Hammond Crashes Again...

[csv8]

TOP Gear presenter Richard Hammond escaped unhurt from a high-speed crash while filming the BBC show, less than a year after he nearly died in a jet-powered car.

Hammond, 37, was shunted off the track during an endurance race at the Silverstone track near Northampton at the weekend.
"Richard wasn't hurt at all, but the car was damaged," a BBC spokesman said.

"It was taken back to the pits and repaired before Richard carried on with the race."

Hammond was taking part in a 24-hour race called Britcar 24 Hour with co-presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May and the show's anonymous professional racing driver, The Stig.

The accident happened less than a year after Hammond suffered brain injuries when he crashed at 465km/h at Elvington airfield near York. (Watch the video, at right). He spent five weeks in hospital.

The Health and Safety Executive said in an accident report at the time that Hammond had not received sufficient training to drive the car safely.

It criticised the BBC's safety checks but said the failings did not merit a prosecution.

[CrankR]

Is there a video? Where?

[csv8]

Couldn't find anything on You Tube..maybe to be posted later

[csv8]

Top Gear host has another crash

Hammond suffered serious brain injuries in last year's crash
Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond was involved in another car accident at the weekend - less than a year after nearly losing his life in a 288mph crash.
The 37-year-old skidded off the track during a 24-hour Le Mans-style race at Silverstone on Saturday, the BBC said.

The host was not injured and continued the race once his vehicle - a BMW 330 DTi Sport - was repaired.

Hammond has downplayed the incident, dismissing his second crash in 12 months as "a bit of a collision".

"Reports of my shunt this weekend have been greatly exaggerated," he continued.

Jeremy and I did not enjoy a 'comforting' hug. I would rather be hugged by a threshing machine

Richard Hammond
"During one of my driving stints, a much faster car tried to overtake and there was a bit of a collision. It was nobody's fault.

"I managed to limp the car to the side of the track and wait for a truck to take me back to the pits, where it was quickly fixed."

Hammond and fellow presenters James May, Jeremy Clarkson and masked driver "The Stig" had been taking turns at racing the £100,000 car.

"During the race, at night, Richard was driving and another car shunted him off the track," said the BBC's spokesman.

"Richard wasn't hurt at all but the car was damaged. It was taken back to the pits and repaired before Richard carried on with the race."

Complete recovery

Hammond also denied reports that Clarkson had given him "a 'comforting' hug".

"I would rather be hugged by a threshing machine and he would rather hug a chainsaw," he joked.


He was sharing the driving with his co-hosts Clarkson and May
Last September Hammond crashed while driving a jet-powered car at speeds up to 300mph at Elvington airfield, near York.

He was airlifted to hospital where he was treated for swelling to the brain and bruising, but eventually made a complete recovery.

The Health and Safety Executive identified failings by the BBC over the crash but found no grounds for prosecution.

Hammond has since taken part in another high-speed stunt for the BBC show, driving a Bugatti Veyron as it raced a Typhoon fighter jet at RAF Coningsby, Lincolnshire.

A BBC spokesman said this weekend's incident was not comparable to last year's accident.

The race, he said, was "a public event any amateur could enter".

"Normal safety procedures were in place," he added.

[charles_wif_xf]

Naughty Hamster! Ohh is he going to cop it from Clarkson on the next series!

[ef_classic]

I bet he just skidded off the track and into some tyres...

Should be a great episode though.

[flappist]

Hamster is THE STIG (well maybe not)

[Mongoose]

CSV8, are you liek the official news guy for the forums? you seem to always have interesting bits of news! but on topic, he probably just lost control and skidded of the track and into a few tires, like someone earlier said.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by csv8

"During one of my driving stints, a much faster car tried to overtake and there was a bit of a collision. It was nobody's fault.

"I managed to limp the car to the side of the track and wait for a truck to take me back to the pits, where it was quickly fixed."

according to this statement, apparently by hammond himself, the only contact made was between him and another car. no mention of hitting any barriers. says he limped the car off the circuit.

typical sensationalism by the media

[Tles]

Clarkson for Oz MPH Tour

Clarkson for Oz

Spectacular antics staged at the UK's MPH06 event.

Top Gear's MPH team to tour Australia with rolling motor-theatre show in 2008

By MARTON PETTENDY 11 September 2007


BRACE yourself because motoring’s ambassador of political incorrectness is coming to a town near you.

That’s right, Australia is next on the agenda to play host to the UK’s successful MPH Live Motoring Theatre show hosted by the Top Gear TV show’s Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.

Instead of a one-off Sydney show in February, as had been originally planned, a positive response from many Australian car companies has resulted in a plan to bring the popular UK-based interactive motor show to Australia’s three largest cities within the next 18 months.

Depending on the availability of Mr Clarkson and his team, the MPH show is expected to kick-off in Sydney as early as April next year, before heading to Melbourne and then Brisbane.

