The Show - Production Notes - People carrier racing
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Production notes
People carrier racing
Top Gear couldn't help noticing that almost every type of car has its own race series of some sort. Coupes, saloons - Volvo once even went racing with estates. But what about people carriers? They've been around for over 25 years now and no one has bothered to give the old stagers of this sensible breed some kind of last hurrah. So we bought a bunch of old family warhorses, assembled a bunch of touring car drivers and bingo! Historic people carrier racing was born. No one had tried it before. Even stranger, no one has tried it since. Can't think why.
We even went to the trouble of having the historic people carrier racing stickers specially made. After filming there was one left over which would probably be worth some money now if we hadn't stuck it to one of the filing cupboards in the Top Gear office.
Before the race a camera was mounted on the very front of one of the people carriers and its driver - a touring car chap who shall remain nameless - was strictly instructed not to bash into the back of any other cars. He immediately leapt behind the wheel, sped off to assemble on the grid, and smacked straight into the car in front. Bravo.
You'll notice a rather mature lady waving the chequered flag at the end of the race. She wasn't the fastest moving person in the world, and when word came through that the racers were on the last lap it took her so long to get up her little ladder that by the time she waved the flag the people carriers had managed to complete two whole laps more than planned.
© MMIX