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Top Gear host in critical condition

Discussion in 'Ferrari Discussion (not model specific)' started by Gary(SF), Sep 20, 2006.

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  1. Gary(SF)

    Gary(SF) F1 Rookie

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    #1 Gary(SF), Sep 20, 2006
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/5365676.stm

    TV host seriously hurt in crash

    The presenter is being treated at Leeds General Infirmary
    Top Gear's Richard Hammond is seriously ill in hospital after a crash in a jet-powered car while filming for the BBC 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 dragster-style car capable of reaching 300mph at the former RAF airfield in Elvington, near York.

    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, who works on Top Gear with fellow hosts Jeremy Clarkson and James May, 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.
     
  2. TeggerR98

    TeggerR98 Rookie

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    #2 TeggerR98, Sep 20, 2006
    Man, I hope Hammond will be alright. Although a new episode of Top Gear hasn't aired in the states for a while, I'm a huge fan of the show and if Hammond were to be gone it just wouldn't be the same.
     
  3. 05011994

    05011994 Formula 3
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    #3 05011994, Sep 20, 2006
    I wish him the best of luck and a full recovery. Top Gear is such a great show, I wish we could get speed to pick up the whole season, there are plenty of programs that they could drop to make room.
     
  4. robin's308

    robin's308 Formula Junior

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    #4 robin's308, Sep 21, 2006
    top gear is the best motoring show ever. I hope Richard Hammond recovers and i hope he will be back hosting the show.
     
  5. DGS

    DGS Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #5 DGS, Sep 21, 2006
    Yipes. Britain's Evel Knievel? Going for the record himself. That's moxy.

    I hope he gets well soon.

    He's one of the reasons I started watching Brainiac on G4 (directTV ch354). (Well, that and the "professor" babe on the "sink or float" and "break or bend" segments. ;))
     
  6. vvassallo

    vvassallo F1 Veteran

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    #6 vvassallo, Sep 21, 2006
    I feel for him - he's the only one I really agree with in his reviews. Well, Clarkson is good too, but sometimes he is, ... so Clarkson.

    Hey is Hammond the Stig?

    I will be praying for him.
     
  7. BritBlaster

    BritBlaster F1 Rookie

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    #7 BritBlaster, Sep 21, 2006
    I don't think so.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stig
    Stig v1 was Perry McCarthy
    Stig v2 is rumoured to be Damon Hillm Julian Bailey .. or ???


    How very sad. I wish Richard and his family all the best in a speedy recovery.
     
  8. patpong

    patpong Formula 3

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    #8 patpong, Sep 21, 2006
    I hope he's ok real soon.
     
  9. racespecferrari

    racespecferrari F1 Veteran

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    #9 racespecferrari, Sep 21, 2006
    Stig 2 is Ben Collins
     
  10. don_xvi

    don_xvi F1 Rookie

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    #10 don_xvi, Sep 21, 2006
    Well of course I hope he gets better, not only because he's a fellow person on this earth but because he's the only part of that show that's worth the electricity it takes to run my TV to watch it.
    Remember folks, this is the crappy Top Gear that Discovery had on here in the states, not the good one, Fifth Gear that Speed shows.
     
  11. 3omar

    3omar Formula Junior

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    #11 3omar, Sep 21, 2006
    I enjoy Top Gear a lot, it is truly the best motoring show on TV.

    I wish Richard a speedy recovery. My thoughts and prayers are with him and his family.
     
  12. Anthony_Ferrari

    Anthony_Ferrari Formula 3

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    #12 Anthony_Ferrari, Sep 21, 2006
    Lots of info here. http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30100-13543385,00.html

    I really hope he pulls through. The hospital he is in is about 20 miles from here. Elvington where he had the crash is used by some F1 teams for straight-line testing.

    I can understand why James May was supposed to do it as they call him Captain Slow so for him to be the British Land Speed Record holder would have been ironic.
     
  13. ethirtysex

    ethirtysex Karting

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    #13 ethirtysex, Sep 21, 2006
    BBC news is reporting that he has a serious brain injury.
     
  14. tifosi12

    tifosi12 Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #14 tifosi12, Sep 21, 2006
    I'm praying for the Hamster. Best guy on the best show there is.
     
  15. dealerjack

    dealerjack Karting
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    #15 dealerjack, Sep 21, 2006
    Love Top Gear and pulling for Richard.
     
  16. nisanprathan

    nisanprathan Rookie

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    #16 nisanprathan, Sep 21, 2006
    wishing him a speedy recovery soon.
     
  17. LNR

    LNR Karting

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    #17 LNR, Sep 21, 2006
    Get well soon Richard!
     
  18. Nicke

    Nicke Formula Junior

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    #18 Nicke, Sep 22, 2006
    Get well Hamster!

    Something I thought was funny and very Top Gearish, a quote from Sky news ( http://news.sky.com/skynews/article/0,,30000-13543592,00.html )

    Clarkson revealed he had made Hammond smile during the visit by calling him "a crap driver".

    He told The Sun: "He was lying peacefully with a black eye but didn't react so I tried something else.

    "I said, 'The reason you're here is because you're a crap driver'. He then smiled at me. It was an amazing moment, very moving."
     
  19. amenasce

    amenasce Three Time F1 World Champ
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    #19 amenasce, Sep 22, 2006
    They are going to nick the show and have a field day against speed lovers.
     
  20. Nickt

    Nickt Formula 3

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    #20 Nickt, Sep 22, 2006
    I had the privlage of meeting Richard at the launch of the UK's internet safety initiative get safe online (http://www.getsafeonline.org/), this was just after he bought his yellow 308 GT4. He is a really nice genuine guy.
    I too hope he makes a full recovery, TG will never be the same again without him.
     
  21. racespecferrari

    racespecferrari F1 Veteran

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    #21 racespecferrari, Sep 22, 2006
    Aol states he's going to make a full recovery
     
  22. DGS

    DGS Seven Time F1 World Champ
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    #22 DGS, Sep 22, 2006
    Some good news.

    Top Gear star 'making progress' (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/north_yorkshire/5369512.stm)
    A Leeds General Infirmary spokesman said: "Doctors say Richard Hammond is making satisfactory progress.
    "This morning he has been moved from intensive care on to a high dependency unit.
    "His condition has been downgraded from 'serious but stable' to 'stable'."


    The "hamster" is no stranger to rocket propulsion (from Brainiac):

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JEG8y453ps
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQ9VSQDsW_I
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAMsHvPe19k

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSrRd0v5XmU
     
  23. tifosi12

    tifosi12 Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #23 tifosi12, Sep 22, 2006
    I'm worried about that too. The left wingers in the UK will use this to ban the show or at least try to take its "speed obsession" away. Darn it.
     
  24. Buzz48317

    Buzz48317 F1 Rookie

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    #24 Buzz48317, Sep 22, 2006
    Damn, that sucks! Hope that he is well soon. I agree that he is the best thing on TG. I loved the episode where he was hypnotized.
     
  25. tifosi12

    tifosi12 Four Time F1 World Champ
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    #25 tifosi12, Sep 22, 2006
    My fav was him trying to get the Zonda out of the Parisian parking garage causing a traffic meltdown in the city. I was laughing tears it was so funny.
     
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