a bad driver. Sure, he's no F-1 driver.......but I would bet good money that 90% of you people bashing him couldnt post that sort of time around the 'Ring given the same car and the same amount of time having never driven the track before...............

hehe - this is entertaining ;)

Seems JC has a fan club :P ;)

Whatever JC's driving talents, even if he only passed his test yesterday, he still had the best job in the world.. And, haircut, wrinkly skin, and fashion sense aside, I'd trade places with him for a day whenever he fancies.

A chimp is better then most people you see driving on the road today.

there is a reason why many of the cuts feel very post-production mind you ;)

and yes, monkeys are better then most of the driving population LOL

From what I see of Top Gear, Clarkson does most, if not all of the driving. How else is he going to review the cars? Sure, some post-production shots will require pro drivers to do the work, but that is attendant to the reviews.

to be honest if i drove like him and got paid the money he does..........i coudlnt give a shit :D

Pretty much sums it up ;) -- because unlike a race driver he doesn't need to improve his driving 1 iota to keep raking in the money :P

Yeah, his job description just requires him to know what he's doing, not be quick at it.

lol i guess so.i dont think he is a BAD driver,i think he knows the whole concept of driving,whether it be on a country/public road or a race track,just as you saw on the episode were he was a laguna seca........he had t concentrate a bit more to drive on a track,but he was by no means crap or a bad driver :D

Re: Jeremy Clarkson can't drive!
 

Can you drive a gt40 ?? or a Ferrari ? or i dont know lets say anything worth over 150.000 dollars ?? man I have never seen or have read so much shit in my life.... so your gonna say next that with all the power slides he does of him driving with him in the driver seat is all CGI ??? and that George Lucas is filming the show ???

man you have not reliable source just brain fart theories and some china mans whisper.!!!

Pok

Re: Jeremy Clarkson can't drive!
 

Yes (Ford GT... have only sat in a RHD GT40, the new one isn't called "GT40." I have driven 2 Ford GT's.

and yes after the snow melts, and the salt is washed away.
maybe 1.2 million dollares already?
I said He wasn't driving the Ford GT in the external shots. Jeremy self admittedly isn't the best driver, and isn't a stunt driver by any means.

Considering Both Kip, and Jamal were at the Bedford track when it happend, and those guys both have more credibility in thier pinkies then Jeremy's entire persona does. I don't see Jeremy designing, and engineering cars... super cars from the ground up... do you?

http://jalopnik.com/5830946/jeremy-c...his-own-stunts

I told you so ;)