BBC AMERICA announced today that motorsport guru and Formula 1 commentator Eddie Jordan, world record-breaking German racing driver Sabine Schmitz, renowned motoring journalist and Youtube petrolhead Chris Harris, and car reviewer and TV presenter Rory Reid are all confirmed to join Chris Evans and Matt LeBlanc for the eagerly awaited return of Top Gear.
BIOGRAPHIES
EDDIE JORDAN
Eddie Jordan is an Irish former racing driver, team owner and entrepreneur. As a champion of young talent, a host of drivers owe their breaks to Eddie, including Michael Schumacher and Eddie Irvine. Having suffered a number of major accidents whilst competing in racing, Eddie retired to set up his Jordan team in 1980. The team went on to be champions in Formula 3 with Johnny Herbert in 1987, Formula 3000 in 1989 with Jean Alesi - and in 1990 Eddie established Jordan Grand Prix and entered Formula 1. He sold Jordan Grand Prix in January 2005, and has since developed a portfolio of business interests, while also presenting the BBC's coverage of Formula 1. He has been inducted into the Irish Motorsport Hall of Fame and in 2012 he was awarded an honorary OBE by Her Majesty The Queen in recognition of his services to charity and motor racing.
SABINE SCHMITZ
Sabine Schmitz is a German racing driver who is already well known to fans of Top Gear. She grew up in her parents' hotel just 300m from the legendary Nurburgring track and has spent her life surrounded by cars and racing. She became the first woman to win the prestigious Nurburgring 24 Hours in 1996 and repeated the feat a year later. Sabine also became known as the 'world's fastest taxi driver' by driving passengers around the track in a BMW M5 and has since presented several motoring shows for German TV. She has appeared on Top Gear several times over the years, BECOMING a firm favorite with viewers. Sabine still races successfully today and runs her own race team.
CHRIS HARRIS
Chris Harris is probably best known for his popular Youtube channel, Chris Harris on Cars, which he launched in 2014 (established with the help of longtime friend Neil Carey); the channel has already amassed over a quarter of a million subscribers and the content has been viewed over 20 million times. Chris began his career in motoring journalism at UK-based Autocar magazine, BECOMING their official road-test editor; this gave him the opportunity to do some "racing and skidding" before starting a website for fast cars the week Lehman Brothers went under in 2008, which obviously ended badly. He then looked to solve his new found indebtedness at Evo magazine before BECOMING a member of the Pistonheads.com crew and a regular feature on YouTube's DRIVE channel.
RORY REID
Rory Reid is an award-winning journalist of eighteen years specializing in cars. Rory has written and presented for the likes of CNET UK, where he launched the company's popular Car Tech channel, receiving a prestigious Association of Online Publishers (AOP) award for 'Best Use of Video' in the process. Rory has been featured in a number of car-focused television shows, including a starring role in Sky 1's Gadget Geeks series, where he reviewed cars and consumer tech. He was also a presenter on the hugely successful Fast Furious & Funny Youtube channel, and now serves as the editor-in-chief of Recombu, specializing in car reviews.
Created in 1998, BBC America is a HUB of innovative, culturally contagious programming like the ground-breaking un-scripted series Top Gear, the top-rated science-fiction phenomenon Doctor Who, and the fan-favorite Orphan Black. The influential channel has been the launch pad for talent including Ricky Gervais, Gordon Ramsay, and Graham Norton - all adopted as American pop culture icons. A joint venture between BBC Worldwide (the commercial arm of the BBC) and AMC Networks, BBCA has attracted both critical acclaim and major awards including four Emmy(R) Awards, five Golden Globes(R) and 12 Peabody Awards. The irrepressible network has garnered one of cable's most curious, educated and affluent audiences, with many properties boasting super-fan levels of engagement. Available on cable and satellite TV in nearly 80 million homes, BBC America broadcasts in both standard and high-definition, is available On Demand across all major digital platforms and offers full episodes online at bbcamerica.com.
Image: BBC America
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