2002

The following occurred in 2002.

February[]

4th: The very last episode of original format Top Gear airs in the form of the 2001 Awards. For the second consecutive episode in a row, it fails to qualify inside BBC2's 30 most-watched programs for that week, with less than 2.07 million people tuning in.
28th: Jason Barlow hosts the first of a six-part series with Dominic Littlewood entitled Wrong Car, Right Car.

22nd: Jeremy Clarkson is officially announced to be returning to host a new series of Top Gear following a 3 and a half year hiatus.
28th: The final episode of Granada Television's Motor Week airs on Men & Motors, featuring Richard Hammond.

24th: Jeremy Clarkson promotes his then-latest series, Jeremy Clarkson Meets the Neighbours on BBC Breakfast, with the series premiering that same day. The pilot episode is watched by 2.43 million people and is BBC2's 14th most-watched program for that week.
31st: Episode 2 of Jeremy Clarkson Meets the Neighbours airs. It is viewed by 2.01 million people and is BBC2's 27th most-watched program for that week.

1st: Future host James May purchases a Bentley T2 for what was described at the time as 'Mondeo money', and writes about his experience in The Telegraph.
7th: Episode 3 of Jeremy Clarkson Meets the Neighbours airs. It is viewed by 2.12 million people and is BBC2's 25th most-watched program for that week.
14th: Episode 4 of Jeremy Clarkson Meets the Neighbours airs. It is viewed by 2.39 million people and is BBC2's 20th most-watched program for that week.
21st: The fifth and final episode of Jeremy Clarkson Meets the Neighbours airs. It is viewed by 2.98 million people and is BBC2's 3rd most-watched program for that week.

15th: Clarkson and his daughter are photographed attending the Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Unknown: Two studio pilots are filmed, both of them as disastrous as the other. The first of these pilots featured French footballer David Ginola as the planned guest star.
21st: BBC 2 releases its press pack for the upcoming Autumn television season, in which Top Gear is officially named as one of the series set to premiere.
23rd: The Renault Vel Satis road test is filmed in Swindon. It was the very first footage shot for the series according to director Richard Porter.

Unknown: The third and final studio pilot, which featured English comedian Harry Enfield, is filmed at Dunsfold.
5th: The Lamborghini Murciélago and Pagani Zonda road tests are filmed.
9th: The show's famous Suzuki Liana, known as the show's first Reasonably-Priced Car for the first 7 series and then kept for Formula 1 drivers thereafter, is registered as GX52 HFN.
12th: The speed camera challenge is filmed for the premiere episode of Top Gear. At 14:46, the Honda Civic Type-R is captured at 128 MPH, and at 15:31 a Mercedes-Benz CL55 AMG is captured at 148 MPH. Sometime after this (likely around 16:15), a TVR Tuscan S successfully speeds past the camera at speeds of over 170 MPH.

20th: Top Gear returns to TV in a brand new format, starring Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and Jason Dawe, alongside The Stig. It is viewed by 2.43 million people and is BBC2's 31st most-watched program for that week.
27th: Series 1, Episode 2 airs. It is viewed by 3.54 million people and is BBC2's 9th most-watched program for that week.

3rd: Series 1, Episode 3 airs. It is viewed by 3.30 million people and is BBC2's 16th most-watched program for that week.
7th: It's reported by journalist Julia Day that sales of the Citroën Berlingo have risen by 22% due to Jeremy Clarkson's review.
10th: Series 1, Episode 4 airs. It is viewed by 2.90 million people and is BBC2's 17th most-watched program for that week.
11th: No Limits, the 7th home video release by Jeremy Clarkson, comes out on VHS and DVD.
17th: Series 1, Episode 5 airs. It is viewed by 3.43 million people and is BBC2's 14th most-watched program for that week.
24th: Series 1, Episode 6 airs. It is viewed by 3.10 million people and is BBC2's 19th most-watched program for that week.
26th - 27th: The studio segments for the upcoming episode are scripted and then filmed.

1st: Series 1, Episode 7 airs. It is viewed by 3.61 million people and is BBC2's 12th most-watched program for that week.
3rd - 4th: The studio segments for the upcoming episode are scripted and then filmed.
8th: Series 1, Episode 8 airs. It is viewed by 3.43 million people and is BBC2's 11th most-watched program for that week.
17th - 18th: The studio segments for the upcoming episode are scripted and then filmed.
22nd: Series 1, Episode 9 airs. It is viewed by 3.67 million people and is BBC2's 3rd most-watched program for that week.
25th - 26th: The studio segments for the upcoming episode are scripted and then filmed.
29th: Series 1 of relaunched Top Gear concludes with Series 1, Episode 10. It is viewed by 3.59 million people and is BBC2's 4th most-watched program for that week.

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