It was one of the most horrific accidents in Top Gear’s history, but James May has said he didn’t worry after Richard Hammond’s car crash.
The beloved TV personality was involved in a high-speed crash whilst filming the motoring series back in 2006, with the jet-powered dragster reaching a speed of around 288mph just moments before.
Whilst his co-star was left in a coma for two weeks following the accident at Elvington Airfield, near York, May says that he wasn't concerned about his own stunts on the show.
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In fact, the 60-year-old has continued having more hair-raising antics on The Grand Tour, with the presenter having to out-race some of the world’s deadliest archers in the latest special.
Alongside Hammond and motor-mouth Clarkson, the trio even performed an incredible stunt at a military airbase which is more suitable for Fast and Furious than three middle-aged blokes.
Whilst most of us would run away in fear, May has carried on even after his colleague’s horrific 2006 crash.
He explained why to LADbible, saying that he thought Hammond had simply been ‘very unlucky’ to have been involved in the high-speed accident.
When asked whether he’d wanted to stop filming the stunt, he said: “No, to be honest, because most of the things we do are pretty safe. I think Hammond was very unlucky.”
The motoring journalist and host then revealed that Hammond’s accident was a ‘bit freakish’, adding that it was possibly a little ‘ill-judged’.
“People always say, I was really lucky, he survived that. But actually, I think he was very unlucky to have the accident, it was a bit freakish and it shouldn't really have happened,” he admitted.
“…It's not the sort of thing that we regularly do, driving a jet car,” May continued.
“So it was possibly slightly ill-judged in retrospect, but it didn't make me think, 'Oh, everything we do is going to kill us', because most of the things we do aren’t.”
The trio continue to delight audiences at home with their trips to Eastern Europe and beyond, putting the past behind them as they reunite.
However, The Grand Tour star did admit that it was probably time for them to 'grow up' and added that he didn't think having so many cars was 'appropriate'.
“I mean, Hammond's got a lot of stuff. He's got two E-type Jags, amongst other things, and he's got a car repair business now," May said.
"I think he spends most of his time repairing his own cars, which is not a very good business model, but it makes him happy," he teased, adding: "I've actually got too many cars, and I've come to the realisation that I need to stop that. "Because it's inappropriate for a man of my age or something. I don't know.”
While all good things may come to an end, you can watch May, Hammond and motor-mouth Clarkson in The Grand Tour: Eurocrash exclusively on Prime Video.
Topics: The Grand Tour, James May, Richard Hammond, Cars, TV and Film
Katherine Sidnell