Oliver achieves a time of 1:12 before being beaten by May’s Mercedes-Benz with a 1:06. However, he did seem taken aback by the fact that the trio were attempting this in their old, used, two-wheel drive cars.Ĭhallenge 3: Time trials round a rally course by “The Stig’s African cousin”. Shortly before beginning their trip onto the Makgadikgadi Pan, the Top Gear trio informally encountered Botswana’s Vice President, Seretse Ian Khama, who displayed no qualms regarding the trio’s journey across the flats. Hammond does not have to take such measures as he did not drastically modify his car earlier.
May and Clarkson cover their faces and re-dress to avoid choking on the dust, as each driver was now open to the elements due to having a bare shell. For day two on the salt pans, dust becomes the problem, rather than the “gunk” underneath the salt crust. Clarkson’s car breaks down frequently, seemingly with electrical issues. Hammond’s car is light enough to cross the salt pan shedding only his spare tyre and radiator grill.
Desperate to shed weight, they strip down their cars to the basic shell, removing most of the interior trim and most of the panels. Almost immediately, May and Clarkson’s cars begin to break through the crust. The first section of the Makgadikgadi salt pan has a thin solid crust, under which lies a mud like substance underneath. While the Beetle turns out to be a suitable vehicle for such a challenge, the Beetle is the presenters’ collective least favourite car of all time.Ĭhallenge 2: Cross the Makgadikgadi Pan successfully. If at any time a presenter’s car breaks down and cannot be restarted, he must complete the journey in a Volkswagen Beetle. Starting from the Botswana-Zimbabwe border, they must drive 1,000 miles (1,600 km) to the Namibian border. Clarkson buys a 1981 Lancia Beta Coupe, May a 1985 Mercedes-Benz 230E and Hammond a 1963 Opel Kadett, which he nicknames “Oliver”. Mocking the use of “Chelsea Tractors” for delivering children to school and driving up leafy lanes, rules for the challenge stipulate that the car purchased to cross the spine of Africa has to be two wheel drive, and not designed in any way for off-road use.