Photo: screenshot from Google Maps
At the end of October 2016, autoevolution reported that the company specialized in Top Gear track days went bust. Two months after that unfavorable story made the headlines, now it has come to our attention that the test track per se will close down.
BBC Top Gear, or what remains of it after Chris Evans decided to step down, has been using the Dunsfold Aerodrome since the car show was resurrected in 2002 by Jeremy Clarkson with the help of executive producer Andy Wilman. Almost 15 years down the line, a housing development will see the imminent destruction of the test track, hangars, and Dunsfold Business Park.
In other words, “more than 100 businesses employing more than 800 people” will be affected by the Waverley Borough Council’s decision to build 1,800 homes at Dunsfold Aerodrome. According to Jim McAllister, the chief executive of the complex, "the development of Dunsfold Aerodrome will provide homes for young families currently priced out of the area, direct development away from green fields, create new jobs and deliver a range of new community facilities and infrastructure improvements." Such a pity.
The BBC notes that opponents to the development were against the council’s decision, explaining that new homes were not needed in this part of Waverley. Be that as it may, the financial interests of the two parties pale in comparison to what matters most to us gearheads. More specifically, what’s going to happen to BBC Top Gear’s Star In a Reasonably Priced Car segment?
Introduced in 2002, then overhauled in 2015 as Stars In a Rallycross Car, the segment is fundamental to the show’s appeal, especially now that celebrities invited on The Grand Tour have a habit of dying just ahead of the interview. The British Broadcasting Corporation has yet to comment on the subject, but this silence spells trouble for the Top Gear test track. It's only natural to assume that, in the near future, the producers behind the current iteration of Top Gear will introduce two new leaderboards: one for stars, one for cars.
In other words, “more than 100 businesses employing more than 800 people” will be affected by the Waverley Borough Council’s decision to build 1,800 homes at Dunsfold Aerodrome. According to Jim McAllister, the chief executive of the complex, "the development of Dunsfold Aerodrome will provide homes for young families currently priced out of the area, direct development away from green fields, create new jobs and deliver a range of new community facilities and infrastructure improvements." Such a pity.
The BBC notes that opponents to the development were against the council’s decision, explaining that new homes were not needed in this part of Waverley. Be that as it may, the financial interests of the two parties pale in comparison to what matters most to us gearheads. More specifically, what’s going to happen to BBC Top Gear’s Star In a Reasonably Priced Car segment?
Introduced in 2002, then overhauled in 2015 as Stars In a Rallycross Car, the segment is fundamental to the show’s appeal, especially now that celebrities invited on The Grand Tour have a habit of dying just ahead of the interview. The British Broadcasting Corporation has yet to comment on the subject, but this silence spells trouble for the Top Gear test track. It's only natural to assume that, in the near future, the producers behind the current iteration of Top Gear will introduce two new leaderboards: one for stars, one for cars.
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