View Poll Results: Place your bets!
BMW S1000RR
4
23.53%
Ariel Atom V8
13
76.47%
Voters: 17. You may not vote on this poll
BMW S1000RR races Ariel Atom on Top Gear: Results are in!
01-19-11, 08:59 AM
#1
BMW S1000RR races Ariel Atom on Top Gear: Results are in!
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After years of ignoring bikes, Top Gear has finally seen sense. This Sunday's show will feature a BMW S1000RR racing against a £150,000 Ariel Atom V8 around the BBC show's famous test track.
The BMW S1000RR was completely standard but ridden by British Superbike EVO class champion Steve Brogan. The 185bhp, 999cc inline four-cylinder superbike had ABS, traction control and anti-wheelie though, being a racer, Brogan switched it all off.
He told MCN: “The BMW electronics are great for most of the time but I want to be able to get some wheelspin to help me. I got a couple of laps from the front seat of a car to have a look at the track and then got on the bike to see what it was all about.
Top Gear director Andy Wilman said: “We wanted this showdown to be as real and as close as possible, so using a professional racer to ride the bike made perfect sense. People have criticised Top Gear in the past for the way we have included bikes but we hope this answers those concerns.”
MCN is sworn to secrecy and can't reveal the race result. But we can say that the race is the closest ever seen in Top Gear history and that you won't be disappointed. The car's driver is a surprise too. The show is at 8pm, Sunday, January 23 on BBC2.
After years of ignoring bikes, Top Gear has finally seen sense. This Sunday's show will feature a BMW S1000RR racing against a £150,000 Ariel Atom V8 around the BBC show's famous test track.
The BMW S1000RR was completely standard but ridden by British Superbike EVO class champion Steve Brogan. The 185bhp, 999cc inline four-cylinder superbike had ABS, traction control and anti-wheelie though, being a racer, Brogan switched it all off.
He told MCN: “The BMW electronics are great for most of the time but I want to be able to get some wheelspin to help me. I got a couple of laps from the front seat of a car to have a look at the track and then got on the bike to see what it was all about.
Top Gear director Andy Wilman said: “We wanted this showdown to be as real and as close as possible, so using a professional racer to ride the bike made perfect sense. People have criticised Top Gear in the past for the way we have included bikes but we hope this answers those concerns.”
MCN is sworn to secrecy and can't reveal the race result. But we can say that the race is the closest ever seen in Top Gear history and that you won't be disappointed. The car's driver is a surprise too. The show is at 8pm, Sunday, January 23 on BBC2.
01-19-11, 01:04 PM
#2
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I want the BMW to win but I think the Atom will prevail. When you have a lot of turns, a bike doesn't have the chance to completely wring out the throttle.
It has to brake so hard into the turns that even the acceleration gains is not enough. It will be fun to watch, especially when the run flat out through the tires.
It has to brake so hard into the turns that even the acceleration gains is not enough. It will be fun to watch, especially when the run flat out through the tires.
01-25-11, 10:58 AM
#4
THE RESULTS ARE IN!!! 
BMW S1000RR second fastest EVER on Top Gear test track
MCN was there on the day of the filming back in October and we can confirm the BMW superbike was less than a second slower than the mental Ariel Atom V8; a time that makes the BMW the second fastest vehicle around the track ever.
Our inside view allowed us to see just what unfolded that day with rider Steve Brogan using a completely stock BMW against the Ariel which was driven for the fast sequences by ex-Top Gear presenter Tiff Needell, pretending to be James May.
That means a £13,310 bike in completely standard trim is just under a second slower than a 475bhp Ariel and faster than everything else ever put around the track by the famous Top Gear driver The Stig.
Cars beaten by the BMW, ridden by reigning British Superbike EVO class champion Steve Brogan include the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, the world’s fastest production car which costs a staggering £1.7million.
There are lots of rumours about what happened on the day of filming with people suggesting the Top Gear crew made sure the car won. This isn’t true. Brogan was prevented from using his race bike because the rules state all times must be set by road legal vehicles.
In fact the times set by the car and the bike were less than a second apart with the bumpy nature of the track, the tight, twisty layout and Brogan’s lack of track knowledge all counting for the tiny difference.
This was the first time a full-on race has taken place on Top Gear and was filmed back in October on a dry and warm day and MCN was there to get photos and the lowdown on the filming.
The BMW S1000RR was completely standard which meant a 190bhp, 999cc inline four-cylinder superbike with ABS, traction control and anti-wheelie were all available.
Brogan opted to switch it all off. He told MCN: “The BMW electronics are great for most of the time but I want to be able to get some wheelspin to help me. I got a couple of laps from the front seat of a car to have a look at the track and then got on the bike to see what it was all about.
“The biggest issue around this track were the bumps. Not just on the brakes where the standard bike forks are bottoming out everywhere but also on the throttle where the back wheel is spinning up and bouncing around a lot.”
The car he raced was a 475bhp, 550kg Ariel Atom with a 3.0litre V8 built by American firm Hartley using two Suzuki Hayabusa heads and a bespoke bottom end which can rev to 10,500rpm.
The performance of the car is more than a match for the Bugatti Veyron, with 0-60mph in 2.3s and 0-100mph in 5.4s – one of the world’s fastest-accelerating cars. It costs £146,000 and the British firm is only making 25 – all but five of which have already been sold. Top speed is more than 170mph.
