Top Gear: Watch Matt LeBlanc breeze past the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car record

Friends star will be co-hosting the revamped show with Chris Evans

Matt LeBlanc joins Chris Evans on the Top Gear line-up with another presenter still to be announced (BBC)

If your reaction to the announcement of the new Top Gear presenter today was “Why the hell have they picked Joey from Friends?”, here’s a reminder of his talent behind the wheel.

He scored the fasted time ever on the show’s popular Star in a Reasonably Priced Car segment back in 2012, beating Rowan Atkinson with a time of 1:42:1.

What’s more he made it look easy, with Clarkson at the time remarking that his lap was “very boring indeed” - usually a sign of a good time.

“As a car nut and a massive fan of Top Gear, I'm honoured and excited to be a part of this iconic show’s new chapter. What a thrill!” LeBlanc commented following his surprise announcement.

The revamped BBC Top Gear has been a bit of a laughing stock up until this point, with several key producers leaving the project, but this coup might give Clarkson et al something to think about ahead of their rival Amazon Prime show.

“Matt’s a lifelong fellow petrolhead and I’m thrilled he's joining Top Gear,” co-host Chris Evans said. “Acting out our craziest car notions on screen is a dream job and I know we’ll both be debating some epic road trip ideas. We can’t wait to share what we’ve been up to on screen later this year."