Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson is old news in Argentina, if he's even news at all. Getty

Following news of Jeremy Clarkson's suspension by the BBC, you might expect the denizens of Buenos Aires to be dancing in the streets, revelling in schaudenfraude.

After all, Clarkson did drive a car bearing a licence plate which alluded to the Falklands (or Las Malvinas as they are known here) through the streets of Patagonia last year, in a stunt which made international headlines.

But, in truth, most people don't really care about him.

Top Gear is a relatively famous show in this country, and it certainly does have its faithful niche cable and Netflix audience. However it fails to appeal to the population at large, which still turns to network television for information and entertainment.

So when news broke this week that Clarkson had been suspended from his show following yet another controversy, most people in Argentina shrugged. Sure, there was the ocassional Facebook post accompanied with a "serves him right!" comment and anyone asked about it would applaud the decision, but most people remained indifferent to his maladies.

A few months ago, when news broke that he and his crew were planning on driving around Patagonia, its impact was mild at best. The local media was warning about this British guy and his tendency to pull off stunts in an effort to boost ratings but, contrary to what he would try to make everyone think during last year's Top Gear Christmas episode, animosity and physical violence against the Brits here is rare and close to non-existent.

If you bring up the Falklands/Malvinas sovereignty issue, you may get into a heated argument with the locals, but it's unlikely it will escalate into an actual fist fight.

Unfortunately, in the end he got what he wanted. By driving a car with the very controversial licence plate HFKL 982, Clarkson succeeded in angering the locals of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina's southernmost province and the closest to the islands.

Top Gear car's registration plate which hints at the Falkands war of 1982
The car bearing the registration plate which hinted at the Falkands war of 1982. BBC

He managed to fuel the still-smouldering flames of the 1982 war and willingly antagonise the population, suggesting he had bravely confronted an entire nation of blood-thirsty savages who had overreacted to a mere coincidence.

Justice comes to those who wait

Argentines were quick to label his stunt as nothing more than a provocation, and at the same time condemned the attack, not only because of the dangers it posed but also because the protesters had reacted exactly in the way Clarkson wanted them to.

The result was a ratings hit and even a diplomatic spat between the Argentine embassy in London and the BBC.

Clarkson's suspension was all over the news in Argentina this week, a cathartic, indirect way of expressing the fact that justice comes to those who wait. But unfortunately for Clarkson, whose dramatic ego seems to feed on collective hate, his fall from grace this time barely merited watercooler conversation and the story was quickly forgotten.

Much to his chagrin, his last visit to Argentina was controversial not because of who he was but because he could potentially try to exploit a sensitive issue. And with him gone from the country, so the interest in him and his idiotic approach to ratings has faded.

Adrian Bono is a journalist with Infobae and the CEO and founder of The Bubble. He lives in Buenos Aires. Find him on Twitter @adrianbono.