Jusoda Kid 1 Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Sad news but I'm sure he'll be back on his wheel in no time, to decent a bloke to croak it so young imo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Face 29 Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 He's regained conciousness so there's hope. Fingers crossed for the lad. Nicest bloke on the show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6670 Posted September 20, 2006 Author Share Posted September 20, 2006 Updated article from the BBC.... Top Gear's Richard Hammond is seriously ill in hospital after a crash in a jet-powered car while filming for the programme. The 36-year-old presenter was taken by air ambulance to Leeds General Infirmary's neurological unit. A spokesman for the hospital said Mr Hammond was "stable". Mr Hammond had been driving a rocket-powered dragster car capable of up to 300mph at the former RAF airfield in Elvington, Yorkshire. Former firefighter Dave Ogden, who runs private firm Event Fire Services, was one of the first people at the scene of the crash. He said: "We were down there with Top Gear who were filming him trying to break the British land speed record. "On the previous run, the car had just gone over 300mph but I am not sure if it had broken the record. "They had just done one more run and were planning to finish when it veered off to the right. "One of the parachutes had deployed but it went on to the grass and spun over and over before coming to a rest about 100 yards from us." He said his crew and an ambulance that was already on the airfield rushed over and found the car upside down and "dug in" to the grass. Mr Ogden said he felt for a pulse and heard Mr Hammond breathing before the emergency crews worked together to turn the car the right way up and then cut him free. He added: "He was regaining consciousness at that point and said he had some lower back pain. But he was drifting in and out of consciousness a little bit." Former Top Gear presenter Quentin Willson said the presenter was "irreplaceable". He said: "He is a wonderful, unique and distinctive Top Gear presenter "He has brought an awful lot to the programme and his indefatigable energy, the fact that he tries absolutely anything once, may have been the reason that he has overstepped the mark a bit. "He has turned Top Gear into a gang show with Jeremy and James and the three of them have wowed audiences all over the world and he is an international personality." Mr Wilson added: "There is no pressure from the BBC or the producer to take undue risks. "But that pressure is in your own head. You want to do an item on the programme which is mindblowing. "You want to do a fantastic item that blows everybody away." The presenter was born in Birmingham, educated in Yorkshire and lives near Cheltenham with his wife and children. In addition to presenting Top Gear for the BBC, he also fronted Brainiac on Sky One until recently. Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/north_y...ire/5365676.stm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6670 Posted September 20, 2006 Author Share Posted September 20, 2006 Incidentally, this is the thing he was driving... Here's a 300MPH Jet car that weighs 2,200 lbs, is 30 feet long and drinks 7-10 gallons of fuel per mile. The jet-car accelerates from 0 to 272 mph in six seconds and is powered by a Rolls Royce Orpheus jet engine theoretically capable of 370mph. The car holds the "Outright British Land Speed Record" and doesn't like to be told what to do. Top Gear's Richard Hammond is in the hospital after the car ate shit at about 270MPH. Bad jet-car, bad! Source: http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/vam...iver-202083.php Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Maul 0 Posted September 20, 2006 Share Posted September 20, 2006 Incidentally, this is the thing he was driving... Here's a 300MPH Jet car that weighs 2,200 lbs, is 30 feet long and drinks 7-10 gallons of fuel per mile. The jet-car accelerates from 0 to 272 mph in six seconds and is powered by a Rolls Royce Orpheus jet engine theoretically capable of 370mph. The car holds the "Outright British Land Speed Record" and doesn't like to be told what to do. Top Gear's Richard Hammond is in the hospital after the car ate shit at about 270MPH. Bad jet-car, bad! Source: http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/vam...iver-202083.php Apart from the cage there is fuck all to protect him. Nee wonder he's so seriously injured. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 21050 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Incidentally, this is the thing he was driving... Here's a 300MPH Jet car that weighs 2,200 lbs, is 30 feet long and drinks 7-10 gallons of fuel per mile. The jet-car accelerates from 0 to 272 mph in six seconds and is powered by a Rolls Royce Orpheus jet engine theoretically capable of 370mph. The car holds the "Outright British Land Speed Record" and doesn't like to be told what to do. Top Gear's Richard Hammond is in the hospital after the car ate shit at about 270MPH. Bad jet-car, bad! Source: http://www.gizmodo.com/gadgets/gadgets/vam...iver-202083.php Apart from the cage there is fuck all to protect him. Nee wonder he's so seriously injured. Looks like something from the Whacky Races. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ewerk 30166 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Fuck I hope he's ok. Without trying to sound harsh, if you are going to attempt a land speed record then you have to expect a fairly high degree of risk which I'm sure Hammond was aware of. Still best of luck to him and I hope he makes a quick and full recovery. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geordieshandy 0 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Get well soon wee man. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweetleftpeg 0 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Throttle through it, as Clarkson would say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemmill 44107 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 "Showing signs of improvement" according to the radio on the way in to work. He's also reported to have regained consciousness at the scene, which is presumably a good thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Kelly 1217 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Update. TV host 'improving' after crash The presenter is being treated at Leeds General Infirmary Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond is improving but remains seriously ill in hospital after he crashed a jet-powered car during filming for the BBC show. The 36-year-old was thought to be driving at about 300mph on an airfield near York when he crashed on Wednesday. The Health and Safety Executive and the BBC will investigate the incident. The corporation, whose conduct is likely to be closely scrutinised, said in a statement: "We are looking into all the factors of this accident." The statement continued: "It would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage until we know the full situation." The Leeds General Infirmary, where Hammond was taken by helicopter, said his wife was at his bedside and, at the request of his family, no further information would be released. Motoring expert Adam Rayner, of Fast Car magazine, said that at those speeds the driver would experience forces similar to those endured by fighter pilots. "These cars accelerate at 6G - the force is breathtaking and stopping is a real difficulty," he said Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manc-mag 1 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Just to take it off on a tangent, what 'land speed record' was he going for? 300mph is trundling along pace isnt it by modern records? