Clarkson, Hammond and May - LIVE!

Well after much speculation, many fans around the globe are glad to hear that the 3 musketeers of the motoring world are returning but not to a TV screen but rather a live performance. Following the recent happenings with Jeremy and his former place of employments, many were unsure if the live show that was bookmarked to be held at the Ticketprp Dome in Johannesburg would go ahead, but producers of the event have answered that question now, stating that they will be touring South Africa and they cannot wait to be back. 

It's been 4 years since the team last had an event in Johannesburg and whilst they enjoyed success with it in Durban, they're equally happy to be performing in the North again. The shows creative director, Rowland French had this to say: "We absolutely love the fans in South Africa and we're thrilled to be returning to Johannesburg for the first time in four years, for a limited number of shows that are sale for 2015 only. Jeremy, Richard, James and the entire production team have always had a great time in South Africa and truly believe it has the best fans in the world. We;re looking forward to putting on an incredible show, featuring all the things people know and love the presenters, as well as the spectacular action sequences the production has become famous for."

Fans of the show can expect much of the same from the trio, the action packed 90 minutes show is sure to include smoking tyres, jaw dropping supercars, loads of entertainment and laughs galore. If you are a petrol head and miss seeing these three on your TV screens, you know you have to attend this show so making sure you booking your tickets early for the best seats in the house! Pre-registration closes tonight the 14th of April at midnight. Once pre-registered, you will be legible for pre-sales which open on the 15th of April. If not, ticket sales open to the general public on the 20th of April 2015.

There will be 4 shows in total from the 12th - 14th of June, with 2 shows on the Saturday. Ticket prices range from R395 to R995. For the die hards, there are also two hospitality packages available, 

• the Supporters Village Package for R1999 excl VAT includes tented pre-show hospitality in the Amphitheatre at the The Ticketpro Dome with live cooking stations and a variety of meal options and the complimentary beer, wine and cool drinks (spirits on a cash basis), prime seating for the arena show and parking.

• The VIP Package for R2999 excl VAT includes entry into the VIP Hospitality Suite with prime bleacher seating on the mezzanine, hot and cold snacks on arrival, a VIP buffet meal, a complimentary local bar (including standard brand spirits), a corporate gift and parking. 

To book these extremely limited packages, contact Wendy via email on wendy@befestivals.co.za or call 031 303 9177.

Show dates and times:

• Friday, 12th June - Gates open at 2pm, show times: 9pm to 10.20pm
• Saturday, 13th June - Gates open at 11am, show times: 1.30pm-3pm & 6pm-7.30pm
• Sunday, 14th June - Gates open at 9am, show times: 11.30am-1pm

Visit the website for more info and to pre-register for pre-sales: www.clarksonhammondandmaylive.co.za

Lost Direction

There was wide spread speculation for the past month, news out of the UK seemed grim. With their visit to South African shores confirmed for this year everyone was wondering what would happen to that as well. They're possibly the biggest stars in their segment to come out of England and have a global fan base of millions so if one member of this male outfit was to be taken out, it would surely be an end to a great legacy.

No I'm not talking about Zayn  leaving One Direction, I'm talking about Jeremy Clarkson being fired by the BBC!

Let's face it, he is an ass of the highest order. A pompous idiot with the mentality of a 12 year old that has to have his way or he's on the highway in a very, very expensive car. Regardless of all of this, we still loved him! He and his co-hosts Richard Hammond and James May became global TV icons for motoring.  People watched BBC Top Gear and treated everything they said as gospel because they would know best right? Well that wasn't always the case as it was quite obvious certain things were bias to their preferences.

No one will ever disagree when I say Jezza made Top Gear, as much as Richard and James contributed, the "fat Orangutan" as Richard fondly  called him was the star of the show. It's a pity his idiot traits proved to be his biggest downfall. Information soon surfaced about what the "fracas" was about.  Apparently while filming for this current season everyone was to eat cold food for dinner which didn't bode well for Jeremy so he attacked the producer!  He punched him in the mouth and continued to attack him for 30 seconds until people had to separate them!

What the fuck Jezza? That's worse than a Madonna complex! It was also learned that this same producer had to put up with verbal abuse from Jeremy for the past 5 years but because he knew what a gold mine he was, he never reported it to the BBC,  in fact he didn't even report the "fracas", Jeremy went and owned up to his misdemeanour. He tried to apologise for his behaviour but let's be honest,  not even physically kissing ass could get you out of this mess. Now no one likes a bully and I don't care who you are but you don't behave like that, as they say "sometimes sorry is not enough".

