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Fan catches former Top Gear hosts in Penticton

Former Top Gear and current The Grand Tour hosts cruise the roads of Penticton
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Christian Howe (front) stopped on the side of Green Mountain Road to take a photo of his gear-head idols and the hosts of The Grand Tour made a pit stop on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Christian Howe

Christian Howe heard rumours of his gear-head idols filming their TV show in the South Okanagan, so naturally he set out to find them.

Catching a convoy of cars at a Penticton hotel, Howe got to briefly meet up with the former hosts of Top Gear. Howe believes they are in the area filming the second season of The Grand Tour, which is an Amazon original series — however that could not be confirmed.

“I grew up watching Top Gear so it was pretty cool to see them,” said Howe, who took a quick video of the hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

Howe, who was born in England, said he previously worked in the car industry and as a child was glued to the TV set when re-runs of the original BBC show Top Gear would come on. The 30 minute TV show started in 1977 covering motoring issues and putting new cars through road tests.

“These guys might not be as famous to people in North America, but they are some of the most widely-known presenters in the rest of the world,” said Howe, who is a distributor of Young Living Essential Oils in Penticton.

The Western News contacted Area 27 racetrack in Oliver to see if the trio are filming the show there, however were told no comment could be made.

Related: Area 27 puts on a show for grand opening

The Grand Tour, which premiered in 2016, takes the hosts around the world driving cars in extreme conditions, delving into the world of motoring and other hijinks.