There are two outtakes from episode 1 over on TopGear.com if you’re interested.

Besides talking about this weekend’s SIARPC and how the filming went, the latest post on the Top Gear Transmission blog also tells the story of how The Mole (the secretive person who manages the blog) saw James May driving home from the studio:

Sitting at a roundabout behind a Mercedes E500 and a Porsche 911 Carrera S – powerful cars both – it was hard to ignore a black Fiat Panda containing none other than TV’s James May which had drawn alongside them.

The roundabout cleared and Captain Slow made an uncharacteristically brisk leap away from the line, straight onto the knuckle whiteningly tight slip road that feeds into the A3.

The Porsche tried to pull out to get around a dithering Volkswagen ahead, the Mercedes clinging to its tail, but before either could make a move James had seized the advantage, taking the OUTSIDE LINE around all three cars and disappearing into the distance.

There can be only one conclusion. There is a keen and remarkably fast driver with a black Fiat Panda in the Guildford area and he looks a lot like James May.

So maybe Captain Slow isn’t really as slow as he sometimes makes out to be…

James May did a Q&A session via his book publisher and Twitter yesterday. I thought you might find it interesting:

Q: RT @TopGearBabe: With so many fabulous adventures under his belt so far… are there any achievable dreams left unfulfilled for James?
A: Oh god, yes. I’d like to go to the Moon and I’d like to be able to make a risotto.

Q: RT @beckstar2: please ask James May what book he would take to a desert island
A: The Haynes Manual for the Honda CB 754

Q: RT @ChicklitBlog: If you could put a car into a time capsule for future generations to marvel at, which would it be and why?
A: Crikey, that’s a good question. I think the Ford Escort Mark 1, it’s what cars are meant to be.

Q: RT @maxtortheone: Please ask James May what impressions [removed due to spoilers, see forums for question] left him when he visited a couple of months ago!
A: It was much prettier than we expected, a very hospitable country. Lots of dogs.

Q: RT @LindenChase: What did James think of [removed] (where he’s just been filming with TopGear)? How bad was his vertigo?
A: The thing I remember most about [removed] is the dust, I don’t like dust. It gets in the air vents.
A: My vertigo is pretty bad everywhere, even up a 5 storey building, so in parts of [removed] it was very bad.

Q: RT @Intheskieswith: Does James May have a favourite novel or author?
A: When I was 18 I read Free Fall by William Golding and thought ‘this is about me, it’s going to change my life’ but that’s probably rubbish
A: I also like Cecil Lewis’s Sagittarius Rising. If you want something erudite and easy to read, Car Fever is an excellent book.

After Top Gear aired on Sunday, an excellent documentary hosted by James May called James May on the Moon aired. It was about the 40th anniversary of the Apollo moon landings.

If you’d like to download it and watch it (you should, it’s quite good), there is a torrent available right here.

TopGear.com has posted three videos of stuff that didn’t make it into last Sunday’s episode:

• Richard giving his thoughts about the buses during the first lap
• Richard and James debate which method of transport is best for getting around the Rivera
• James talks about how much he would have rather been in the Ferrari

Thanks to all who sent in tips!

Jeremy, Richard, and James were interviewed for Australia’s 60 Minutes show recently and here’s the video. It’s a surprisingly interesting look at behind the scenes of the show.

Here’s episode 3. Episodes one and two are also available.

And as usual, no rip of Top Gear Australia quite yet, so please be patient.

EDIT: This was the final episode of the three-part series.

Since last week’s episode was so good I thought I’d continue torrenting the show for you all.

Top Gear Australia isn’t out yet, but we’ll have a torrent for you when it is.

James May has a new show called James May’s Big Ideas. The first episode aired today and I thought I’d torrent it up for you all that are outside of the UK like I am. You can download it on Mininova.

In the first of a new series James May travels the globe in search of his ultimate flying machine. He begins by heading into the frozen wastes of Russia to pilot one of the best kept secrets of the Cold War, then James heads to the US to fly the world’s only surviving flying car.

In Japan he watches a man struggle with his tiny chopper, before returning to the suburban gardens of Sussex where James turns himself into a human rocket – all in pursuit of finding a better way to get from A to B.

Finally, in California, James encounters his ultimate dream – a flying car capable of vertical take off, and one so simple that anyone can pilot it, but is the world ready for a flying car?

Forum member robybobey was driving around his town this morning when he spotted James May and Oz Clarke filming a segment for their Oz and James’s Big Wine Adventure TV show.

robybobey managed to get a few moments of James’ time and asked him a few questions. James responded to the false rumors that he was leaving or that he was getting a huge pay raise. He also surprisingly mentioned that he does visit this site from time to time and that he appreciates our criticisms and feedback.

Video of the short interview is here (robybobey had to reask his questions as he didn’t have his camera out the first time around):

Pretty awesome. Major thanks to James for being so cool as well as robybobey for posting the great video!