BBC has revealed that motorsport guru and Formula 1 commentator Eddie Jordan, German racing-driver Sabine Schmitz, 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 return of ‘Top Gear’.
Dublin-born Jordan was owner of the former Jordan Grand Prix team, which gave many of the world's top Formula 1 drivers their first taste of the starting grid, including Michael Schumacher, who made his debut for Jordan in 1991, and Eddie Irvine.
Schmitz is ‘Top Gear's’ first female presenter in 15 years. She appeared in seasons five and 11, and has already completed some filming with lead host Evans in a sequence that "will leave even the most hardened speed-demons gasping for breath when it debuts on TV," the BBC said.
Harris comes "armed with a self-confessed determination to cause mischief and tell viewers insightful things about automobiles they probably didn't even think they needed to know."
Newcomer Reid, who was recruited to ‘Top Gear’ from the show's 2015 public auditions, has launched and presented for CNET's Car Tech channel, and also had a starring role in Sky 1's ‘Gadget Geeks’ series.
Evans said of his new ‘Top Gear’ gang: "We really do have a bit of everything for everyone. A fellow lifelong petrolhead from the other side of the pond in Matt; a fearless speed-demon in the irrepressible and effervescent Sabine; the encyclopaedic, funny and wonderfully colourful character that is EJ; Chris, one of the world's top no-nonsense car reviewers; and Rory, who simply blew me away in his audition and fully deserves his place on the team."