Top Gear has – finally! – begun its 22nd series with the boys going off to St. Petersburg, Russia [presumably prior to Vladimir Putin the Nutball’s various shenanigans] where they proceed to engage in a good old-fashioned challenge through the Russian city pitting James in a French electric car [Renault Twizy], Richard on Chris Froome’s Tour de France bike, Jeremy in a Russian version of their hovervan from a previous episode and The Stig taking public transportation for sport.
Hammond somehow forgets that bikes and tram rails do not mix and promptly crashes Froome’s bike, breaking it in the process, and forcing him to borrow a mountain bike from a supposedly random local. [Spoiler alert] James wins easily as Jeremy struggles to control the hovervan and Stig never arrives.
Additional fun includes a news segment [usually cut from the BBC America reruns] where Hammond gushes about the new Ariel off-road vehicle, Jeremy likes the Acura NSX, James mentions the new Ford GT and Jeremy apologizes for a Patagonia Special error – saying a condor was the largest bird when really it was the albatross.
Hammond tests the Lamborghini Huracan and the special guest is singer Ed Sheeran who takes the reasonably priced car around the track in an extremely slow time but has a special dispensation as it is his first time driving. A short promo followed by a live stream discussion of the upcoming season is found below as well as the full episode for viewing if you happen to be located in the UK.