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 21050 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Just to take it off on a tangent, what 'land speed record' was he going for? 300mph is trundling along pace isnt it by modern records? Fastest land speed in the UK I think (the record being set in the US). It's quite hard to go that fast without taking off. Personally, I think it's a completely pointless exercise. That isn't a car - it's a jet without wings. The only meaningful record would be a car with an internal combustion engine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6670 Posted September 21, 2006 Author Share Posted September 21, 2006 I think it was the UK landspeed record rather than the world record. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Good to hear he is improving. I expect Top Gear, certainly in its current format, will come to an end after this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sima 0 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Hammond hypnotised http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MrJzClMrks...ted&search= Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Carr's Gloves 3788 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 I'm really fucking shaken by this, I can't say how gutted I am. Top Gear is a brilliant show and Clarkson, May and Hammond are top presenters. Get well soon Hamster I like May and Hammond hope the little guy comes through. Clarkson is a back stabbing shit who got BBC to cancel top gear and get rid of the other presenters and then bring it back with him as the star controlling things. God forbid he crosses the road while Tiff Needel is driving on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig 6670 Posted September 21, 2006 Author Share Posted September 21, 2006 That's what I was thinking last night Dr Ken - regardless of what happens to Hammond, I can't see the BBC allowing the crazy stuff they got up to be aired any longer. I just hope it doesn't return to the boring shit like the days when they weren't allowed to show any wheel-spinning and stuff like that - Tiff must have felt like a caged animal back then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sima 0 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 If he pulls through, it won't change a thing I reckon. They'll continue to do what they have always done. Hell, they'll probably even show it with Hammond commentating on the top. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dr Kenneth Noisewater 0 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 If he pulls through, it won't change a thing I reckon. They'll continue to do what they have always done. Hell, they'll probably even show it with Hammond commentating on the top. I wouldn't be so sure about that Sima. The BBC and H&S executive will be looking very carefully at the risks involved, plus insurers and lawyers. Add in the outcry from do-gooders and environmentalists and it will be hard to justify a prime-time programme about boys and their toys, supercars and daft challenges no matter how popular it is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 21050 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 If he pulls through, it won't change a thing I reckon. They'll continue to do what they have always done. Hell, they'll probably even show it with Hammond commentating on the top. I wouldn't be so sure about that Sima. The BBC and H&S executive will be looking very carefully at the risks involved, plus insurers and lawyers. Add in the outcry from do-gooders and environmentalists and it will be hard to justify a prime-time programme about boys and their toys, supercars and daft challenges no matter how popular it is. Maybe it'll move to ITV or Sky. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sima 0 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Top Gear was really dull before it's format change and it's went on to be probably the best show on the bbc. If the hamster pulls through, neither he, Clarkson or May will be happy to dumb it down. BBC won't want to lose the viewers due to a minority. No doubt it was pre-scrutinised anyway and if said report finds nothing, I don't see how BBC can dumb it down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Renton 21050 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Top Gear was really dull before it's format change and it's went on to be probably the best show on the bbc. If the hamster pulls through, neither he, Clarkson or May will be happy to dumb it down. BBC won't want to lose the viewers due to a minority. No doubt it was pre-scrutinised anyway and if said report finds nothing, I don't see how BBC can dumb it down. Erm, I think that is somewhat debatable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spongebob toonpants 3902 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Top Gear was really dull before it's format change and it's went on to be probably the best show on the bbc. If the hamster pulls through, neither he, Clarkson or May will be happy to dumb it down. BBC won't want to lose the viewers due to a minority. No doubt it was pre-scrutinised anyway and if said report finds nothing, I don't see how BBC can dumb it down. I agree it would be hard to make it dumber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sima 0 Posted September 21, 2006 Share Posted September 21, 2006 Top Gear was really dull before it's format change and it's went on to be probably the best show on the bbc. If the hamster pulls through, neither he, Clarkson or May will be happy to dumb it down. BBC won't want to lose the viewers due to a minority. No doubt it was pre-scrutinised anyway and if said report finds nothing, I don't see how BBC can dumb it down. Erm, I think that is somewhat debatable. Can't name anything that the BBC produce that is better at the minute tbh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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