Created by the the producers of Top Gear, which is aired by the BBC in the UK but was made famous here by SBS, the MPH show has been billed as Britain’s premier performance and prestige automotive event for several years.

It features a series of live stage/stunt shows alongside a traditional motor show, plus a number of interactive attractions such as the MPH Driving Experience and the Land Rover Terrapod. There is also a classic car section and the MPH Styling and Tuning zone for aftermarket exhibitors.

The year’s MPH shows will be held at Earls Court in London over November 1-4, and then at Birmingham’s NEC stadium over November 8-11. It will feature the UK debut of Jaguar’s all-new XF luxury sedan and Aston Martin’s new DBS flagship, both of which will make their global premiere at Frankfurt this week.

Comprising ten 75-minute shows over four days each, the UK events are attended by the majority of the UK’s performance and luxury car brands and supported by publications including Top Gear, Auto Express, Evo, Octane and The Sunday Times.

Including aftermarket businesses, the UK’s 2006 MPH shows attracted more than 330 exhibiting companies and 69,263 show-goers. Tickets cost between £23 ($A56) and £89 ($A218).

South Africa became the first nation outside the UK to play host to the MPH show earlier this year. Sponsored by BP, it ran over February 9-11 at the Coca-Cola Dome in Johannesburg and gave South Africa its first look at a live theatre production featuring action sequences and stunts involving some of the world’s most desirable cars.

GoAuto has learned that MPH show producers have been canvassing selected Australian car companies for several weeks. It is believed five 90-minute performances were originally planned for Sydney’s 8000-seat ACER Arena (formerly Sydney Superdome) at Olympic Park.

Cautious Australian MPH show director James Cregeen confirmed three events were planned, but cautioned their timing was primarily dependent on the availability of Mr Clarkson and his team.

“At the moment nothing is official, but the response (from car companies) was fantastic and it’s somewhat disappointing with the interest that we could have held it in February, but it’s better to wait and do it properly,” he told GoAuto.

“We think Australia warrants its own tour in itself, so we’ve decided to postpone and actually get Jeremy and his team over for a tour in its own right. We were going to go for February, but the dream has now become to bring it to Australia for three cities rather than just one.

“The plan originally was London, South Africa, Sydney, New Zealand and Abu Dabi. The idea now is London, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane within the next 18 months. The earliest would be April or May.”

Mr Cregeen said the shows producers had considered staging it without Mr Clarkson, and that the shows timing in relation to existing Australian motor shows was undecided.

“We have looked at alternatives (to Mr Clarkson). There is a lot to it aside from Jeremy, but I think he’s the big pull.

“Obviously it wouldn’t want to be on top of other motor shows, but we have to do decide if it’s good to have it around that time or not.

“The aim is to bring the MPH show out here and we’ve done the initial investigations with the manufacturers. The level of interest is good, but there are many other elements to go into it to allow us to go ahead at this stage.

“As you can appreciate there’s a lot of equipment coming over in a plane, so we have to finalise availability and finalise the venues (and there are very few venues that can accommodate us), then get back to confirm the manufacturers.

“What we’ve had to do is put it on hold while we wait to hear back from Jeremy and his team about availability,” he said.

Just as Top Gear has been a cash cow for its producers and the BBC, the motor show component is an integral part of the financial success of the MPH event. It is believed showroom exhibition packages will range between $20,000 and $50,000, and other sponsorship deals command up to $120,000.

While that’s far less expensive than it costs car brands to attend a major motor show such as in Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane, some manufacturers have expressed concern that the extra time, resources and funds it would require would come at the expense of an existing marketing exercise such as an established motor show.

“It sounds like something we’d have to do, but something else would have to give,” said one marketing manager who did not wish to be named.

Another unnamed spokesman for a luxury vehicle brand told GoAuto the MPH show was simply preaching to the converted.

“If you're an aspiring car company trying to build some brand credibility then it probably makes sense, but I think established brands will question the return on their investment,” he said.

While the Sydney motor show is held in October and the Brisbane motor show traditionally takes place in February, March’s Melbourne motor show would be the most severely impacted by a potential MPH show in Sydney in April, the following month.

Show director Russ Tyrie said more than 229,000 visitors attended this year’s Melbourne show over 10 days, and were treated to interactive highlights such as an off-road circuit and a stunt show by Peugeot driver Russ Swift, who has appeared on Top Gear.

“We certainly see ourselves as an entertainment event as well as an industry event,” he said. “It is a crowded marketplace (but) I guess it ultimately presents a commercial decision only car companies can make

[Josh_XC]

This is an exageration. go to finalgear.com and the fourms and there is pics there. He went to overtake a car and hit it, damaging the front left hand side of the car. It took 1-2 hours to repair and he was back out.