Top Gear

The Top Gear trio’s worst injuries

To many of us, Jeremy, Richard and James have the best jobs………….. in the world. Being Top Gear presenters mean they get to drive all the latest exotic cars (along with a lot of cheap and cheerful cars as well) in locations around the world, all while being paid millions of dollars in the process.

As with all jobs though, it does come with risks. Check out our list below of all the occasions a Top Gear presenter has been injured during an episode!

 

Jeremy hits his head driving the MG SV


One of Jeremy Clarkson’s first drifting related accidents. He was drifting the MG SV around the Top Gear test track, when it suddenly regained grip, throwing his head sideways into the top of the door. Series 3, Episode 7.

 

Jeremy breaks his thumb crashing his £100 Volvo


In Top Gear’s first Cheap Car Challenge, Jeremy broke his thumb when he crashed his Volvo 760 GLE into a block wall… on purpose. To add insult to injury (literally) he lost 5 points in the challenge because of it. Series 4, Episode 3.

 

Jeremy slips two discs in his back


Jeremy’s third injury involved a “Repetitive Oversteer Injury” which caused him to slip two discs in his back. He blamed it on all the power sliding he recently did in a TVR Sagaris. Series 6, Episode 7.

 

Richard rolls his Suzuki Super Carry


Richard reportedly hurt his neck badly when he rolled his Suzuki Super Carry van as part of the £1000 Cheap Van Challenge. Series 8, Episode 8.

 

Richard Hammond’s Vampire dragster crash


Undoubtedly the most serious incident of them all. Richard Hammond was almost killed when the Vampire Dragster he was driving blew a tyre, causing it to spear off the road and roll upsidedown. Series 9, Episode 1.

 

Jeremy hurts his neck at Fuji Speedway


Due to the insane cornering forces generated by Nissan’s GT-R, Jeremy’s neck gave out mid-test – forcing him to pull over and be rescued by Fuji Speedway’s emergency response team. This included a man on a lawn mower. Series 11, Episode 5.

 

Jeremy injured in Renault Magnum lorry


Jeremy received an injury to his torso after driving his Renault Magnum truck around a skidpan. A combination of excessive speed and failing to wear a seat belt caused him to slide across the cab and slam into the gear shifter. Series 12, Episode 1.

 

Jeremy injured in Renault Magnum lorry (again)


The Renault Magnum strikes again, with Jeremy driving it through a solid brick wall as part of the final challenge. In Jeremy’s words, “My ankle burst where the clutch pedal went through it and my head was dislodged from my spine”. Series 12, Episode 1.

 

Jeremy falls off his Vespa in Vietnam


Another serious incident for Jeremy – this time sees him falling sideways off his lime-green Vespa in Vietnam, after he hit a pot hole at speed. Luckily, he came away from it relatively unscathed. Series 12, Episode 8.

 

James hits his head multiple times on in-car camera


James hit his head multiple times on the in-car camera in a Porsche Panamera, during the race between it and the Royal Mail from the Isles of Scilly (England) to Birsay on Mainland, Orkney (Scotland). Series 13, Episode 4.

 

James hits Jeremy in the gentleman’s area


Pretty self explanatory, yet still painful, this one. Series 13, Episode 5.

 

Jeremy cops a paintball to the gentleman’s area


Jeremy’s gentleman’s area is again injured after being hit by a paint ball fired from the exhaust of an F1 car, as part of the automotive art gallery challenge. Series 14, Episode 5.

 

Jeremy gets a bee lodged up his nostril


Whilst driving the Porsche 911 Turbo cabriolet at high speeds of the track, Jeremy was unfortunate enough to have a bee lodge itself in his nostril. Series 15, Episode 4.

 

James gets slammed to the ground by a recovery strap


James paid the price for making an error in judgement, by holding onto a recovery strap whilst Richard tried to pull Jeremy’s MX5 up a slope. James was thrown to the ground and suffered concussion after hitting his head on a rock. Series 16, Episode 2.

 

Richard Hammond falls off a horse


The Top Gear trio were forced to man horses and ride to the next town after their trucks ran out of fuel in Burma. Richard promptly fell off and had to be taken to hospital. Series 21, Episode 6.

 

James May falls off a horse


Another horse related incident – this time James cracked 3 ribs whilst trying to get on his horse. Patagonia Special, Part 2.

 

Quite a big list then! What was your favourite Top Gear incident?

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14 comments

Unknown User (TopGear Fan 101) June 17, 2021 at 9:51 pm

Poor Jeremy lol

Reply
TopGearbox Fan February 1, 2015 at 5:39 am

please post a collection of jeremy clarkson’s “funny smiles” and snobby faces (victory faces!)
it must be interesting…
tnx

Reply
the guy with no name February 15, 2015 at 3:08 pm

Top Gear Top Phrases (This is not a spam post, it’s just long)
May:
“Oh cock”
“Sod it”
“Sod off!”
“Buffeting”
“Cocking Nora”
“Right, you’ve given me the child, now get in the back” (lmao)
“You blithering idiot”
“You imbecile”
“Pillock”
“CLARKSOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!” (from the Africa special p2)
“Watch this!”

