'Racing' ala Top Gear

[Kevin]

So we've all seen the long distance 'races' that Top Gear does. You know, JC take a car to far flung euro-town, while the others take public transport. What jolly fun they have.

So I've been thinking of doing something along the same lines. I drive, Mrs KevSpeed Racing takes the train. No flying allowed.

Picking a destination that we actually want to go to, Bordeaux, the Euro train timetable says its 6h45mins from London to Bordeaux. She have to add the 30 mins it takes to get from our local station to St Pancras.

Mappy.com says driving from Calais to Bordeaux is 8h45mins. On top of that I'll need to add the 2 hours to Dover, and whatever time I have to wait to get onto a EuroShuttle train thing.

So, how does Top gear do it? JC always wins. Is my destination too easy to get to by train? Does there need to be more train changes to even out the race?

I'm looking to seriously try this out for real. Anyone fancy accompanying?

[markc]

The Top Gear final destinations are usually more than a short hop from the mainline station.

Casino Square in Monaco (DB9) was awkward from Nice and the Verbier (F612) was miles from whatever TGV station they used. The plane would have thrashed the Bugatti but for not beong able to fly in the dark. You need to pick a town/village outside Bordeaux to make it fair and even slightly possible to win.

I have permission to drive to Italy, probably Florence-ish area, next year while Siobhan flys with our friends. I was planning to go the night before she flys, drive as far as I feel comfortable with then book into a Autoroute F1 for a few hours kip before doing the rest of the journey the next day.

I know I won't beat her so I might plan to take in the old Col (de Turini, de Tende etc) and Passo's in on route... and have much more fun :)

Mark

[Senninha]

I have permission to drive to Italy, probably Florence-ish area, ...... I might plan to take in the old Col (de Turini, de Tende etc) and Passo's in on route... and have much more fun :)

Mark
I would love to take the NSX on this sort of journey .... maybe I could trade the Le Mans trip for this instead ... must go and be nice to the good lady and see what luck I have ...

regards, Paul

[AR]

I could do it if it is before May. I have done a few trips in the Amazon to Paris. I think the most difficlut part would be not to get speed fines!

Cheers,

AR

[Kevin]

Well I'm not going to LeMans this year. Been there a couple of times, and its pretty much the same thing. The drive down is nothing special. It's also got a bit chavvy etc.

So was thinking about the classic instead.

However if we got together for a 'proper' drive over some interesting places I'd be more interested in that.

I thought the added element of having some people take public transport to make it a bit different would be fun too. Though for the cars it means just getting there asap (within reason and legality). The plan was then everyone drove home, and at a more leisurely pace.

[NSXGB]

Mappy.com says driving from Calais to Bordeaux is 8h45mins.


....did that trip earlier this year in a Warrior pickup, took us 7.5 hours (over night)....with three stops for juice...I'm sure you could beat that in the NSX.

[NSX 2000]

So, how does Top gear do it? JC always wins. Is my destination too easy to get to by train? Does there need to be more train changes to even out the race?


In all bar one of these races they start of at the TG studio, JC jumps in car and is off while JM and Hamster (what are Hamsters initials?) have to walk to bus stop then get bus then get train etc etc. So they always leave when it is most convenient for JC not the other two.

So for you to win your race you leave at 5am arrive Euro tunnel at 6:30 get 7am train arrive Calais 8:45 French time arrive at your villa outside of Bordeaux approx 7.5 hours later 4:15pm just in time for a nice 1664.

In the mean time other half walks to end of road to catch bus, but first bus is not till 6am she then gets to station by 6:30 but just misses the 6:31 so has to catch the 7:01, arrives at St Pancras 8am Trains direct to Bordeaux go at 6am midday and 3pm, So she has to wait until midday to get on her train arrives Bordeaux 6hours 45mins later ie 7:45pm with you waiting asking her where the hell she's been.

That's how you win! You make sure the timings are stacked in your favour and you start and finish not near any major railway stations or airports.

But hey it sounds like a good idea to me.

[jaytip]

What always got me thinking with those races is this;what is the point(other than for the viewer)of the supercars he uses.Either he does the route twice(one time sans film crew)or he might as well do it in a normal car and not make out that he did it because of the supercar.How on earth would the film crew keep up with him if he really let loose in a Bugatti Veyron:no:
I think it's purely for viewing entertainment and not a race as such,at all.

[NSX 2000]

What always got me thinking with those races is this;what is the point(other than for the viewer)of the supercars he uses.Either he does the route twice(one time sans film crew)or he might as well do it in a normal car and not make out that he did it because of the supercar.How on earth would the film crew keep up with him if he really let loose in a Bugatti Veyron:no:
I think it's purely for viewing entertainment and not a race as such,at all.

Taken from the Top Gear website production notes. http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/show/production_notes/aston.shtml

Welcome to the origin of Top Gear's series of massive cross-Europe races. The premise was simple: if you were thinking of taking a holiday in the south of France, would it be quicker to drive or let the train take the strain? To find out, Jeremy got hold of an Aston DB9 while James and Richard were told to take the French TGV. But first they had to get to it, and they weren't allowed to use anything but public transport. The finish line was Casino Square in Monte Carlo. But getting there proved to be even more exciting than we imagined.

