With only 11 days left before the premiere of The Grand Tour’s second season, the show remains without a test driver to replace The American. That predicament has forced some scrambling on the part of hosts, each of whom scoured the globe to find a suitable replacement for Mike “The Grinder” Skinner. Jeremy Clarkson invited former F1 driver Mark Webber for an audition, only to find out that the current Porsche ambassador is incapable of driving anything that isn’t from his employer. With Clarkson’s choice out of the picture, James May and Richard Hammond stepped in to save the day. Or at least they tried to.

Spoiler alert: neither found a replacement too

Mark Webber’s disastrous audition could’ve spelled doom and gloom for the show as it prepared for life without a test driver for season two. Fortunately, Hammond secured the services of a movie stuntman under the belief that the driver is “fast, precise, and fearless” by virtue of his craft. Plus, in the Hamster’s own words, “He’s an unknown so he won’t be judged on his racing history.”

It’s a decent explanation for the driver’s qualifications. Sadly, none of it mattered because, apparently, in the world of stunt driving, old habits die hard. Seconds into his lap, Hammond’s candidate inexplicably veered off-track the moment he spotted a ramp, took off with the Renault Clio RS he was driving and crashed into the production office.

Not content with the devastation, Hammond gave the guy another chance to prove himself, this time behind the wheel of a previous-generation Renault Megane RS. The stunt driver got off the line quicker this time, but even that accomplishment was fleeting once he decided to try a rollover stunt that sent the Megane flipping in the air numerous time before crashing to the ground in a heap.

With the pickings for a qualified driver becoming slimmer than a slice of pepperoni, James May decided to step up and enlist the services of a car thief. Yes, a car thief. According to May, the social deviant possessed an array of skills that could prove useful as a full-time test driver. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long though for May’s hand-picked candidate to revert back to his criminal ways as he made a quick bee-line for the exits in the BMW M4 CS, never to be seen or heard from again.

At this point, desperate times call for desperate measures. The Grand Tour is still lacking a full-time test driver. It’s unclear which direction the show wants to go to next in its quest for a replacement driver. If I were to make a guess though, I'd venture to say that it might as well tap somebody who not only knows his way around cars but has also rich test driving experience.

The Ben Collins, perhaps?

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