Hammond does it AGAIN

[neo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-40234865

[GMballistic]

Looked like a nasty crash from pictures and a video I've seen, ...have to say though that Hammond is one of the luckiest SOB's I've ever read about.

 

Video here: http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/richard-hammonds-crash-most-frightening-10599876

 

[Jay84]

A strange mix of unlucky for it always being him, lucky he keeps surviving. Having said that James and horses don't mix.

[Aashenfox]

It's a numbers game. It hasn't happened to Clarkson cos he isn't actually very brave. Having some thing go seriously wrong at speed with a modern car, is a one time in a thousand event. So if you drive two thousand cars at those kind of speeds, it's kinda inevitable that a couple of them are going to try to kill you.

 

At least he's not Harrison Ford who seems to think that his Millennium Falcon experience entitles him to a pilot's license. How THAT guy is still alive after crashing a plane and landing through a commercial flight path on the wrong runway, is beyond me. Legend.

Edited June 10, 2017 by Aashenfox

[Jetpilot]

Mmmm, you did see JC driving round Imola and the Nardo ring at over 200, amongst other stuff right, I certainly wouldnt say he wasnt brave, maybe just a better driver than Hamster.

 

I can imagine that was a pretty big bang when those lithium batteries went up

Edited June 11, 2017 by Jetpilot

[coldel]

I would say JC is a better driver than Hammond - although to be fair the other crash was hardly his fault with a drag car tyre failing on him

[Aashenfox]

I dunno, Clarkson hoons them on airfields, Hammond likes the track cars and the extreme stuff. Driving skill probably about the same, but Hammond puts himself in danger more often I reckon.

[ATTAK Z]

Are electric cars more prone to catching fire when crashed ?

If so, count me out

[coldel]

I do remember the BMW 24hrs race and JC definitely was going quicker than Hammond (who binned it)

[Aashenfox]

The batteries if pierced, will very quickly produce an endothermic reaction, rapid enough to produce a very violent, very high temperature external fire and in extreme cases a 'puff' type explosion my occur (it's not a rapid explosion like a bomb). Here's what happens when you abuse a lithium polymer battery at hobby scale (but please, don't think this is a toy car battery, these batteries can produce 600 amps at 25v, they are VERY serious in terms of power density, extreme amounts of energy in a small space)...

 

 

Obviously there will be loads of safeguards against this in commercial products, but @*!# happens, and when it happens, a huge fire is the inevitable result. Explosions can occur due to: Physical damage, over charging (failure of charge cutoff), over-discharging (failure of low voltage cutoff), and improper cell balancing (failure of the charger to charge each cell equally). It's definitely a worry.

Edited June 11, 2017 by Aashenfox

[Aashenfox]

I do remember the BMW 24hrs race and JC definitely was going quicker than Hammond (who binned it)

 

I don't think one race is indicative, too many variables.

[Jay84]

Clarkson has been doing it longer and tends to own cars that can corner... we all know hammond loves his yank tanks. And if the last GT is anything yo go by he's only just learned to drift. Maybe he got cocky and just stuffed it. Glad he's ok though.

I'm with you Attak it's scary how quick they go up.

[Aashenfox]

Hammond drifted a 911 beautifully in his first season on TG, but I agree, from the start, the cars Hammond gets into are more likely to kill him, even more so if you maintain that he is the less skilled driver, so I say again, Hammond has balls and extreme tastes, more risk=more probability.

 

The TG episode where he was driving that Zonda around teh canyons showed some aptitude at real driving (as opposed to under perfectly controlled circumstances, like JC on a racetrack or airfield).

[Jetpilot]

I do remember the BMW 24hrs race and JC definitely was going quicker than Hammond (who binned it)

 

I don't think one race is indicative, too many variables.

 

Same car, same track, same day....Personally i would say thats the most level playing field ever.

[GeorgeW]

Hammond also apparently used stunt drivers for a lot of footage didn't he? That is why he wanted to learn how to actually drift a car

[coldel]

I would imagine they all use stunt drivers at some point (insurance wouldnt pay out for any of them to say drive along a cliff edge) - but as above, same car, track, etc couldnt get a more even comparison.

[Jay84]

Only way to decide is head to head in identical cars. You could argue that after a 4 hour stint the car wasn't at its best for the other person, track conditions would have changed with light levels, other cars on track etc. Besides, James is obviously the faster driver.

[coldel]

Both drove in daylight, over many laps. Actually you would think the conditions would suit the younger fitter driver?

[coldel]

Actually a quick google shows that in the Grand Tour when the three are asked who is the 'best' driver JC and RH both say its James!

[Jay84]

Both drove in daylight, over many laps. Actually you would think the conditions would suit the younger fitter driver?

Good point on the younger fitter driver, I hadn't considered that. I'd like to see them go H2H in identical cars though. I also always wanted to see if a BTCC driver could lap faster than an F1 driver in the Suzuki.

[coldel]

Shame they never did their own lap times in the reasonably priced car

[Jay84]

I seem to remember JC did, but not the other 2.

New GT comes out autumn by the looks of things. Hopefully there will be a couple of tweaks made.

[coldel]

Hope there are some substantial tweaks, the last series was almost unwatchable - fortunately with amazon prime you can just skip all the endless pointless chat and watch the 15 mins or so of car footage.

[Jetpilot]

Funny i watched an old TG last nightI May in a 458 staying ahead of Hammond in a GT3RS, until he spun off trying, i think his ambition outweighs his talent a lot of time

[Aashenfox]

The 458 is both easier to drive and faster than the GT3RS by all accounts, but you're right, the fact that he tried too hard is evidence of his nature to 'risk it'.

Edited June 15, 2017 by Aashenfox