Top Gear's Richard Hammond survives second high-speed crash

The 37-year-old - nicknamed The Hamster - was shunted off Silverstone's famous track by a fellow driver last weekend while driving a Bugatti Veyron at speeds at more than 100mph. He was racing a Typhoon fighter jet at the time.

The father-of-two was taking part in the Britcar 24-hour race with fellow Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson and James May when he crashed into a barrier at speed.

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Luckily, he escaped without injury. The BBC was unable last night to say how fast he was travelling.

Hammond today dismissed his crash as "a bit of a collision," adding: "Reports of my shunt this weekend have been greatly exaggerated.

"It was nobody's fault - it was what they call a 'racing incident'. I managed to limp the car to the side of the track and wait for a truck to take me back to the pits, where it was quickly fixed."

He added: "Most importantly, no, Jeremy and I did not enjoy a 'comforting' hug.

"I would rather be hugged by a threshing machine and he would rather hug a chainsaw. He called me a twat for crashing and I told him his race suit made him look like a hot air balloon and we got back to the race. It's as simple as that."

The collision brought back terrifying memories of his near-fatal smash last September.

Hammond was driving a jet-powered car at speeds approaching 300mph on an airfield near York when a tyre blow-out sent the vehicle spinning off the runway and left the presenter upside down and dug into a grass verge.

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The presenter suffered brain injuries and was left fighting for his life.

The Top Gear team were competing with more than 60 other racers in the 24-hour Le Mans-style competition for the upcoming series of the show.

The BBC team were taking turns to drive a £100,000 BMW 330 DTi Sport.

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Following the high-speed crash, Hammond was comforted by co-presenter Clarkson as he emerged from the smashed vehicle.

A race spectator said: "Richard was obviously thrilled to take his turn behind the wheel and was doing fine until an hour into his stint, when he suddenly came off the track."

"It hit a barrier at a fair old whack. The impact had wrecked the suspension and made a mess of the bodywork.

"When he got out he looked very pale and shaken up. Clarkson put an arm around him. He could see memories of the jet car were flooding back and Richard needed space."

The damaged car was towed to the pits where it underwent emergency repairs.

Despite the collision, Hammond proved once again that he was made of sterner stuff by getting back behind the wheel and continuing to race.