After much speculation about who will be joining Chris Evans as co-hosts of the revamped Top Gear, the final names have been announced: namely, Sabine Schmitz and Chris Harris.
Schmitz is a seasoned racing driving for BMW and Porsche. She’s earned the nickname the “Queen Of The Ring” in her home-country of Germany, after claiming she’s driven round the track over 30,000 times. This will not be Schmitz’s first foray into TV, though, having presented D Motor, a German motoring show similar to Top Gear. And she even popped up on Top Gear in 2004, when she raced Jeremy Clarkson round the Nurburgring.
Harris is an outspoken motoring journalist who’s not afraid to make enemies in the industry. Does that sound like anyone familiar to you? Cough, cough, Clarkson? In 2011, Ferrari banned Harris from writing about their vehicles, after he labelled the brand as “profoundly irritating.” They’ve since ‘kissed and made up.’ The same can’t be said for Lamborghini, however, who banned Harris from reviewing their motors after he described them as “the perfect cars for people who can’t drive.”
And David Coulthard, retired racing driver-turned-Formula One commentator for the BBC, is also said to be getting in on the act. Coulthard drove for McLaren, Williams and Red Bull, in a career that lasted 14 years (from 1994 – 2008). When he retired from Formula One, Coulthard had 535 points to his name, making him Britain’s highest-scoring driver of all time.
Things have not been going smoothly behind the scenes at Top Gear, though. Higher profile presenters such as Zoe Ball and Suzi Perry ruled themselves out of the running, along with supermodel Jodie Kidd. Then, the show’s executive producer Lisa Clark jumped ship just 5 months into her new role.
Will the new Top Gear crew be able to live up to the legacy left by Clarkson and company? Who knows!
#Peace.Love.Top Gear
