Richard Mark Hammond is an English journalist, television presenter, mechanic, and writer. He is best known for co-hosting the BBC Two motoring program Top Gear from 2002 until 2015 with Jeremy Clarkson and James May.
Hammond has also notably presented the entertainment documentary series Brainiac: Science Abuse (2003–2008), the game show Total Wipeout (2009–2012), and the nature documentary series Planet Earth Live (2012).
In 2016, again with Clarkson and May, Hammond launched the automotive social media website DriveTribe, where he regularly provides content on his tribe “Hammond’s Fob Jockeys”.
On June 10, 2017, Hammond crashed a Rimac Concept One while filming for The Grand Tour in Hemberg, Switzerland.
Hammond was on his last run up a timed hill climb course during the Bergrennen Hemberg event, when, just after crossing the finish line, the car ran off the road. The car tumbled down the hill and eventually came to rest upside down 110 meters (360 ft) from the road.
Hammond announced on Twitter on 21 June 2021 that he would be making a show with Discovery+ about the restoration of old cars.
What happened to Richard Hammond on Top Gear?
During the filming of a Top Gear segment at the former RAF Elvington airbase near York on 20 September 2006, Hammond was injured in the crash of the jet-powered car he was piloting. He was traveling at 319 mph (513 km/h) at the time of the crash.