Superstars of speed / written, presented and narrated by Jeremy Clarkson.

Format:

Video

Contributor:

Clarkson, Jeremy., Narrator.

Series:

Academic Video Online

Speed

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Flight.

Motorsports.

Speed.

Genre:

Documentary television programs.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (51 min.).

Place of Publication:

London : British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), 2001.

Language Note:

In English.

Original language in English.

Summary:

What does it take to become a winner in the world of speed? Why have some people developed abilities beyond the norm? Is it just down to dedication and practice or do some people possess a natural ability that puts them way ahead of the rest? To find the answers, Jeremy Clarkson asks members of the exclusive 'speed elite'. Formula One World Champion Michael Schumacher is undoubtedly a man with extraordinary ability. The motorracing ace has an almost legendary talent for pushing his cars to the limit and has the enviable ability to make tactical manoeuvres and steering corrections in the blink of an eye. Clarkson grills him about his talent to find out whether Schumacher has outstanding qualities that set him apart from the rest. Clarkson persuades rally driver Colin McRae to let him drive his Ford Focus. No average touring vehicle, the car is worth half a million pounds and helped McRae become world champion last year. All appears to be going well until a boastful Clarkson crashes into a grass verge and is forced to to eat humble pie. 'I'm a bit shaken up and I've got a damaged ego,' he confesses. What is it that McRae has which Clarkson is woefully lacking? Could it be a killer instinct? With this in mind, Jeremy takes to the skies. At the Empire Test Pilot School at Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, Jeremy is taken up to 42,000 feet. The pilot, Squadron Leader Rhys Williams, spins the plane across three axis into free fall before control is regained. As Rhys talks him calmly through the manoeuvre, Jeremy rapidly turns green. 'My whole world has fallen apart. I'm just not cut out for this. Never again! I'm never going to get into another fast jet again,' he says. Could training turn Clarkson into a high-speed winner or must he resign himself to always being the spectator rather than the spectacle?

Notes:

Title from resource description page (viewed Dec. 24, 2013).

OCLC:

867771180