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Richard Hammond ‘got chills’ stepping into car that almost killed him in horrific crash on Top Gear
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Richard Hammond admits he ‘got chills’ when he got back behind the wheel of the car he almost died in on Top Gear.
The TV presenter was nearly killed while filming an episode of the BBC series in 2006, when the front tyre of the Vampire Dragster he was driving failed while going at 319mph.
Last month, a clip of Richard getting back into the same car was shared online by DriveTribe, the social media website which he launched alongside his Grand Tour co-stars Jeremy Clarkson and James May.
When asked by Susanna Reid if he felt ‘chills’ when climbing back into the car, Richard said on Good Morning Britain: ‘I did a little bit. I didn’t tell Mindy, my wife, I was going to do it. We snuck off and filmed it.’
Ben Shephard wondered if Richard now struggles to watch the footage, but the adrenaline junkie replied: ‘No. I think I did for a while but not so much now,’ before joking: ‘It was quite bumpy.’
He added: ‘I got in and I did go a bit quiet. It was a strange feeling.’
Richard Hammond nearly died when he crashed in the dragster at 319mph in 2006 (Picture: BBC)
The TV presenter recently reunited with the car 16 years later (Picture: DriveTribe)
What Richard, 52, did find ‘genuinely weird’ was finding out the same car had been restored not too far from his house, which sparked the idea for him to reunite with the vehicle.
‘It seemed too good an opportunity [to pass up],’ he admitted.
Following the crash at Elvington airfield near York, Richard was in a coma for two weeks and suffered a brain injury, as well as post-traumatic amnesia.
In the DriveTribe clip, Richard said: ‘I’ll be doing what I promised myself I would never do and get back into the Vampire Dragster that so very, very nearly killed me.’
A news clip is then played and said: ‘Richard Hammond was involved in a serious crash,’ while another stated: ‘The Top Gear presenter suffered a significant brain injury.’
More: Top Gear
While approaching the dragster, Richard said: ‘Hello again. You look in better shape than last time I saw you anyway.
What’s odd is, I remember the last time I got in this thing, but I don’t remember getting out. So technically I’m still in it.’
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays at 6am on ITV.
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