Motorcycles have only made a few, rare appearances on Top Gear in the past. A Honda FireBlade was put around a track but this was heavily criticised by bikers as it wasn’t a professional rider.
The only others have been a Vincent Black Shadow ridden by bike nut Richard Hammond and the Christmas Special where all three of the Top Gear presenters rode bikes across Vietnam.
Top Gear director Andy Wilman said: “We wanted this showdown to be as real and as close as possible so using a professional racer to ride the bike made perfect sense. People have criticised Top Gear in the past for the way we have included bikes but we hope this answers those concerns.”
MCN was there on the day of the filming back in October and we can confirm the BMW superbike was less than a second slower than the mental Ariel Atom V8; a time that makes the BMW the second fastest vehicle around the track ever.
Our inside view allowed us to see just what unfolded that day with rider Steve Brogan using a completely stock BMW against the Ariel which was driven for the fast sequences by ex-Top Gear presenter Tiff Needell, pretending to be James May.
That means a £13,310 bike in completely standard trim is just under a second slower than a 475bhp Ariel and faster than everything else ever put around the track by the famous Top Gear driver The Stig.
Cars beaten by the BMW, ridden by reigning British Superbike EVO class champion Steve Brogan include the Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, the world’s fastest production car which costs a staggering £1.7million.
There are lots of rumours about what happened on the day of filming with people suggesting the Top Gear crew made sure the car won. This isn’t true. Brogan was prevented from using his race bike because the rules state all times must be set by road legal vehicles.
In fact the times set by the car and the bike were less than a second apart with the bumpy nature of the track, the tight, twisty layout and Brogan’s lack of track knowledge all counting for the tiny difference.
This was the first time a full-on race has taken place on Top Gear and was filmed back in October on a dry and warm day and MCN was there to get photos and the lowdown on the filming.
The BMW S1000RR was completely standard which meant a 190bhp, 999cc inline four-cylinder superbike with ABS, traction control and anti-wheelie were all available.
Brogan opted to switch it all off. He told MCN: “The BMW electronics are great for most of the time but I want to be able to get some wheelspin to help me. I got a couple of laps from the front seat of a car to have a look at the track and then got on the bike to see what it was all about.
“The biggest issue around this track were the bumps. Not just on the brakes where the standard bike forks are bottoming out everywhere but also on the throttle where the back wheel is spinning up and bouncing around a lot.”
The car he raced was a 475bhp, 550kg Ariel Atom with a 3.0litre V8 built by American firm Hartley using two Suzuki Hayabusa heads and a bespoke bottom end which can rev to 10,500rpm.
The performance of the car is more than a match for the Bugatti Veyron, with 0-60mph in 2.3s and 0-100mph in 5.4s – one of the world’s fastest-accelerating cars. It costs £146,000 and the British firm is only making 25 – all but five of which have already been sold. Top speed is more than 170mph.
Motorcycles have only made a few, rare appearances on Top Gear in the past. A Honda FireBlade was put around a track but this was heavily criticised by bikers as it wasn’t a professional rider.
The only others have been a Vincent Black Shadow ridden by bike nut Richard Hammond and the Christmas Special where all three of the Top Gear presenters rode bikes across Vietnam.
Top Gear director Andy Wilman said: “We wanted this showdown to be as real and as close as possible so using a professional racer to ride the bike made perfect sense. People have criticised Top Gear in the past for the way we have included bikes but we hope this answers those concerns.”
01-25-11, 12:59 PM
#6
I think Tiff is actually the new Stig.
Think about it, James May said that one of the condition of this race was that the Atom was to be driven by a Top Gear presenter - there are 4 of them including the Stig. Being an ex-presenter doesn't count. I'm willing to bet Tiff is the new Stig, at least for the time being.
Think about it, James May said that one of the condition of this race was that the Atom was to be driven by a Top Gear presenter - there are 4 of them including the Stig. Being an ex-presenter doesn't count. I'm willing to bet Tiff is the new Stig, at least for the time being.
01-26-11, 12:52 AM
#7
Watched this last Sunday evening - the new Stig isn't Tiff - not unless he's gone on a crash diet and shrank a bit. There are rumours that it's a woman, in particular, Sabine Schmitz, driver of the "Ring Taxi" and well known to Top Gear (I think she presented on the German version). Who knows though?
The star in the reasonably priced car was very surprising too.
The star in the reasonably priced car was very surprising too.
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01-27-11, 02:45 AM
#8
Top gear could of used someone better on the bike. If they want to keep it British, then should of gotten James toseland.
Another note. A rider need time to feel the track before going all out on it. Well, unless your name is Rossi
Another note. A rider need time to feel the track before going all out on it. Well, unless your name is Rossi
01-27-11, 06:33 AM
#9
Watched this last Sunday evening - the new Stig isn't Tiff - not unless he's gone on a crash diet and shrank a bit. There are rumours that it's a woman, in particular, Sabine Schmitz, driver of the "Ring Taxi" and well known to Top Gear (I think she presented on the German version). Who knows though?
Certainly isnt my type
OMG, I couldn't understand a word that fella has said! What kind of accent is it? I used to have an Irish girlfriend, she was very hot and very dumb, and I tolerated her for several months strictly because her accent was insanely sexy. I don't think I could tolerate her for even 15 minutes if her accent was the same as that fella's.
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