ilPistone.com

Ieri mentre provava a fare il record sulla pista di Top Gear con un dragster, Hammond ha avuto un incidente causato dallo scoppio di un pneumatico, mentre era nella fase di rallentamento, mentre andava a 315 migli all'ora.......ora è grave ma in condizioni stabili

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006430740,00.html

Forza Richard, vedrai che ce la fai.

mi spiac poraccio.
certo che gli inglesi con gli  speed record sono sfortunati...

Forza Richard

Porca vacca  :-\

Ciò non toglie che si possa ugualmente essere preoccupati per la sorte di un personaggio comunque amato

Si però mi pare che abbiano veramente esagerato questa volta.........che cavolo gli frega di fare il record mondiale di velocità su terra?Già fanno una trasmissione in cui spesse volte fanno cose un bel po' pericolose......dovevano proprio andare a cercarsi anche questa roba con una di quelle trappole schifose di dragster?Uno che ha famiglia con bimbi piccoli poi.......mah.....ma si sa che Richard ha sempre avuto la malattia della velocità e del superare sempre un po' di più il limite

Eh, si... ma "l'uomo" spesso e' un po' cosi'...  :-\

non era il record mondiale, era il record britannico; il record mondiale è di oltre 1000 km/h.

si giusto, mi sono confuso.....record britannico.....

diciamo anche che andava a circa 500 km/h (secondo il mirror aveva raggiunto una velocità di 280 mph, cioè circa 450 km/h), nemmeno troppo più velocemente di quando dovrebbe andare la famigerata veyron.

Go Richard, go!

Che ignorante !  Leggendo il titolo del post avevo pensato che fosse l'inventore dell'organo Hammond....    :-[

Accidenti mi spiace molto, forza Richard aspettiamo di rivederti sorridente al volante!!!

le polemiche gratuite in questo thread

http://www.ilpistone.com/smf/index.php?topic=29667.0

grazie

Dai, Richard, che ce la fai.

No cavolo. Speriamo che riesca a riprendersi. Mi piacevano troppo i duetti con Clarkson.....

da bbc.co.uk


TV host 'improving' after crash
Richard Hammond
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."

He has brought an awful lot to the programme
Quentin Willson, former Top Gear presenter

He was initially reported to have suffered serious head injuries and was taken to the neurological unit of Leeds General Infirmary by helicopter.

The hospital confirmed that his wife was at his bedside and, at the request of his family, no further information would be released.

Hammond was attempting to break the British land speed record - currently 300.3mph - in a Vampire dragster.

His co-presenters on the BBC Two programme, Jeremy Clarkson and James May, were also understood to be visiting their colleague at the hospital.

Top Gear has courted controversy in the past over apparently glamorising fast driving.

In 1999 a group of MPs criticised the series for being "obsessed with acceleration and speed".

Last year, lobby group Transport 2000 called for the show to be taken off the air accusing it of "glamorising speed and failing to make the connection with danger on the roads".

At the time, Hammond defended the programme, saying: "Top Gear is an entertaining show, for people that are interested in cars, that is driven by people who have been motoring journalists for many, many years."

'Breathtaking force'

Former firefighter Dave Ogden, who was working with Hammond at the Elvington airfield near York, said the team was attempting to break the land speed record.

He said the jet-powered car had done several runs 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."

His crew and an ambulance rushed over and found the car upside down and "dug in" to the grass.

Mr Ogden said he felt for a pulse and heard Hammond breathing before the emergency crews worked together to turn the car the right way up and then cut him free.

"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."

Motoring expert Adam Rayner 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.

One of the show's former presenters, Quentin Willson, described Hammond as "a wonderful, unique and distinctive Top Gear presenter" but his energy may have led him to overstep the mark.

Willson 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 mind-blowing."

Hammond grew up in Solihull, was 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 and had his own show on Five.

ma è morto ? no perchè l'articolo sopra postato sembra un coccodrillo......

xché? dicono che era cosciente dopo l'impatto e che su richiesta della famiglia non danno ulteriori notizie sulle condizioni di salute... il resto sono chiacchiere ;)

Ce la fa,ce la fa.Son sicuro che ce la fa... ;)
DAI!

meno male , mi sta simpatico hammond. fosse stato clarkson l'avrei lasciato dentro il rottame a cui avrei dato fuoco preventivamente ... ;D
mi hanno inquietato i verbi al passato usati nella seconda parte dell'articolo.

< staff: rimosso su richiesta dell'utente >

improving non vuol dire migliorare?

< staff: rimosso su richiesta dell'utente >

Pazzesco, come pochi di voi sapranno oggi sono andato a fare un colloquio in Inghilterra vicino Londra. Parlando di Top Gear con gli inglesi a margine del colloquio, mi hanno detto della notizia fresca dell'incidente di Hammond. E' incredibile, lì tutti sanno chi è, tutti i giornali lo hanno messo in prima pagina, il Times riporta una sua foto intera sul lato destro della prima pagina. Evidentemente il fenomeno Top Gear è un intrattenimento che va ben oltre la sola passione per le auto...