Hammond:
“Clearly”
“So, James May is dead…anyway*
“Watch this!”
*General Hammond rage*

The Stig:
*silence*

And the best ’til last…
Clarkson:
“Tonight…”
“Some say…”
“All we know is, he’s called The Stig”
“All we know is, he’s not the Stig, but he is The Stig’s *insert country* cousin)”
“Back to the studio”
“Hey! That’s my line!”
“And on that bombshell…”
“Powerrrr!!!”
“Speed!”
“How hard can it be?”
“What could possibly go wrong?”
“Top Gear, ambitious, but rubbish”
“Right, where’s my hammer?”
“I’ll get the hammer”
“Relaaax”
“Watch this!”
“Ah, that’s not gone well”
“Hammond! You’ve reversed into the sports lorry!”
” *twisted Clarkson style metaphor or simile*……………………in the world”
“Guys, problem, I’ve shoved an Anarchy flag through my water lilo!”
“Speed has never once killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary, that’s what gets you”
“Richard. Would you like some Pussy?” (the energy drink)

I’ve probably missed a couple.

Reply
L Edward Prodmire February 23, 2015 at 9:03 am

“James, would you like some cannabis?”

Reply
the guy with no name February 26, 2015 at 6:24 pm

Oh yeah, that cracked me up when he said it xD
Speaking of ‘crack’, James has done cannabis and Richard has done caramelized cocaine in Bolivia lol

Reply
madd December 29, 2015 at 1:28 pm

(In response to Jeremy when he says “How hard can it be?”)
Hammond:
“Don’t say that!”

“James, you’ve fallen out of your tent!”
Clarkson:
“James, I’ve fallen out of the basket thing”

Reply
Zechariah Hahn January 22, 2015 at 4:24 pm

Richard Hammond also hit his head on the camera in the Porsche Panamera when they were racing against the Royal Mail.

Reply
Billy The Hillbilly January 10, 2015 at 9:33 pm

Oh, yes, those guys went through a lot of suffer to deliver THE BEST SHOW on Earth. Can’t wait for the new series to start!

Reply
the guy with no name January 8, 2015 at 6:58 pm

What about when James got shot with a paintball gun ,in the crotch, by Clarkson and Hammond in the limo challenge? And when they shot him in the back of the head with an arrow (same episode).

-Bolivia special when James fell off the gang plank.

-James hurting his thumb when fitting the new tires on the TG Renault Avantime
-James may getting his foot run over with the engine winch in the Caterham race against the stig
-Hammond and Clarkson getting the bonnet off of James’ N24 Vantage when they went looking for the Stelvio pass
-Jeremy vomiting after driving the Prodrive P2 in circles (though that’s debatable as an injury).
-Hammond cutting his hand while erecting his Land Rover motorhome
-Clarkson cutting his hand on aluminium while making Geoff’s body
-Clarkson cutting his hand while lightening his Lancia Beta in the Botswana special
-Clarkson rolling his Alfa 75 in the Alfa challenge
-James racing the XSR 48 speed boat against Hammond in a Ferrari Daytona
-All 3 presenters driving their trackday cars to work (The Caterham, Morgan and KTM)
-Clarkson’s multiple Reliant Robin crashes
-Stig crashing the Robin
-Stig crashing the Koenigsegg
-Hammond rolling his Vauxhall Nova in the Teenage hill climb challenge
-May hitting hi head on the top of his Kia’s door after Clarkson accidentally hit him during car rugby.

Debatable injuries:
-The death of Vegetarian Stig
-The Death of Black Stig
-Clarkson getting eaten by dogs in the Daihatsu chase
-Clarkson getting blown up by a challenger 2 tank
-Hammond dying the his Hyundai S coupe in the first teenage challenge
-James cutting his crotch off to apply for girls’ car insurance (teen challenge)
-James’ death in Albania
-James getting kicked in the crotch by attack Stig in China
-Clarkson having his face ‘torn’ off by the GT-R black
-Hammond driving a bowler wildcat into an iceberg
-Clarkson having a nut (the thing used with a bolt,not the food) sticking to his lips in the polar special
-Clarkson ‘driving’ (it was an obvious gas cannon) a Twingo 133 into the sea
-The death of Ross Kemp (during the Twingo crash)
-Jeremy running down the camera crew during a Range Rover test
-The death of a film camera during Schumacher’s lap
-The Stig rolling the Bentley Continental SS during a power lap (though we didn’t see because of the Hyundai car football joke)
-Richard getting beaten up by the director for ‘The Sweeney’
-Hammond taking a needle to the eye whils making the ‘Rover James’
-The presenters hitting a man in a boat with the hovervan
-James throwing a log at Jeremy in the Patagonia special

Reply
L Edward Prodmire February 23, 2015 at 9:07 am

Jeremy dying in Chernobyl…

Reply
Sean McKellar February 23, 2015 at 10:12 am

Scripted accidents are not accidental!

Reply
jacquelyn chen January 8, 2015 at 1:23 pm

When Jeremy and James hurt their wedding vegetables on horseback while on the way to get more juice for their cars in Southeast Asia.

Reply
Sean McKellar January 14, 2015 at 1:22 pm

I realised that I also forgot the time when James hurt himself when he fell getting onto the barge in Bolivia 😀

Reply
L Edward Prodmire February 23, 2015 at 9:06 am

And James getting punished on almost every other water going vessel he’s been in or on; such as in the NZ race vs Jeremy in a Toyota and the Italy race against Richard in the Ferrari Daytona.

Reply

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