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Young car fans shoot veteran
motors at the display by the
Franschoek Motor Museum
at the Top Gear Festival
at Moses Mabhida Stadium
in Durban. (Photo: Ian Carbutt)
|
OSCAR Pistorius, necklacing and an encouragement to drive fast on
public roads were just three of the carefully choreographed gaffes that the
Top Gear team slipped
into the live show, hosted in Durban at the weekend.
The fans who packed out the north side of the Moses Mabhida stadium
in four sell-out shows did not even flinch. This is now standard fare from the
live version of world’s most watched factual show, produced by Rowland French
and hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. To Top Gear fans, the hosts
are just known as Jezza, who is like a naughty uncle; the Hamster, the favourite
cousin; and Captain Slow, the boring science teacher who also has chemicals that
can explode.
Whatever references these three made to the real world of death and
mayhem went as far over the heads of the 12-year-old fans (many of them going on
40) as did captain Scully Levine leading the Gabriel Pitts Special planes in an
acrobatics display.
This year’s live show, which will repeat in several countries,
treated the punters to several firsts, including Jezza spinning doughnuts on a
replica of the televised show’s stage, sidecar polo, limbo motorbike jumping and
radio jock-turned-publicist Sasha Martinengo being dropped in car bungee.
Inside the stadium, international stunt drivers wowed the crowd
with precision handbrake parking and laughed as the presenters raced the Stig in
three-wheelers guaranteed to roll over. On the street circuit outside the
stadium Geniel de Villiers showed his Red Bull Toyota Dakar rally car, with
Martinengo and rally driver, Gugu Zulu hosting the show.
Aucor did brisk business auctioning top sports cars on Saturday,
ranging from a Prospecton-built Backdraft roadster to several Aston Martins.
At the Shell stand, petrolheads of all ages formed a long queue for
a chance to qualify to race around the F1 Kyalami track in an F1 simulator.
Those who did not cut the time could try their hand at changing an
F1 wheel in a few seconds. Few could manage to do it in less than 14.
Two men who did not mind queueing all day for a signature from Kimi-Matias Räikkönen on Sunday were the "in-law team" Edwin John and his father-in-law Benny Nolte. "He is not normally this pushy, but today we don't mind," smiled a fragile-looking Benny, who was pushed all over the vast stadium in a wheel chair as they took in the show.
"This year the ushers were a lot better organised than last year," said Edwin.
"I sat from here to there when that Red Bull car did the spins in front of us, and I tell you, it was so loud it made my ears pop open. It was fantastic, really fantastic," said Bennie, who retired after many years working for Shell.
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| Kimi-Matias Räikkönen, with the "in-law" team, Bennie Notle and Edwin John. (Photo: Tammy John) |
A tweet by Jeremy Raman, retweeted by Martinengo, best sums up the
day: “Just got back from @TopGearFestSA WOW ... @F1sasha @JeremyClarkson
@MrJamesMay @RichardHammond you guys made my father’s day...
AWESOME!”
