Top Gear (1978)

Season 17: Episode 1

Is the increasing cost of motor racing discouraging young British talent? Chris Goffey reports from Brands Hatch on Formula First - a new, cheaper formula designed to solve the problem by giving more new hopefuls access to the first rung of the racing ladder. Sue Baker tests the new Sierra which has a boot - the Sapphire, and Frank Page asks if this new car can return Ford to the dominant position in company car fleets it once held with the old Cortina. Also, take to the streets with the lastest trend in custom cars; and William Woollard checks the accuracy of some of the do-it-yourself alcohol breath-testing machines which claim to tell you when you are over the limit.