I've been an avid fan of Top Gear ever since it was re-formatted in the early 2000's and without Clarkson there simply is no show. The brilliance of TG is the chemistry between Clarkson, Hammond and May. If you take any one of them off the show it just wouldn't be the same as evidenced in some of the specials they have done between seasons where it's just two of them together. There's no arguing that Clarkson is an arrogant, pompous blowhard and I'm sure he's a miserable guy to be around in real life, but he's damn good on the show and I hope the BBC reinstates him as soon as possible because I really want to see the final three episodes of this season.
Btw, that petition is over 865,000 signatures now so hopefully the BBC will get the message and realize that it's not fair to punish the viewers by keeping him on the sidelines.