The second season of The Grand Tour will go live on Amazon on December 8 and we are all excited to see what’s new. We already know a couple of interesting things, like James May’s new shorter haircut and the fact that the roaming tent studio will now be pitched in a house garden only 10 miles (16 kilometers) from Jeremy Clarkson's house.

And now it has been announced The Stig’s replacement, former NASCAR driver Mike Skinner, is leaving the show for its second season. Through his personal Twitter channel, Skinner has revealed he won’t be joining the former Top Gear trio.

“For your information, I won’t be joining the guys on The Grand Tour’s 2nd season. I wish them all the luck. My character wasn’t developed as I was told.”

Many fans of the show were not happing with the acting skills of "The American" and described him as being one of the worse aspects of the show, so his departure is probably for good. His character of constantly dissatisfied racer was not the best idea the producers have come up with to say the least - and Skinner agrees.

“I agree with many of you that it sucked,” he wrote on Twitter. “If you’re gonna wear Evil Knievel’s firesuit, you need to be Evil Flipping Knievel! By the way… I enjoyed some of those cars I got to drive and I don’t really hate the Brits.”

Skinner, 60, has 286 races in NASCAR’s Cup Series, 52 races in the Xfinity Series, and more than 230 races in the World Truck Series. His last triumph dates back to 2009, while his last race as a professional was in 2012 in Michigan.

At this point, it’s not clear who is going to replace The Stig’s replacement. To avoid being sued by BBC, The Grand Tour will definitely have to use a different name for its new test driver.

Source: Mike Skinner on Twitter