We all have our downfalls and it's a pity that due to Jeremy's, we all have to suffer because of it. His contract will not be renewed and it's most likely that this current season of Top Gear won't be completed so that means we won't see the greatest hypercar race in the world. It's an end of an era for sure and even if the 3 stooges do come up with their own show, given the millions they have already made,  I somehow doubt it will be as good. With regards to Top Gear Live,  we haven't heard anything as yet from the organisers but I'm sure a statement would be released soon.

It's a sad way to end such a great show, it grew from a boring car show with a handful of people in the crowd into a car entertainment spectacular with the show offering season tickets for the live studio audiences! We're going to miss the fun and shenanigans the show brought to us, not forgetting the speed, power and MOAR POWER! It certainly was the greatest show...in the world. And on that bombshell, farewell Jezza.

Top Gear Live SA 2015

As most of you would have heard, Top Gear Live SA announced on Monday that they have cancelled their Durban show. Speculation was rife and rumours flew about regarding what could have caused it? Were we going to get a show this year?  Etc, etc...

It seems though many of you don't listen as Jeremy Clarkson has been telling us this year after year that South Africa, has the best audience.... in the WORLD! Yes it has been confirmed, Top Gear Live 2015 will be coming to South Africa but with a change of venue. The action packed motoring show will be returning to the place it all started, at the Dome in Northgate, Johannesburg from the 12th- 14th of June. Not many know this but back in 2008, the show held at the Dome was the first Top Gear Live show done outside the UK and has been a hit with South African audiences ever since. 

Since its inception, the show has attracted over half a million spectators, ranging from hardcore petrol heads, to families coming to enjoy a days outing and fun. Although the venue might be smaller this year, visitors can look forward to a 90 minute action packed show with exclusive, never before seen sequences as well as some firm fan favourites from their last 10 years of international touring. There will be fire and lots of it! Along with tyre smoke, ridiculous stunts and the usual banter and competition between Jeremy, Richard and James not forgetting some of the finest cars your eyes have ever seen.

As with the change in venue, there will be a change in format as organises promise to thrill guests with. They can also look forward to be treated to fantastic new features, interactive experiences and a huge variety of brands showcasing their wares. There will also be more surprises being announced as we get closer to the event with a surprise international motoring guest whose indentity will be revealed soon, so keep an eye on their Twitter, Facebook and Instagram feeds for more!

Tickets go on sale from March 20th and will be available via the website.

For more information:

Website: www.topgearlive.com

Twitter: @TopGearFestSA

Facebook: Topgearfest

Instagram: topgearfestsa

The best live show... in the world!

Some say this performance is greater than any work Andrew Lloyd Webber has done and the Royal Albert Hall begged them to perform there but they refused because the lead who wore a white suit didn't like the condition of the toilets, all we know its Top Gear LIVE and this time its on the East Coast!

Top Gear, arguably the most watched car show, let alone TV series world wide is coming to Africa again and this time Durban has decided to host the event. I attended the Top Gear festival last year which was held at Kyalami race track in Joburg and was blown away by it. Even though I purchased the "cheap" R300 tickets, I spent the entire day there and it was well worth it since I got to see alot. This years venue is a bit smaller but incorporates a street track. The main show itself which includes the 3 stooges from the TV show, that is Jeremy, Richard and James will take place at Moses Mabhida stadium.

I always wanted to see some sort of motor sport take place in the stadium, whether it was a rally stage or the A1 so this is sort of similar to that. Okay well it isn't a motor sport but it does include fast cars! Judging from the past year shows, for each one they managed to come up with something unique to wow the crowds. I'm sure they already have something insane planned for Durban and since we love our fast cars on the east coast, tickets should be getting sold out fast! So here are the deets to take note of.

Festival Opening Times: 10:00am – 20:00pm

Stadium Show Times:
Saturday 14:30pm – 16:00pm
                20:30pm – 22:00pm
Sunday  14:30pm – 16:00pm
              19:30pm – 21:00pm

Ticket Info

For more info, check the website: http://www.topgearfestival.co.za/

Top Gear Festival 2011



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Im a week late in posting this but as they say "better late than never" right? I flew up to Joburg to see the 3 morons that get paid to do what every boy or grown man dream of doing, no not staring at hot girls the next best thing, man handling supercars around a race track or road. Its hard to believe what they actually do constitutes as a "job" for them, they dream up the most insane idea's for the show such as road trips across various continents with the most outlandish supercars or at times they race other modes of transport like trains, planes and boats. The 3 were down to present to us petrol head South Africans the greatest show they've ever done which is Top Gear Festival 2011. The show was held at the world famous Kyalami race track outside Joburg and they used the entire facility! So you know there was a shit load of walking to do!

Thunder Dome

After walking half the race track in sweltering heat, almost dying of heat stroke we eventually made it to the entrance of the 'Thunder Dome'. An area inside the track which was piratically an outdoor arena but of course Thunder Dome made it sound a lot cooler. It was here where we got to see the BBC's finest export since Mr Bean. The show itself I must say disappointed me a bit with it being too short, obviously I didnt expect them to re-create the ridiculous stuff they did on their TV show there but maybe an extra 20 minutes would have been nice. They spoke about their upcoming series 16 which already aired on British TV's and which we'll only see in 10 years time, they also show cased the cars they used. Jeremy opting for the Merc SLS AMG, Richard the 911 GT3 RS and Captain Slow the Ferrari 458 Italia. Each of them drove into the arena with their respective cars and in true Top Gear fashion promptly did hand brake turns to park them.



Jeremy, Richard & James

Seeing them was abit surreal but funny enough I wasnt star struck, I suppose its the way they make the show as if you were them, one of the guys so when you actually see them its like a long lost friend ... one that you cant just go up and speak to. The show was presented by none other than SA's F1 guru, Sasha Martinengo who at the end was one of the main highlights of the show with him bungee jumping in a car from a tower crane. Brave is not the word to use for him since he completed the act 10 times over the weekend.



Sasha Martinengo in car bungee

We were allowed a back stage tour once the show was complete and it was fun to see how things went down in the back ground and to learn of what they actually go through setting up an event like this and of course getting up, close and personal to the toys was quite nice as well.



Ferrari 458 Italia

The ticket being priced at R365 was a bit steep but I wasnt sure what to expect, it entitled me to an entire day experience at the track, from see the Ferrari owners club race their prized possessions around the track to Sabine Schmitz racing David Coulthard in the RB6! Even all the Shecktors were present to give us a blast from the past in the old F1 cars.

RB6 F1 Car

It truly was worth every cent if you're a petrol head like myself. The pit garages were stocked up with guys either presenting their product to the main importers of Ferrari & Maserati. Even the Franshoek Motor Museum had most of their cars on display, including the likes of the Enzo, F40 & original Bugatti Formula One car which was the first ever to win a race in Monaco.

Ferrari Enzo

The were stalls a plenty for you to buy Top Gear branded merchandise but the quality was terrible as I found out after purchasing a T-Shirt for R250, but I suppose its part of the fun? What wasnt very fun at all was the massive cloud burst that forced many undercover for a good few hours. The rain was relentless as I had to take cover in one of the tents show casing some motor manufacturers. Worked out well for me as I made good friends with the guys from Lexus Midrand who let me sit inside and play around with the Lexus ISF.

SL65 AMG Black Series

After waiting 3 hours for the rain to subside, which it didnt, one just had to brave it and luckily I did as I bumped into a good mate from twitter Dirk Vale. He was there with his mom, the famous Wesbank V8 race driver Clare Vale along with their transporter and goodies, being the Porsche 914 and a car built and designed by Bailey Cars for the LMP2 race at next years Le Mans.

Perana Z One

The bottom end of the pits was where the "Stigs garage" was, here you could find many beauties from the likes of RGM Motorsports M3 conversion to South Africa's very own supercar, the Perana Z! The Perana Z one as its known is the brain child of Jimmy Price of Hi-Tech Automotive in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The design of the car which is rather eye catching was done by the world famous Zagato designs in Milan but the car is manufactured 100% in High Tech's factory in South Africa.



Red Bull Racing Pit Garage

To end off, like I said earlier, the show was worth it if you love you cars and racing. If you just went to see the 3 of them, there is no doubt you left disappointed. If there is another one next year, I wouldnt mind making the trip again.