Richard Hammond Top Gear Presenter in Critical Condition after Crash

[R4tfink]

See the egit who cussed them all hasnt shown his face since.

Great news about The Hamster.

[Sakib]

damn! he rocks! good luck, hope hes still hunky dory enough for TOP GEAR, RICHARD HAMMOND SHOW AND BRAINIAC

[anythinggoes]

http://cars.uk.msn.com/news/car_news_article.aspx?cp-documentid=953723

Top Gear: Has it gone too far? By Ian Dickson

Everyone was shocked to hear the news of Richard Hammond?s horrific crash on Wednesday. But there?s no doubt about it - Top Gear makes for compelling and compulsive viewing. Sunday night. Eight o?clock. It?s a date to remember for millions of us as we tune in, zone out and soak up an hour of unadulterated entertainment.

However, with this latest stunt, has Top Gear gone too far? Are Richard Hammond, Jeremy Clarkson and Richard May?s antics dangerous or daring? Or both? It isn?t difficult to see why the show has become such a success. Three friendly, down-to-earth blokes talking about cars on a level we can all understand. Crazy, exciting stunts never attempted before on television. And the sight of Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May ragging a car to within an inch of its life. Yes, Top Gear rounds off the weekend nicely for many of us, just like Sunday isn?t Sunday without a roast and all the trimmings.

The thing is, for as many laughs as the Top Gear boys get, they get their share of criticism too. The three of them have whipped up a storm of controversy over the years. Clarkson alone has upset nearly every environmental and road safety group imaginable. He famously said in the Sunday Times that the ?Health and Safety Executive is the cancer of a civilised society.? However, the news that Hammond almost died performing a stunt for the show only raises serious questions about Top Gear?s future.

Proper training?

Daredevil Hammond was apparently trying to break the UK?s land speed record in a jet-powered Vampire dragster when he left the airfield at a suspected 280mph and ploughed into the grass. Time was when the presenter?s job was to present, but with a stunt like this Hammond took on an altogether more dangerous role ? one for which he may not have been properly trained. Most drivers of jet-powered cars are current or former fighter pilots, like Andy Green, who have lightening reactions and are used to travelling at colossal speeds. Green is the fastest man on the planet, holding the world land speed record of 763mph, set in 1997.

There?s no doubt that the dragster run ? like every stunt Top Gear pulls off - is conducted under the strictest and tightest safety guidelines. But accidents do happen, despite the precautions. As viewers wanting our next fix of armchair-adrenalin, are we asking too much of presenters like Hammond or are we merely tagging along as they live out their dreams?

The company behind the high-speed challenge ? Primetime Land Speed Engineering ? has denied that Hammond was attempting any speed-smashing record. Perhaps this is the truth, but the facts speak for themselves. He still crashed at 280mph so does it really matter whether he was trying to break any records or not? Could it be something to do with Hammond not actually being a racing driver? Generally speaking he, like most of us, shouldn?t be within 100 miles of a car capable of these speeds.

It?s like Ferrari asking you to step in for Michael Schumacher because he?s in bed with the flu and you?ve always wanted to drive a grand prix car. There are some things we just don?t have the talent for. When it comes to setting the Top Gear power laps, why do you think Clarkson, May and Hammond take a back seat and let the Stig, a qualified racing driver, set the fastest laps? Perhaps it?s because he?s a qualified racing driver ? and the rest aren?t. So when May, a novice pilot not trained to fly at night, races Clarkson in a Bugatti Veyron through Europe for a feature, or the guys play ?caravan conkers?, the question has to be asked, is this safe? Has the quest for entertainment gone too far?

Compulsive television

In films, rarely do you get the star of the show risking his or her neck performing the action scenes. They use a stunt double. So why do presenters like Hammond risk everything? The answer is simple: because it makes for must-see television. These guys should be applauded for putting their lives on the line for our entertainment and brightening up our Sunday evenings. Critics call for a dumbed down Top Gear, where the emphasis is on sensible cars, driven at sensible speeds, for sensible people. Where?s the fun in that? And how many of us would actually watch it?

