The Grand Tour

The Grand Tour: Richard Hammond Admits His Knee Will Never Be The Same After Crash

The Grand Tour has been around the block for quite a few years now, and Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond, and James May have been even further than that during the days of Top Gear. Even restrained by the COVID-19 pandemic they’ve managed to rack up two special episodes to great success.

But while fame, money, and success have followed this trio almost everywhere they’ve been, so has disappointment and danger.

Only weeks ago it was revealed that W. Chump & Sons, the production company established by Clarkson, Hammond, May, and Andy Wilman for The Grand Tour, saw a turnover of only £3.5 million in 2020 compared to £25 million the year before. And like 2019, no dividends were paid to the four.

Now, Richard Hammond has revealed that his knee injury, which he got during a Swiss Hill Climb event in The Grand Tour’s Season 2, is still giving him issues.

He told The mirror the following:

“I smashed my knee to pieces, it does hurt a bit from time to time. It has metal and bolts in it.”

This wasn’t the first major crash Hammond has been in. In 2017, he crashed a jet-propelled drag car at 300mph. The resulting crash gave him brain damage, and he was put into a coma for a number of weeks while he recovered.

He continued, admitting that his knee won’t even heal completely: “It ain’t going to get any better and will need replacing one day but you put that off as long as you can because new ones don’t last very long.

“I run and am quite active so I would wear it out really quickly. I’m going to try and function with my own dodgy knee for as long as I can. Also, technically it’s a machine, so I’d probably crash it.”

After the crash, where he destroyed a Rimac Concept One, his co-presenters watched the incident unfold. Andy Wilman, executive producer of the show, explained to the Sunday Mirror how he ran to the crash site as soon as he witnessed the crash:

“When they saw the wreckage on fire they thought Richard was dead. It was really bad.

“If Richard had been a few seconds slower getting out, he would have been incinerated.

“They were staggered he had got out of it alive, because there was just nothing left.”

The presenter was then airlifted to a hospital where he was “very shaken”.

“He has been very lucky. It’s a miracle really and certainly another one of his lives gone.”

Last month, Richard revealed that his 2006 accident has given him a better understanding of people who suffer from mental health issues. He told Wales Online the following:

“A brain injury isn’t like a bone break ‒ you don’t suddenly just go, ‘Okay, all better now. Let’s move on’.

“And, as we’ve gone through this pandemic and its various lockdowns, I’ve realised not enough is mentioned about the effect it can have on people mentally.

“It’s something I’m particularly alert to because of what happened to me.”

He ended: “My heart goes out to anyone who may be suffering and I always take the time to talk to them about it whenever I can.”

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