James May leaves Grand Tour fans ‘weeping’ as he delivers ‘gut-punching’ farewell in finale: ‘This got me’

James May’s parting monologue during his last ever appearance in The Grand Tour alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond has hit an emotional chord with viewers.

Titled One for the Road, the trio’s final outing was always going to be a tearful affair for viewers but after it arrived on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, it is May whose final words appear to have hit fans the hardest.

In the two-hour-plus-long special, the former Top Gear trio bring their 22-year time on-screen to a close by making their way from coast-to-coast in Zimbabwe.

During the special, however, Clarkson decides it’d be a more fitting finale if they continue their road trip into neighbouring Botswana and wrap while on Kubu Island.

The location holds a special place in the trio’s hearts as it was the same spot where they filmed their first-ever Top Gear special back in 2007.

As the trio made their way to the final spot, Clarkson became teary when he discovered the cars they drove during the 2007 special lying on the side of the road, while May turned to the camera in his Triumph and began: “22 years. More than a third of my life.

“This is going to hit me in quite small ways. Like there’s a green bag, I have a green hold-all that I’ve used since the very first special in Botswana.

“I’ve always used it for specials, but I’ve never taken it anywhere else. So what will I do with that green bag?

“One day, I’ll come across it in the cupboard where we keep the bags. And I’ll think, ‘Oh, yeah’. And it will come back.”

May began to get choked up as he took a moment before finishing his parting speech: “Anyway. I hope we’ve brought you a little bit of happiness.”

Yes you have James, yes you have 😢
byu/DJAllOut inthegrandtour

Reacting to the final episode featuring the trio, one The Grand Tour fan shared a screenshot of May’s parting words onto online forum site Reddit.

Under the thread titled “yes you have James, yes you have”, fans shared their thoughts on the former Top Gear star’s monologue, with many left in tears.

“This moment got me. You could see him hold back a tear,” one fan said before a second echoed: “This hits me.”

A third weighed in: “I was keeping it together ok right until this point. I f***ing WEPT. Hearing May, of all of them, get choked up just floored me.”

Elsewhere, a fourth echoed: “I think this is the exact moment I realized there would be no twist at the end, no more adventures, just three blokes I grew up with going on to do their own things. And that this chemistry wouldn’t be together again.”

And a fifth concurred: “I haven’t James May choking on his words on my bingo card. This moment punched me in the gut.”

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“I thought I could pull this off without crying. I didn’t,” a sixth simply surmised. (sic)

Both Clarkson and Hammond also delivered final pieces to camera, with both thanking fans and reminiscing over their 22-year working relationship.

Moments before May’s speech, Hammond said: “Never thought that what we do together would go on as it has. I was excited when I got the job way back, very excited.

“But I never dreamed it would grow into a career and life-defining adventure. And occasionally, nearly career and life-ending adventure.”

All three presenters will now move on to pastures new, with Clarkson filming the fourth season of his hit farming show, Hammond hard at work in workshop for its own TV series, and May launching his own gin company.