he hasn't owned the rights since 2011/12 so i believe

So, if the BBC own the Top Gear rights, and assuming May & Hammond follow Clarkson over to Sky to make a car-based "comedy" under a different name [insert name here, who are your picks to do the next Top Gear series on BBC2?

I'd go with:
Shaun Wane
Terry O'Connor
Desmond Tutu

Clarkson, well past his sell by date, should have been sacked following his other 'blunders'

Without looking up the details of them all (I haven't got all week!), I would imagine he went through the same disciplinary procedure as all other BBC employees. Hence why he was already on a final warning.

My favorite would be Eddie Hemmings & Mike Stephenson & as I dont watch top gear it would suit me fine.

I seem to be in the minority of enjoying watching him on the show

Watched the programme on and off thanks to channel DAVE. Reasonably entertaining I guess, but probably was getting a bit stale.
I thought he was alright tbh, it's Richard Hammond I can't stand. How he continues to front other shows I'll never know.

I enjoyed watching him on the show too Frankie, but stopped watching Top Gear a good few years ago now.
Recently Top Gear with Clarkson and his 2 stooges at the helm has held more limited appeal to the “ testosterone fuelled look at the size of my huge swinging dick brigade and wannabe performance car or Chelsea tractor owning aspirants. "
These sort of people are alive and kicking in spades within the M25 and home counties where driveway snobbery is the order of the day. Around Hull, they will most likely live in Swanland and support football and Rugby Yawnion.
As for the man himself, the BBC were right to sack him. In modern employment contracts physical assault constitutes gross misconduct and leads to instant dismissal.
Back in the day I remember Hull Dockers going on strike for over a week in support of a sacked colleague who had chinned 2 of his bosses, hospitalising one of them. Nowadays he'd get 18 months.

I watched it now and again but couldn't get over enthusiastic about the show or the man himself, however, the fact that it had around six million viewers showed it must have had appeal of sorts, i believe there were also over a million people that signed a petition insisting he was reinstated.
The man was an idiot for thinking he could bash someone and get away with it especially given his track record. However, other people who i also think were absolute idiots, were the two BBC senior executives who apparently compared Jeremy Clarksons case to Jimmy Savile.
To make a parallel between Clarkson and Savile was absolutely ridiculous in my opinion and if they did make that comparison then they too should have been reprimanded imo.

Guy Martin is an excellent suggestion. Great chance to renew a tired format, if they chose him. And he'd be the perfect antidote to Clarkson.

I like Guy Martin, sounds a genuine bloke.

As for Clarkson, hes got the flick and yet Hardaker keeps his job at Leeds, behaved pretty much in the same way.

That's a fair point. Leeds probably knew if they sacked him, he'd be playing against them the next week having got a pay rise in the process.