- Top Gear Test Track
Motorsport venue
Name = Top Gear Test Track
Location =Surrey ,England
Time =GMT
Coordinates = coord|51.116428|N|0.541463|W|display=inline,title
Image_caption = Test Track Map
Layout1 = Road Circuit
Events = N/A
Length_km = 2.82
Length_mi = 1.75
Turns = 9
Record_time = 0:59.0
Record_driver =The Stig
Record_team =Renault R24
Record_class = F1
Record_year =2004
Layout2 = Drag Strip
Length_km2 = 1.87
Length_mi2 = 1.16
Turns2 = 0 The "Top Gear" test track is the test track used by the British automotive television programme "Top Gear". Located in Dunsfold Park, it was designed by Lotus engineers and is used to both test cars seen on the programme and in two segments of the show (Power Laps and Star in a Reasonably Priced Car). The course is just under convert|2|mi|km in length and is a rough figure of 8 layout.A digital version of the track has been released for the videogame "
rFactor " and is set to appear in the upcoming videogame "Gran Turismo 5 ".Layout
The track is a rough "figure of 8" layout, and is located in Dunsfold Park in
Surrey ,England . It was aWorld War II airbase andBritish Aerospace manufacturing and test facility. The track has a "road" course, and a drag strip, although the latter is never used for timing purposes. Designed by Lotus,Top Gear Series 1, Episode 1 2002.10.20] cite web |last=Vijay |first=Pattni |title=Ultima GTR smashes Top Gear lap record |work=www.autotrader.co.uk |publisher=Trader Media Group |date=2007-10-30 |url=http://www.autotrader.co.uk/EDITORIAL/CARS/news/37372.html |accessdate=2008-01-10] the layout of the track is designed to put the car through various conditions, ranging from provokingundersteer to testing brake balance and tyres. It is about convert|1.75|mi|km in length, and the track is considered to be an equaliser for cars, since both 0-60 mph (0-100 km/h) times and top speed are totally meaningless to the programme according toRichard Hammond .The course starts on the Perimeter Road outside the Top Gear studio. The first bend is a fast left-hander into a short service road with a double apex, named "Crooner Curves", followed quickly by "Chicago", a long right-hand around a tyre wall onto the main runway, at the end of which is the "Hammerhead", a right-hander back on the Perimeter Road which is followed through a left hand curve until "Wilson Bend" turns the course right, back onto the service road and the section called the "Follow Through", which, after the left hand "Bentley Bend", returns to the main runway. The course now comes to "Bacharach Bend", which, after the first series, has been referred to as the "Second to Last Corner" and is often regarded as one of the most challenging on the course. The final turn before the start/finish line, is "Gambon", the only bend named after the track was put to use. In episode 8 of Series 1, actor
Michael Gambon almost rolled theSuzuki Liana used in the show's Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car segment, and did so in such a spectacular fashion (briefly going airborne) that the corner was henceforth named in his honour by hostJeremy Clarkson . Before this, the corner was known as "Carpenter's Corner". [cite web |url=http://www.topgear.com/content/features/stories/2007/10/stories/09/1.html |title=Driving the Top Gear test track feature - Features - Top Gear ]Usage
The track has been used for the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car, but also makes appearances in the Power Laps section. The track is also used for testing cars in the programme, and drag races have been held on the runway section of the track. Several
Formula One drivers have driven the "Reasonably-Priced Car" on the show.Power Laps
Power Laps is a segment of the programme in which
The Stig completes a lap around the track to compare the performance of various cars. The car tested has usually been reviewed by one of the presenters in the current episode, but sometimes is a carry-over from a previous one.The qualification for the board is that the vehicle being tested must be a road-legal production car, and must have sufficient ride-height to clear a standard speed-hump,cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/topgear/show/powerlaps.shtml |title=Top Gear Power Laps |accessdate=2006-11-13 In order to qualify for the power laps board, a car must be road legal, and be a car. For this reason the F1 car (0.59.0), Aston Martin DBR9 (1.08.6) and Sea Harrier (0.31.2) do not appear."] although occasionally vehicles that cannot appear in the list are still timed. Whenever a non-qualifying vehicle is raced, the time is compared to the official Power Laps and then removed from the board. An example is the
Renault R24 Formula One car which holds the car lap record, after completing a lap in 59.0.Top Gear Series 5, Episode 8 2004.12.19]All the laps were timed with the car's manufacturer-provided adjustable settings configured for maximum performance. That is to say, all adjustable suspensions were set at their most efficient, all gear shift maps were at their most aggressive, and driving aids such as traction control were deactivated. These lap times do not offer entirely reliable comparisons between the cars, commonly because of wet or otherwise poor weather conditions (see "time deductions" below).
The Power Board
Chevrolet Lacetti
Starting with the eighth series, the Liana was replaced by a Chevrolet Lacetti, and a new blank scoreboard. The format was changed so that each star would have five practice laps, and then a final timed lap, with no allowance being given for mishaps.
As a starter for the new car and format, an open day was held for any celebrity who wanted to take part. Seven stars recorded times that day:
On 28 January 2007,
In the 11 November 2007 episode,
Clarkson has referred to the part of the board with times of 1:51 and over as the "Thespian Zone" due to the propensity for classically-trained actors to post slow times.
Series 11 featured a slight change to the format, with two "Stars" per episode instead of the previous one (although there had been a couple of editions in previous series' with more than one guest). Each of the pair are professionally associated with their fellow guest, usually both either act in or present the same TV show.
The one exception to this was the series finale, where
Lacetti leader board
Time deductions
Sometimes an additional term is written next to the time (such as Hot). This indicates that the Stig and the Top Gear team consider that the prevalent weather conditions have affected the time. The time on the board is not adapted: e.g. 1:50 MM (Mildly Moist) is deemed to be equivalent to 1:48 on a normal dry track. The following list describes how many seconds it costs a car or gives a car an advantage
Maps
* [http://www.topgear.com/content/features/stories/2007/10/stories/09/1.html TopGear.com map and guide to the test track]
Appearance in games
On
References and notes
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