What Clarkson, Hammond and May do can sometimes be foolish, but the more extreme and dangerous they make their stunts, the more we lap it up. If it wasn?t for people with a spirit of adventure, where would we be now? We wouldn?t know what the view is like from the top of Everest, for a start. Trains, planes and cars would never have left the drawing board, along with much else we take for granted in the modern world. And we wouldn?t know what?s it?s like to drive the world?s fastest cars flat out. In today?s shackled society, watching messrs Hammond, Clarkson and May drive as fast as they can is the closest most of us will get.

So has Top Gear gone too far? No way. Hammond wasn?t forced behind the wheel of the dragster at gunpoint. He knew the risks. He had the best support team waiting in the wings. Given the opportunity, most petrolheads would give it a go themselves. Top Gear is perhaps venturing into dangerous territory with some of its wacky stunts. But one thing?s for sure: the more hair-brained stunts they do the more we want to tune in. And, so long as the presenters know the risks involved and are prepared to live with the consequences, should we not be supporting them for their courage and bravery?

[Graciela]

Hamster Takes First Steps
Updated: 06:20, Saturday September 23, 2006

Doctors say TV presenter Richard Hammond is making satisfactory progress following his high-speed car crash.

According to his fellow Top Gear host Jeremy Clarkson, he has taken his first steps in hospital since the accident.

Mr Hammond's wife Mindy says he is on his way back to health and has thanked the public for for their support and good wishes.

The 36-year-old is in a stable condition at Leeds General Infirmary where friends and family have been keeping a bedside vigil following Wednesday's accident at Elvington airfield, near York.

His wife told the Daily Mirror: "He's spoken and smiled. It's early days and what has happened hasn't really sunk in for him.

"But he's starting to look like Richard again. He's tough as hell and on his way back."


She added: "The whole family is overwhelmed by everyone's support. There have been so many flowers, cards and emails from around the world."

Clarkson, a Sun columnist, said in the newspaper: "In the wee small hours of Thursday night, just 30 hours after what is almost certainly the world's fastest ever car crash, Richard Hammond suddenly sat up in bed opened his eyes and asked what had happened.

Hammond, who has been moved out of intensive care, was seriously injured when the 370mph jet-powered Vampire dragster he was driving at speeds up to 300mph veered off the runway, flipped over several times and crashed on to the grass.

He was airlifted to hospital.

Police and Health and Safety Executive investigations are continuing to establish exactly what went wrong in the incident which happened during filming for the BBC2 motoring show.

The hospital said Hammond suffered a "significant brain injury". Earlier a spokesman added: "Doctors say Richard Hammond is making satisfactory progress."


http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13543787,00.html

 

[Mr Rage]

hope he gets well for his family, but other than that him n the rest of em on top gear, 5 star pricks!!!!

Go home nobhead, I can see how Clarkson could be disliked cos he's very conterversial but every time I see Hammond on TV he comes across as a really nice bloke

there both smug prats, so u go home nobhead!

[anythinggoes]

Clarksons article from The Sun

By JEREMY CLARKSON
SEPTEMBER 23, 2006
 
IN the wee small hours of Thursday night, just 30 hours after what is almost certainly the world?s fastest ever car crash, Richard Hammond suddenly sat up in bed, opened his eyes and asked what had happened.

?You?ve been in a car accident,? I said. ?Was I driving like a twat?? he asked, before getting out of bed and walking, shakily, to the lavatory.

His wife, Mindy, couldn?t believe her eyes. None of us could. It really did seem that he?d had a look through death?s door and decided he didn?t like what he saw on the other side.

Later, he looked across at James May and said: ?Hello Cock face.?

Despite all the odds, it seemed we?d got our Hamster back . . .

Two years ago, Richard Hammond, James May and I agreed on a plan of action should one of us be killed while making our show, Top Gear.

