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​Richard Hammond Opens Up About His S**t-Scary 'Grand Tour' Crash

​Richard Hammond Opens Up About His S**t-Scary 'Grand Tour' Crash

Wife Mindy Hammond continued shopping with her daughter when she found out.

Anonymous

Anonymous

Richard Hammond is no stranger to fast cars - and under no illusions of the dangers that can accompany them. After all, he's had more than his fair share of smashes over the years while filming for The Grand Tour and Top Gear.

His most recent was in Switzerland and resulted in a fractured knee, not to mention a hearty reality check for the diminutive hamster.

The presenter is still on crutches after crashing a £2million-valued Rimac Concept One, an electric car that can top out at over 200mph. He lost control of the Croatian supercar while attempting the Hemburg Hill Climb race in St Gallen, sliding off the mountain road and down a hillside. The car was totalled and left as a burned out wreck on the mountainside. It was a real escape for Hammond, who was airlifted to hospital but only suffered a fractured kneecap.

That was less than a month ago, making it all the more surprising that he is looking well just three weeks after the life-threatening accident and reconstructive surgery on his smashed knee. And he has been discussing the shit-scary experience on ITV's This Morning.

Watch Richard's interview below:

Credit: ITV / This Morning

Hammond said: "I went off at the end of a hill climb. If you go off up there then there's coming down to be done very quickly!

"I came off the edge and it touched down a couple of times and then landed on the roof, and I did think, 'ooooh that's gone badly!'"

He added: "I've probably spent more time upside down in a car than most people, so that probably did help."

And the X-ray of his knee shows the full extent of the damage.

Richard Hammond knee
Richard Hammond knee

Credit: ITV / This Morning

Hammond revealed as a result of the surgery: "They told me I've lost 7mm of height. I can't be losing that."

Host Holly Willoughby then asked, 'so are you uneven?'. And Hammond joked: "Yes. No, no, I can't be running in circles for the rest of my life."

The Grand Tour presenter appeared on the show alongside wife Mindy, who expressed her strong nature when she was told of the accident while out shopping with her daughter.

"I did go a bit funny, which I've never done before. I told my 16-year-old, Izzy, that we'd come to buy shoes and we had to do just that," she said.

"You just sort of have to keep doing things to get you through it all."

She's made of tough stuff. After seeing her daredevil husband live in LAD dreamland for the last 15 years, travelling the world, driving fast cars and generally pratting about with his pals, she probably has to be.

Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond

It has been more than 10 years since the famous crash that saw Hammond suffer brain damage after a tyre burst while driving a 350mph-plus Vampire dragster at RAF Elvington in York. The jet-powered motor blew a tyre and rolled, leaving Hammond helpless in the cockpit.

He remained in a coma for two weeks and was later found to have suffered memory loss, depression and emotional difficulties as a result of the brain injuries. Hammond vowed to quit the dangerous stunts - perhaps he might stay true to his word this time.

If only to allow Mindy and Izzy to finish their shoe shopping in peace.

Words: Mike Meehall Wood

Featured Image Credit: Drive Tribe

Topics: richard hammond, Crash, Grand Tour, Top Gear