“We needed to revitalize the format,” confides Pierre Chabrier of the Vilbrequin duo.

After two years of absence, the Top Gear France show has already made its mark on Friday in terms of audience. YouTubers Pierre Chabrier and Sylvain Levy were watched by 521,000 viewers.

Pierre Chabrier comes from YouTube. With his sidekick, Sylvain Levy, last December they closed their channel dedicated to automobiles, Vilebrequin. With 2.5 million subscribers, it’s a page that is turning after six years of existence.

Since Friday March 15, they are now piloting the show “Top Gear France” on RMC Découverte, Friday evenings at 9:10 p.m. This program, which represents the channel’s biggest budget, returns after two years of absence, after the eighth season hosted by Philippe Lellouche which only attracted 360,000 spectators..

Successful bet

It’s a challenge for the duo, even if Pierre Chabrier specifies that “getting on television is not a goal“. They took it up after asking themselves many questions, particularly around this freedom that they enjoyed with their own channel. They also doubted the reception that their community could give to this transition to linear. But the bet is successful since the first number was followed by 521,000 spectators, a success for the channel, even if Pierre Chabrier is used to much higher audiences on the internet. He confides: “We are very happy. I have a hard time picturing it because we come from YouTube and for us, for example, 520,000 is when a video flops. But in reality, we know that for RMC, this is a historic record.“

A successful appearance on television, which is not so often the case. This is why the host keeps a cool head: “It’s a different medium and I think it’s complementary. But let’s not put the cart before the horse. For the moment, we have not succeeded “The configuration of the show has been modified since there is no longer a stage, no more audience and no more guests.”The format needed to be revitalized. The thing that worked for us on YouTube might be the same thing in this whole adventure. It’s just our spontaneity, the reality of the people we are, that is to say we don’t play anything, we just experience what we experience, we are passionate.“As for a possible second season, Pierre Chabrier replies:”Why not !“

Watch this interview on video: