Top Gear Season 9 starts today! (Jan 28)

[BEB]

Good day to be in the UK. Luckily, with the internet, even we yanks can see TG these days. In theory I mean

S09E01 SYNOPSIS (JAN 28, 2007):

Men at work
Why do roadworks take so long? It's a question that's vexed every one of us as we sit stationary, gazing glazen-eyed at a builder armed with a stop-go sign and massive arse cleavage. Surely there must be a better way?

With the aid of just 32 of Warwickshire's finest road workers, a quarryful of tarmac and an incredibly irritating megaphone, the boys try to complete a week's worth of road repairs in just 24 hours. How hard can it be?

Fast food
This week's studio guest Jamie Oliver was on a mission to prove he could set a tasty lap time rather than make a dog's dinner of our Reasonably Priced Car.

After nearly flattening us at Gambon - twice - and demonstrating a couple of the most spectacular fishtail slides we've ever seen on our icy test track, Jamie eventually got to grips with the non-stick circuit (see what we did there?) and even managed to fry the Lacetti's radiator. Smoking stuff.

Jaguar XKR v Aston Martin V8 Vanquish
What better way to celebrate the return of the best show in Britain (hell, the world) than thrash a couple of the finest sports cars in Britain (hell, the world) around our test track? We've never seen Jeremy more torn - will he plump for the gorgeous Vanquish or the Jag's supercharged XKR, with an engine note like "Tom Jones gargling a NASCAR"? Oh, how we've missed those metaphors...

Hammond's shunt
It's the big one. Like a scary film, you know what's coming. You want to shut your eyes, but somehow you can't look away. Whatever you've read about Hammond's jet car accident, you won't be quite prepared for it. It even shut JC up. Don't miss it.

Watch more
So that's what's on the show, but the TG coverage doesn't end at 9pm on Sunday. Oh no. The techies at TopGear.com have been beavering away to create an awesome 3D reconstruction of Hammond's crash, using detailed telemetry from the Vampire's black box.

The animation gives you an amazing insight into the G-forces and impact of the high-speed crash. It goes live as the show ends.

And that's not all. As soon as you've seen the video and watched the reconstruction, we want to know what you think. Richard will be posting a blog on the site at 9pm, and we'll be giving you the chance to respond.

[BEB]

Clip of the Hammster's jet car crash already on Youtube

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwy2NaeVDUk

No TG fans here? Tough crowd

[Pudge]

I absolutely love it, hope my new cable provider carries it!

[Motorwaycop]

Didn't realise you guys got it over there.

It is a great show and wonderfully politically incorrect!

Stopped Hammond and May driving down the motorway in the new Aston Martin last week.
Car flagged up as uninsured!
It was covered by the manufacturers in the end.

Thoroughly nice guys with time to have a chat.

[BEB]

It's popular over hear, not sure *ahem* how everyone gets it. Discovery channel used to carry it, cut up from original format, not sure if they still do.

Can we expect a cameo in the episode with the Aston Martin?

[Motorwaycop]

No they didn't have a film crew with them, think they were using it to get from A - B , nice work if you can get it!
They have just done an episode shot in America, if you see it please try not to be too offended!

[BEB]

They have just done an episode shot in America, if you see it please try not to be too offended!

Heck of an introduction to rednecks they got! Trolling is dealt with harshly in the colonies.

Funny thing is the cars held up. Even after toting a bloated bovine on the roof the Camaro kept going. A weak battery and worn out wiper blades hardly compare to Clarkson scattering engine bits on the roadway as he did with that Maserati during the "Italian Mid Engine Supercars Challenge" a year or two back. And they had 10,000 GBP to spend there...and spent around 500 on these!

To brute force engineering!