Jeremy Clarkson appears to have contradicted what he, Richard Hammond, and James May said at the end of the latest special of The Grand Tour.
In Sand Job, the former Top Gear stars tackled the unpredictable dunes of Mauritania as they made their way through the Sahara and into Senegal.
For the final leg of their journey, all three had planned to head into Dakar on the beach, reminiscent of how the drivers taking part in the Paris-Dakar rally had done before.
However, their journey was abruptly halted by a text from producer Andy Wilman who asked Clarkson to check his news feed.
After issuing a cheeky dig at the BBC News channel, Clarkson then discovered there was rioting taking place in Dakar, rendering it unsafe for the trio to drive in via the beach.
“I knew there were some protests planned but that was in about three or four days… but it’s obviously kicked off early,” Clarkson said to Hammond, May and the crew.
James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson feared they’d have to return to Mauritania at the end of Sand Job
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May then pointed out the trio were scheduled to fly home from Dakar, to which Hammond replied: “It’s not an option.”
A member of the crew then pointed out St Louis Airport in Senegal was closed, meaning the trio had to supposedly drive back to Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania.
“Come on, it’ll be fun! It’s a there-and-back rally,” Hammond said to his co-stars who weren’t as enthusiastic at the prospect of retracing their tracks and turning back in the opposite direction to Dakar.
However, after the cameras stopped rolling on the special, Clarkson took to Instagram to reveal no such journey took place.
On the social media site, Clarkson had shared a video of the police escort he, Clarkson and Hammond had received in order for them to reach Dakar airport.
“Best police escort ever,” Clarkson wrote alongside the video, proving the trio had the help of Senegalese law enforcement to get them home rather than heading back to Mauritania.
He then shared a snap of the flight tracker from his airplane seat, showing the plane taking off from Dakar.
“Goodbye Africa,” Clarkson wrote in a separate social media post.
James May, Richard Hammond and Jeremy Clarkson faced several obstacles on their way to Dakar
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The end of Sand Job isn’t the only scene that has proven contentious for its authenticity.
Another scene in the special was accused of being “clearly staged” by fans after Hammond was supposedly left in danger.
Hammond had raced into the middle of a minefield but managed to make it out unscathed as he reversed on the same tracks he’d driven in on.
However, several viewers have claimed the entire minefield was staged after finding satellite images of the tunnel online and no such minefield existing.
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