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 ...
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

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 !