We decided that after the announcement of the death was made in the following week?s show, the next word should be ?anyway?.

So if the Hamster had ever careered through the Pearly Gates in a flaming 200mph fireball, I would put on a sombre face, say that Richard Hammond had died and then, after a small pause, say: ?Anyway, the new Jag . . .?

It was a sort of joke. But then this week, it sort of wasn?t.

The idea to drive a jet car actually came from Hammond. He skedaddled into the office one day and, bubbling with his trademark enthusiasm, said: ?Hey, why don?t we go somewhere and drive really fast? I don?t mean supercar fast. I mean REALLY fast.?

We all liked the idea. But what we liked even more was the idea of James May being given the assignment.

James is known to his fans as Captain Slow. He thinks dawdling is reckless and practises the art of what he calls ?Christian Motoring?. Mostly, this involves letting people out of side turnings and generally being Edwardian.

Putting him, and that ?70s barnet, in a 370mph jet car was a bit like putting just Jane Austen at the helm of a space shuttle. 


Immediately, James discovered a prior engagement and said he couldn?t go. I, meanwhile, decided that I spent most of my thirties upside down in jet fighters and helicopter gunships, vomiting, and that these days I was far too fat.

That left Hammond, who was bouncing around like the donkey in Shrek shouting, ?Pick me. Pick me?.

And so we did.

Today, people who have absolutely no idea at all of how television works, (Yes, columnist Neil Lyndon ? that?s you, you sanctimonious, rent-a-soundbite little turd) are saying that our producers push us to do more and more dangerous stunts in a bid for ratings.

Rubbish. Our producers spend their whole lives filling in health and safety forms and asking ?are you sure??

It?s the presenters who come up with the hare-brained ideas and trans-continental races . . . not the backroom boys or the suits.

The car Hammond was set to drive is called the Vampire. It?s powered by a Rolls- Royce Orpheus jet engine ? as used by the Red Arrows ? and currently holds the British land speed record of 300.3mph.

I know one bloke who has driven it and he said simply: ?It was brilliant. Although I did fill my pants.?

So, the day before his fateful encounter, I shook Hammond?s hand and said ?goodbye?.

?I?ll probably be killed,? he joked with a huge, beaming smile. ?Anyway . . .?

He knew that he was embarking on a dangerous mission. And this is what no one seems to understand. He was looking forward to it. He likes the buzz.

He also knew that in Top Gear?s 28-year history, no one on the show has ever been hurt. Not even Ray Mears can claim that. Or Anthea Turner or even Janet Ellis.

Right now no one knows for sure what caused the accident. Film footage seems to point the finger of blame at a tyre. And that?s something you can?t prepare for.

The tyres were from a Nascar racer in America, chosen specifically because they have super-stiff side walls. But it does seem that one of them burst.

How fast was Richard going? Well on the run before, he?d reached 315mph. So it?s likely he?d hit that speed again. Richard isn?t the sort of man who goes backwards. If he thought he?d done 315, he?d be trying to do 317. Or 320. Or five million if he?d thought there was half a chance.

People with beards and dirty fingernails are now saying he should never have been in that car, doing that kind of speed. They make out it?s all terribly complicated and that you need years of practice.

Rubbish. From what I understand, you sit there, you push a lever to light the afterburner and you then push another to shut off the fuel supply ? it runs on heating oil ? and deploy the parachutes. A hamster could do it. In fact, a hamster did.


Of course, behind the scenes, there was a small army of people making sure all went well. The Vampire team had even brought along a device to measure wind speed. Nothing that could be left to chance had been left to chance. But chance itself was still sitting there, waiting to bite. As the car began its series of sickening rolls, at a speed that boggles the mind, Richard?s head was taking a ferocious pounding as his helmet smashed into the protective steel cage.

That was bad, but inside his body things were worse. He will have been subjected to maybe 100g. This means his brain will have weighed 71 stone. And it was rolling around inside his head at 300 revs per minute.