Forza "hamster", dunque. Spero potremo rivederlo presto in condizioni accettabili, l'incidente deve essere stato tragico. :(

tieni presente che hammond non fa solo topgear e a quanto pare in inghilterra è in TV tanto quanto la Hunziker da noi :P :P :P

Esatto. In Inghilterra è molto famoso non tanto per Top Gear, ma per il seguitissimo "Richard Hammond's 5 O'Clock Show"

http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2-2006440152,00.html

sembra che stia un po' meglio  :)

ottime notizie!

Hammond 'The Hamster' walks

By SHARON HENDRY
September 23, 2006

RICHARD Hammond has stunned family and friends by taking his first faltering steps ? just 30 HOURS after his horror dragster accident.

The astonishing hospital scene was witnessed by The Hamster?s fellow Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson.

Writing exclusively in The Sun, our columnist Jeremy revealed: ?In the wee small hours 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 tw*t??, he asked, before getting out of bed and walking, shakily, to the lavatory.

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

Richard, 36, made his epic walk late on Thursday night at Leeds General Infirmary.

A spokesman said last night: ?His condition has definitely improved. He is stable and making good progress.?

Richard was rushed there after crashing at around 300mph in a jet-engined Vampire dragster at Elvington airfield near York while filming for Top Gear.

Wife Mindy has been by his side. But their daughters Isabella, five, and Willow, two, have been shielded from the horror and not been told.

Mindy, 35, said: ?He?s smiling and talking, but he?s still very woozy. But he?s tough as hell and on his way back.

?The family is overwhelmed by the flowers, cards and emails from around the world. To know so many love him is astounding. We want to thank everyone.?

BBC bosses have decided to indefinitely postpone a new series of Best Of Top Gear. The first show was due to air on October 1.

They have also scrapped Richard?s new daredevil show Dangerous Britain ? where he was due to tackle hazardous landscapes.

A BBC source said: ?We couldn?t think about Dangerous Britain with Richard in his present condition.?

bene !  :D

ho lasciato un messaggio sul sito della BBC io, anche a nome di tutti quelli che seguono Top Gear qua dentro.
Mi fa molto piacere leggere questa notizia.

bravo! gli hai fatto gli auguri a nome del pistone? :)

certo che si....un po' di pubblicità non guasta mai
;D

Minchia... hai scritto in inglese ? Ommamma....  :P ;D

don't you ever go to f**k?

::) :P ;D

NON datemi il link! :P

Chissà se passa di quì il Losna ...  :o ;D

Ecco un bell'articolo di Jeremy sul Sun a proposito anche delle polemiche sul programma...

'Richard is winning his fight'

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 tw*t?? 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 C**k 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 t**d) 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.

Top pals ... Richard with Clarkson and
May on day before smash

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 c**p 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 C**kface? 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.
# Read Clarkson in The Sun every Saturday

Brutta notizia per gli amanti di Top Gear: la prossima stagione del popolarissimo show motoristico britannico è stata rimandata indefinitamente (avrebbe dovuto cominciare il prossimo 7 ottobre), a causa dell'incidente di Richard Hammond. Questo nonostante il presentatore continui a migliorare e la sua opione sia chiara, stando a quanto dichiarato da una fonte a lui vicina:

    Nè Richard nè Jeremy Clarkson vogliono che lo show sia rimandato e sicuramente non volgiono che sia soppresso. Richard vuole tornare alla normalità il più presto possibile [...] è una persona semplice e buona, e quello che lo rende felice è guidare auto veloci e fare bravate un po' folli. Farà tutto quello che potrà per evitare che lo show sia soppresso: è già abbastanza arrabbiato che sia stato rimandato.

A proposito di bravate un po' folli, il chiaro il video nel seguito ci mostra chiaramente quanto Clarkson sia in prima linea nel preferire un po' di sano, folle, divertimento nel suo programma.
Via | Jalopnik

ho evidenziato nell'articolo di Jeremy il passaggio più importante... incrociamo le dita! nel panorama dell'automobilismo in TV la chiusura di Top Gear sarebbe tragica!!! :'(

Bella frase

ed cco le ultime news.........embra che le riprese della nuova serie siano ripartite

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/5409608.stm

"Filming for a new series of the BBC's Top Gear programme has resumed, 15 days after presenter Richard Hammond crashed in a jet-powered car."

aggiornamento dal sito della BBC

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6076018.stm

.....the corporation could not confirm the return of Top Gear or any other future projects until it had received an update on Mr Hammond's progress.

:-\ :-\ :-\