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Jeremy tank

Jeremy's UN ARMTRAC during the challenge

In the fifth episode of the seventeenth series of Top Gear the presenters were challenged with knocking down a series of flats in a quicker time than the World Demolition champions. After practicing with conventional demolition equipment in the European nation of Albania, after receiving work from the Albanian mafia, the presenters decided that these machines were inadequate for the job and instead decided to use tanks. After finding some tanks at the Witham Army Disposal Yard the presenters headed to Kent to an abondoned housing estate. 

Practice in Albania[]

To practice for their challenge against the World Demolition champions the presenters got in touch with the Albanian mafia who said that they "had a bloke whose house needs knocking down". After arriving at their location Jeremy and Richard quickly choose their vehicles deciding to operate the crane and bulldozer, leaving James with the digger. James walked into the house to analyse it but Richard and Jeremy decided to begin demolition straight away, knocking down a small stone fence. The Top Gear crew quickly discover that the job would be a very difficult one and there are problems throughout the day; James has trouble lifting the rubble with his digger and placing it into the back of dump truck, Jeremy nearly causes a power cut, and Richard accidentally dumps the dump truck's load onto the middle of an Albanian street. On top of this, the presenters have trouble knocking down the house. Jeremy and James both fail to knock the house down using the crane so they decide to wrap a cord around one of the pillars and pull it down using the digger. In the process the cord snaps and the house sustains no damage. When Richard gets back after cleaning up the dump truck's spill the presenters decide to abandon the challenge.

Army Disposal Yard[]

Now back in the UK, the presenters decide that they should use military equipment in their challenge with the professionals and travel to the Witham Army Disposal Yard to select their machines. The presenters quickly become interested in two tanks out the front of the yard. But as Jeremy starts to look inside for more machines, James and Richard become distracted with a bunch of old Land Rovers and helicopters. Jeremy leaves them alone and finds an enormous ATV called the Saxon, with side window wipers. Jeremy says the Saxon has grenade launchers, 4WD, and a top speed of 30 m/h, with the speed being 60m/h if "the tires haven't been shot through". James meanwhile has found a Wilis Jeep but finds it difficult to explain his reasoning behind his choice because of the rattling of the car. As Jeremy pulls over in the Saxon he notices Hammond flying an attack helicopter. After getting the other two presenters back on task Jeremy, James, and Richard finally select their machines. Richard selects 434 Army Recovery Vehicle which he has chosen because it has armour protection, a crane, and weighs 15 tonnes so he can "use it as a battering ram". James has chosen a CET which he has simply chosen because it has a bucket on the front. Elsewhere, Jeremy has chosen a United Nations ARMTRAC 400 which has a rotor on the front used to clear mines. After arguing over whose is the best Jeremy claims that Princess Diana used to have an ARMTRAC 400 much to the delight of the entire Top Gear crew.

Challenge[]

The presenters head to the Christian Field Housing Estate in Kent for their actual challenge against the professional; prior to this they are allowed to drive their machines a short distance to the location of the challenge itself. Jeremy decides to take a short cut and ends up taking down a fence; Hammond wonders if the fence was ment to be demolished. Both teams have a briefing, with the Top Gear boys' briefing consisting of Jeremy telling the other two to not have an accident. They then decide that they should divide the six houses up evenly between them with each presenters tasked with taking down two houses each. The start of the challenge is signalled; Jeremy is the first to try demolsihing a house. He decides to use the rotors on the front of his ARMTRAC to take down the bottom story of one of his buildings. Jeremy is impressed with rotors and the destruction they are causing however James and Richard, watching from afar, are concerned that the roof of the house may collapse onto Jeremy's tank. Jeremy decides to hop out of his tank before explaining that he can operate the vehicle remotely through a remote control system. Richard, after observing the pros, decides that the best course of action would be to first remove the roofs of the houses. He explains that he plans to fire a harpoon gun over the roof and then drive his tank away after it has caught on the roof. His plan only partially works and he accidentally catches a port-a-loo in the process. Hammond perseveres with his roof-removal system whilst James plans to pull the chimney breast out of a house by attaching a cable around it and tying the other end to his tank. In the background, Jeremy is struggling to control his tank and ends up cutting into a water main. James' plan to pull out the chimney breast is succesful and he manages to completely knock down the front wall of one of the houses. Meanwhile, Jeremy has now completely lost control of his tank and he accidentally destroys a nearby car whilst trying to regain control. With the front wall of James' house now gone Richard sets about finishing the job by ramming the exposed foundations. He charges at the house and takes out the foundations, the only problem being  that now he is the only thing supporting the house. Aware that he can't move he has to call in James for help, who in the process takes out the side of the house causing the roof to crash down onto Richard's tank. James winches Hammond's tank out of the rubble and Jeremy uses his remote controlled ARMTRAC to clear the debris of the top of Hammond's tank so that he can escape. With the professionals far ahead in the challenge Jeremy decides to cheat, using dynamite to destoy one of the houses. The dynamite is unsuccesful and Jeremy only ends up taking the door off. After this latest failure and with the realization the presenters are far behind in the challenges the presenters decide to use their tanks as 'batering rams' in an attempt to catch up. Their stratergy is actually succesful and James notes that they are "really getting somewhere" but unfortunately the end of the challenge is signalled when the professionals finish the job. As a prize for winning the challenge the presenters decide to gift the World Demolition champions their unfinished houses. Back in the studio, Jeremy attempts to further explain his ARMTRAC to the studio audience but his cut off by the BBC due to the airing of a live bike race. I need some help.

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