He landed upside-down, with his helmet, full of soil, buried in the earth. Amazingly, he was alive. And more than that, after a few minutes of unconsciousness, he was lucid.

?I want to do a piece to camera?, he told the crew. He even fought the ambulancemen, who said he couldn?t. No surprises there. Richard likes fighting. He does it a lot.

When I first heard of the crash, I was doing a rather miserable 175mph in an Aston Martin at our test track in Surrey. Everyone was quite upbeat. He didn?t appear to be badly hurt. So I carried on driving round corners a little too quickly while shouting. I even went out for dinner with friends that night.

But later it became apparent that Richard was much more seriously injured than we?d thought. Doctors described his condition as critical.

At the hospital, his wife Mindy was being a star. She?s one of those women who takes things in her stride but this was something else. She was laughing. She was joking.

She?d told daughters Willow and Izzy that Daddy had crashed another car and messed up his clothes. So she was taking him some clean ones. Richard had a bad night. At four he was giving very serious cause for concern but as the sun rose, he?d rallied a bit.

He didn?t look very ?rallied? to me. In fact, he looked like a Klingon, with a massively swollen eye and a huge lump on his forehead. The only good news, so far as I could see, was that his teeth were still as shiny and bright as ever.

It?s genuinely hard to know how Mindy could be so upbeat when her husband was so badly dented. They?d just exchanged contracts on a new house. They were about to take out a joint mortgage. And yet, she was still cheerful. James May and I weren?t. May even admits to having been ?a bit unmanly? at one point.

There?s one thing though. All we ever hear about the NHS is that it?s rubbish. But anyone who ever experiences the emergency care it provides always notices just how un-rubbish it is in reality.

Leeds General Infirmary is a no star hospital. According to the bureaucrats, it?s terrible. But trust me on this. From where Richard Hammond was lying, it was about as terrible as Angelina Jolie?s left breast.

They were coping brilliantly with a forest of flowers being sent by well wishers. ?They?re lovely,? said Mindy, and then, after a pause . . . ?Do you think anyone will send cash donations?? Outside, in the real world, one internet site had raised ?4,000 for the air ambulance that had saved Richard?s life. Sky News was deluged with thousands of goodwill messages. The Sun received messages from all over the world.

And there was some hope. While James was leaning over, whispering to our bashed-up friend, Mindy started to stroke his hair and I noticed the hamster?s heart rate had shot up from 60 to 75 beats per minute.


?Christ, James. He thinks you?re doing the stroking,? I yelled.

Quickly, the heart beat settled down again. Then came the moment when I said: ?The reason you?re here mate is because you?re a crap driver.?

And he smiled.

I knew then that he was going to pull through. And God it was a relief.

You can never tell after a brain injury what long-term implications there might be. He might have no sense of taste, or double vision. His teeth may go brown. Or he may be absolutely fine.

The only thing I knew was this: he was going to live.

And the next day after he said, ?Hello Cockface? to James May, it looked like he might just win back everything else as well.

You?d think that the joyous news would silence the vultures circling the crash site since the accident, rejoicing in the fact that Top Gear had finally been taught its lesson that speed kills.

Somehow I doubt it though. The campaign to have us taken off the air ? sparked curiously, by the BBC?s own news website ? will now be ramped up, fuelled by the environmentalists and spearheaded by muddle-headed road safety campaigners.

Richard is winning his fight. And now mine begins. To make sure that he has a show to come back to.

[Origen]

Thanks for posting that, excellent article by Jeremy Clarkson. Clarkson tells it like it is and he's quite funny. I'm glad he's defending the show and can't wait for the new series.

[R4tfink]

That Clarkson article, made me shed a tear a little bit. Awesome. I love all the Top Gear guys the friendship they have is so clear on the show but this shows it all the more.

Come on Hamster!

[Graciela]

Here's the crash as it was shown on Top Gear on Sunday:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cc2roLoP6jI