Both Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond are known for their appetite for speed, so it comes as no surprise that the Top Gear presenters were caught speeding in France.
It happened while the two television hosts were filming Top Gear’s latest Christmas DVD called “The Perfect Road Trip”. Not so perfect it seems, since Clarkson and Hammond were allegedly caught doing over 140 km/h (87 mph) in a 90 km/h (56 mph) area. Since the two were more than 50 km/h (31 mph) over the legal speed limit, they received an instant driving ban in France.
French police apprehended them after being flashed as they approached a tollbooth – Clarkson in an Aston Martin Vanquish, Hammond in a Porsche 911 GT3 – and issued them with the on-the-spot fine and a ban, effective immediately.
Clarkson and Hammond were obviously not delighted at all about the fine and about banned from driving. Here’s what Clarkson wrote about the incident in his column in The Sun newspaper:
“If you are going to break the speed limit, make sure you are not in France. You would be advised to pay attention to what happened next. Because the on-the-spot fine was everything we had in our wallets. We were left penniless. And they took away our driving licences. No court case. No arguing. Nothing.”
Well, at least Clarkson and Hammond got some free publicity for their new DVD, on sale from November 18. You can watch the trailer after the break.
By Dan Mihalascu
VIDEO