But the two seasoned television presenters and Joscelyne,the YouTuber,only met at a casting test at the Sydney Motorsport Park shortly before they embarked on the 130-day shoot for the series,which also took them around Australia and to France,Italy,Switzerland,Monaco and the US.
Top Gear Australia hosts Beau Ryan (left),Jonathan LaPaglia and Blair Joscelyne.Supplied
“We hit it off instantly,but we’re so different,” says Ryan,host ofThe Amazing Race Australia. “We like different cars,which suits the show perfectly. We choose from our heart. We each genuinely think our car is the best.”
Adds LaPaglia,the long-timeAustralian Survivor host:“Beau likes big flashy cars – supercars. I have a vintage bent and Blair just likes the crap.”
Joscelyne agrees:“If you have two supercars and a little cheap Japanese modified car trying to keep up,that’s me. Japanese cars are accessible. They bring performance for the every-person,and parts are really cheap. I’m a cheap guy.”
Although a television novice,Joscelyne is the most car-literate of the trio. LaPaglia,along with his actor brother,,grew up learning from their mechanic father,and now drives a self-built 1973 Dodge Challenger. Ryan’s motoring credentials are limited to an uncle having owned a dealership.
Together,they follow the 2002Top Gearformat that took its lead from the original BBC show that ran from 1977 to 2001. Outlandish challenges are undertaken in clapped-out vehicles,new models are test-driven,and,back at the studio,celebrity guests appear in front of a live audience. On the road in Europe,UKTop Gear crew and producers took the reins.
“They’ve seen multiple iterations of the show,” says Joscelyne. “They were really welcoming of us into their family,and they worked their arses off. As long as the sun was up,we were filming … Sometimes we’d say,‘What happens if we break down?’ And they’d say,‘You just work it out,and we’ll keep filming’.”
LaPaglia says there is a major difference between this ambitious local version,which comes after SBS’ firstTop Gear Australiain 2008,which was followed by a short-lived 2011 remake by the Nine Network,the owner of this masthead.
“I think that the budget was maybe one of the problems with the[last] version,” says LaPaglia. “The budget wasn’t big enough for a show like this because it does hinge on three guys travelling around doing crazy stuff. It needs to have scope,and I think we’ve achieved that. The[UKTop Gear] executive producer,Grant Wardrop,said to us that we’ve gone to more countries than the originalTop Gear went to in one season.”
The Australian version is also the first time in the program’s history that “the Stig”,the show’s anonymous,helmeted stunt driver,is a woman. “She’s the best driver there is,” says Joscelyne. “I don’t think it’s about the Stig being a her or a him or anything like that. It’s just the best person for the job.”
Top Gear may be traditionally aimed at the male motorhead,but the new hosts insist they have something to offer everyone.
“I never really saw it as a show about blokes made for blokes,” says Joscelyne. “I see it more as a travel show.”
Adds Ryan:“Without being too philosophical,I think old cars personify the human condition. It’s not all perfect,it doesn’t work all the time,and sometimes it needs some work. The idea of the car breaking down and us having to work together and keep going,it’s a metaphor for trying to get through tough times,and sometimes you need a hand.”
Top Gear Australia premieres with a double episode on Friday,May 17,on Paramount+.
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