You have to be unhappy The Grand Tour is ending

Should you, like me, cherished Prime Gear, 2015 will eternally dwell in your reminiscence because the day the Prime Gear theme music died.

Fortunately, it didn’t take lengthy for Amazon to offer us all hope that it wasn’t over when the notorious trio of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James Might signed a long-term, big-money take care of the corporate synonymous with questionable merchandise.

That deal led to the launch of Amazon Prime Video in Australia (and certainly, many elements of the free world) and opened the door for Aussie automotive tragics to see extra of their favorite motoring presenters.

Say what you’ll about The Grand Tour, some like it, some hate it. The identical may be mentioned for Prime Gear. I’ll harbour no ill-will in the direction of these of you who don’t get a kick out of three idiots falling over and sometimes driving automobiles.

I, nevertheless, will eternally contemplate September 13, 2024 as my equal of American Pie. 

After all, I don’t have a Chevy and I gained’t be visiting any levees, however I will likely be taking a protracted, lengthy second when the credit roll on the final ever Clarkson, Hammond and Might motoring particular.

You see, I wouldn’t be right here, working at CarExpert, creating automotive video content material if it wasn’t for Prime Gear. I’m 33, which signifies that for practically two-thirds of my life I’ve had the privilege and pleasure of watching regardless of the Prime Gear crew expertly crafted and broadcast on tv.

It was 2006 after I first found the holy trinity of automotive journalists (apologies to our resident CarExpert journos). It was a barely older episode the place they raced an Aston Martin DB9 towards the Eurostar from England to Monte Carlo. Man did that day set off a series response.

I used to be obsessed. And as I bought older and extra into movie making, I began paying extra consideration to the manufacturing of the present. The best way it was shot, the modifying strategies, the colouring, the sound.

Sure on the floor it was a few middle-aged man sliding round a disused air base in an unique sports activities automotive, however scratch slightly deeper and it was a crew of masters perfecting their craft.

Prime Gear, and later The Grand Tour, pioneered loads of unimaginable car-based filming strategies – even influencing how some movies are shot lately. 

Absorb-car cameras. While the concept of a digital camera mounted inside a automotive could have been round for many years, they often required common stops to alter the movie inventory, or reset lighting or exchange the battery.

The BBC manufacturing crew, led by Andy Wilman discovered new methods to mount tiny cameras on the windscreens of automobiles, even creating mounts, suction cup rigs and long run energy/recording techniques to permit the lads to drive all day with out having to consistently fear about whether or not the digital camera was going to seize every thing.

They pioneered car-to-car filming, initially strapping a bloke and a digital camera into the again of a Vary Rover and later working with exterior firms to develop smaller exterior mounting techniques that can be utilized for prolonged durations of time, slightly than counting on the “conventional Hollywood” strategy of a Russian Arm.

Then there was the modifying. The flexibility that Wilman, Clarkson and the post-production crew needed to take a whole lot of hours of footage and switch it right into a humorous, charismatic and delightful piece of shifting artwork set a brand new customary inside the trade – one which has arguably by no means been bettered.

I, together with dozens of different individuals working within the automotive journalism trade, owe our existence to those guys. The strategies they developed and the kinds they pioneered are utilized by us each day.

The best way we mount cameras in automobiles, the positioning and lighting – all learnt from Prime Gear. The best way we movie automobiles driving previous digital camera, doing stunts and even street journeys are all influenced by them.

While right here at CarExpert we have now moved away from the heavy storytelling fashion of video content material in an effort to assist individuals purchase new automobiles, when given the chance, we are going to sneak one thing right into a video – particularly one thing that isn’t a daily automotive evaluate.

We’ve all recognized at the present time was coming for some time now. When the trio all began doing their very own intensive initiatives it was obvious they have been trying to put their automotive travels to mattress. I can’t blame the blokes, 22 years is a very long time in any job function, not to mention the form of workload that will include doing this job.

These adventures the place they spend per week or two within the wilderness to deliver us 90 minutes of enjoyable, entertaining tv can be past intense. However they at all times current an exquisite, polished product, even when you don’t essentially benefit from the content material.

As I slowly settle for that I simply watched their final outing, I’ll keep in mind the nice instances.

The Hammerhead Eagle i-Thrust (higher recognized a Geoff), the TG V12 prepare, racing a Bugatti Veyron towards a gradual aircraft, racing a Veyron towards a really quick aircraft, Hammond’s horrific rocket automotive accident, Michael Schumacher being “unveiled” as The Stig, the wonderful Senna mini documentary, Hammond crashing one million greenback electrical automotive.

There’s additionally the unique Botswana Particular, the India and Vietnam and North Pole specials, constructing John and driving him throughout Mongolia and Jeremy Clarkson breaking down in tears within the Grand Tour tent once they introduced they gained’t be internet hosting an audience-facing TV present any extra.

Attending to see them carry out Prime Gear Reside and the one-off Prime Gear Competition in Sydney nonetheless lives contemporary in my thoughts.

The issues these exhibits did over the previous 2 many years, the spinoffs they spawned, the popularity they’ve is what some other TV present might solely dream of. However on the finish of the day, they have been at all times only a “pokey little motoring present on BBC 2”. And that pokey little motoring present modified my world.

In order I sit in quiet contemplation, reliving the closing credit, the bridge of American Pie is taking part in in my head; “and the three males I admired probably the most, the daddy son and the holy ghost, they caught the final prepare for the coast, the day the music died”. 

After all, our trio had much more profitable careers than Buddy Holly and his pals, plus Jezza, Hamster and Mr Slowly probably drove, however to not a coast (contemplating Zimbabwe is a land-locked nation). However take a second, fireplace up your music participant of alternative and crank out “Jessica” by The Allman Brothers, for outdated instances sake.

Like Prime Gear earlier than it, while The Grand Tour as a reputation would possibly dwell on, it’ll by no means be the identical with out our three anti-heroes. I think about Mr Wilman will likely be handing again his parking move too, as will massive swathes of the crew that adopted them from the BBC to Amazon.

This isn’t simply the tip of the street for Clarkson, Hammond and Might, it’s seemingly the tip of the street for the crew that introduced us all that pleasure for all these years.

For me, September 13, 2024 will eternally dwell as one in every of my most unhappy days… on this planet.