According to well-placed sources, senior BBC executives are hoping that Chris Evans, the Radio 2 Breakfast Show host and self-confessed "petrol-head", will agree to take over. Sack Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson leaving his home in London on March 24, 2015. Credit:Reuters Evans, 48, who has one of the most prestigious car collections in Britain, including a £12 million 1963 Ferrari 250GTO, had previously ruled himself out of the running. It is not clear whether Clarkson's co- presenters James May and Richard Hammond will remain with the programme or will join Clarkson on any new ventures. Clarkson may sign for the American network Netflix, which is becoming increasingly popular with global television audiences.

Despite feeling he has been left with no alternative but to sack Clarkson, Lord Hall is expected to thank him for helping to build Top Gear into one of the corporation's crown jewels and to praise him as a "brilliant broadcaster". Chris Evans has been lined up to replace Jeremy Clarkson. Credit:Getty Images Sold to more than 170 countries, the programme, which was relaunched in its current format in 2002, generates an estimated £50 million a year for the BBC. It is understood Lord Hall will defend Clarkson's controversial and politically incorrect style of broadcasting and say there is a place at the corporation for that style of presenting. And while he made the decision with a heavy heart, sources said he felt he had been left with no choice after an internal investigation concluded Clarkson had attacked a junior member of staff.

According to a report compiled by BBC Scotland boss Ken MacQuarrie and submitted at the weekend, Clarkson verbally abused Tymon for 20 minutes, before physically attacking him for at least 30 seconds. The "fracas", as it was initially described by the BBC, took place at the Simonstone Hall hotel, near Hawes in North Yorkshire, when Clarkson was informed that no hot food was available after a day's filming. Clarkson, who has a seven-figure contract with the BBC, was suspended on March 10 after reporting himself to his bosses over the incident. His suspension led to a huge wave of support from the show's fans with more than a million people signing an online petition to reinstate him. Even Prime Minister David Cameron, who is a neighbour of Clarkson, weighed in to the row when he described him as being a "huge talent". But a series of controversial incidents, including allegations of racism, forced BBC bosses to issue Clarkson with a final warning last year. With Evans already a popular and established broadcaster, who has appeared on Top Gear on a number of occasions, his appointment would be seen as a safe bet.

But the decision to continue with the programme will still be regarded as something of a risk. For many fans, it was Clarkson's irreverent, and near the knuckle, brand of humour that helped make the show so popular. But his frequent controversies created a headache for bosses at the publicly funded broadcaster. In 2012, he caused the Indian high commission to complain after he made a series of derogatory remarks about the country. During a show filmed in Burma last year, he use the word "slope", in a manner that critics claimed had been deliberately racist, and was also forced to apologise after appearing to use the N-word during a segment that was never broadcast. Last October, he also caused chaos in Argentina after driving a car with a number plate H982 FKL, which local Falklands War veterans claimed was an act of deliberate provocation.

Top Gear Live News of Clarkson's imminent departure has cast a pall over the Top Gear Festival slated for April 18 and 19 at Sydney Motorsport Park, Eastern Creek. On Wednesday morning, tickets ranging in price from $49.96 (general admisssion) to $406.78 ("superfan suite") were still being sold for the event. BBC Worldwide, with whom Clarkson has a seven-figure contract to host the live events around the world, was unavailable to comment on the fate of the Sydney event. A spokesman for Sydney Motorsport Park, while stressing he represented only the venue, said they were "going ahead as usual preparing for the show".

Last year, about 46,000 motorsport fans attended the Sydney event to see their idol, Clarkson, and watch events including "Star in a Car" and "Car Football". The Telegraph, London, with Nick Galvin