This was the very first of Top Gear's epic races across Europe. As with all of them, the first thing anyone asks is how do we get the pretty shots of the car driving along when we're meant to be under the time pressure of a race. The answer is that, once the race is over, the director and film crew take a couple of days to retrace the route and get more arty shots to fill in the gaps between all the on-the-fly stuff. So now you know.
The day before the race the DB9 was involved in a little 'incident' which ripped off the driver's door mirror. Cue a frantic dash back to Aston's base in Warwickshire for it to be repaired, and then a midnight run back to the Top Gear base, ready for the race start a few hours later.
As part of the meticulous planning for this race, the production team worked out that Richard and James would start with a tedious walk to a bus stop up the road from the Top Gear studio. It was only several months later that we found there's another bus stop that's actually quite a bit nearer. Oops.
This was the first time that James explicitly refused to run on television. The result of which was that he and Richard nearly missed the train from Paris to Nice.
The finish line was set as the café in Monaco's Casino Square, and arrangements were made to film there. One of the production team had gone on ahead, and turned up to find the manager denying all knowledge of any filming permission. Thankfully he changed his mind just minutes before Jeremy arrived, so long as the whole crew agreed to eat there later.

[NSXGB]

What always got me thinking with those races is this;what is the point(other than for the viewer)of the supercars he uses.Either he does the route twice(one time sans film crew)or he might as well do it in a normal car and not make out that he did it because of the supercar.How on earth would the film crew keep up with him if he really let loose in a Bugatti Veyron:no:
I think it's purely for viewing entertainment and not a race as such,at all.

Was having this conversation earlier today... Some of the 'races' just mean absolutely nothing.....like the recent Veyron Vs. the Eurofighter?????

A Car Vs. Eurostar Vs. Plane does have a certain significance.

[jaytip]

Thanks for that.Now i know for sure.:thumbsup:

[Kevin]

NSX 2000,

Thank you for your research. One could say one has too much time on his hands during work hours.;)

I agree for the race to stack in the favour of the car, life must be made tough for the peasants on the train.

However, we are talking about my wife (and whoever else), being cajoled into actually doing this stunt which they probably won't want to do. This will rule out, a walk to the nearest bus stop and waiting for a bus. They will take a taxi. She will also have planned each leg of the train journey for maximum effiency, and not just turn up hoping to get on the next train.

For this to happen (in my case) what we'll do is work out the train timetables, to figure out the arrival time. Then work back with the car, to calculate the appropiate start time. Hopefully this will mean both arriving at the same time, but not quite knowing for sure which one will win.

Should still be some fun, if not in the true spirit of a 'race'.

[AR]

Was having this conversation earlier today... Some of the 'races' just mean absolutely nothing.....like the recent Veyron Vs. the Eurofighter?????

A Car Vs. Eurostar Vs. Plane does have a certain significance.

But it sells and sadly that is how they get their ratings.

[NSX 2000]

NSX 2000,

Thank you for your research. One could say one has too much time on his hands during work hours.;)



I wouldn't say I have to much time on my hands as I'm still at work now, but evrey now then a good topic will be posted that I'll be very intrested in and I may well reply, this is such a topic that I have also looked into and also I will admit to being a big fan of Top Gear (I was nearley in tears on Sunday when they looked at old BL cars) so I new where to look to find the production notes.

Paul.

[dan the man]

good thread this !!!

[TheSebringOne]

TG is the most watched car programme globally and is pure entertainment, its not just about the cars, but 3 blokes doing what blokes love to do, drive, talk and digest anything automotive!! Everytime I've watched these challenges and question why does JC always win and thought it must be fixed !! So it seems from above that my thoughts was right all along, but the last one from one end of London the other, truly back fired! Think Hamster pedalled his heart out to just beat JC! Great entertainment for all the family, ladies and us boys! :thumbsup::yes:

[TheQuietOne]

I'm looking to seriously try this out for real. Anyone fancy accompanying?

Donna has suggested that all the women drive instead and we get the trains, my first attempt at a convincer on this has gone slightly wrong...watch this space :D.

[markc]

Here's one...

We're in the throws of buying a place in France. It's in North East Burgundy about 35mins west of Dijon. Can I beat Siobhan on the train.... by dropping her at the local station at 9am?

Siobhan's train journey...
Sunningdale to St Pancras, leaves 9.13am arrives 10.55am (£8.30)
St Pancras to Dijon, leaves 11.32pm arrives 17.10pm (£225)
Dijon to Montbard, leaves 17.26pm arrives 18.06pm (£4)
Total time 8hrs 6min (accounting for CET)
Total cost £237.30

Me in the car...
Leave Sunningdale station 9am arrive Eurotunnel 10.30am
Leave Folkstone 11am arrive Calais 12.35pm (£75)
Mappy says 5hrs 23min to Montbard, arrive Montbard 18.07pm
Total time 8hrs 7 min (accounting for CET)
Total cost (£75 + £110 petrol + £20.70 tolls = £205.70)

Can I make up 1 minute on mappy's schedule??? Could be another Top Gear style dead heat with her sprinting down the platform and me screeching into the "Gare" car park ;)

Actually the house is another 20mins from the station and she'd have to get a taxi if I wasn't diverting to pick her up, probably cancels out either way.

If we started at 10am the connections go in favour of the car and in theory I get to the station with 32mins to spare.

An interesting experiment that's begging to be done :)

Mark

[AR]

Here's one...

Me in the car...
Leave Sunningdale station 9am arrive Eurotunnel 10.30am
Leave Folkstone 11am arrive Calais 12.35pm (£75)
Mappy says 5hrs 23min to Montbard, arrive Montbard 18.07pm
Total time 8hrs 7 min (accounting for CET)
Total cost (£75 + £110 petrol + £20.70 tolls = £205.70)


Mark

How about the mileage depreciation?

[dan the man]

i thought that..and tire ware..lol

[markc]

I only added the cost for a bit of comparative fun, fill the passenger seat for the trip and you cover the tyre wear.

On the annual mileage I do in the NSX the depreciation for this single trip is incidental and if I never sell it (which is the intention) it matters not anyway.

If we both go on the train we add taxi costs at either end then have to hire a car to get around when we get there adding a lot more to the cost.

The car rules :)

Mark