DOUBLE Olympic champion Max Whitlock proved he is a natural behind the wheel as he posted the quickest time as a Star in the Reasonably Fast Car segment in the new series of Top Gear.

The 24-year-old athlete, who trains at the South Essex Gymnastics Club, based at the Basildon Sporting Village, joined other celebrities on Top Gear: Extra Gear for a turn in the hotseat, and proved he really has the Max Factor.

The all-new segment, which can be viewed online, saw presenter Chris Harris put five celebrities through their paces, including Ore Oduba and Shazia Mirza

Impressively, Max topped the leaderboard by more than five seconds in the Toyota GT86 with a time of 139.5 seconds.

In second place was Strictly Come Dancing champion Ore in 145.7 seconds.

The Olympic gymnast said the whole experience had been exhilarating.

He added: “The whole experience was so amazing, although I was pretty scared waiting to go out on the track”

“Compared to my competitions, it was a similar feeling of nerves waiting to go on.

“It was a crazy feeling, but one of the best things I have ever done, I will be having a few more track days after that.

“I was well chuffed to be top of the leaderboard, I didn’t have a clue if I would be any good. I am not a crazy driver in real life, I am quite sensible, so I have never driven like that. It was more exciting than scary – it was a massive adrenaline rush.”

The segment sees Max do a lap coached by Chris Harris before he tries it alone.

In the clip, you see a nervous but clearly excited Max take control with Chris Harris commenting: “I thought we were dead for a minute but that was really good” and towards the end of the lap, he says: “Right, we are going to get a fast time out of you.”

Racing alone, you see Max tackle the challenge and comment: “Oh my God, I love this.”

The show aired on Sunday night and in the main show, viewers watched as X-Men star James McAvoy attempted to better Max’s winning time, but he was unsuccessful.

Ranking well below Max, his tim was 147.1 seconds, but he did drive in wet weather conditions.

Max made history when he won gold on the floor at the Rio 2016 Games and triumphed on the pommel horse less than two hours later. His achievements won recognition from the Queen in her New Year’s honours list. Her Majesty revealed to Max that she is a fan of gymnastics.