The Grand Tour: Richard Hammond ‘has no capacity for memory' following brain damage
THE GRAND TOUR star Richard Hammond loses his memory after five seconds, according to his friend Jeremy Clarkson.
The Grand Tour: Richard Hammond was left injured on Top Gear
Trailer for episode nine of The Grand Tour
The 48-year-old presenter, nicknamed Hamster, suffered life-threatening head injuries and brain damage after a 288mph stunt went wrong on the BBC's Top Gear 11 years ago.
Now, his co-host Jeremy Clarkson, 57, has claimed that the star’s accident has left him forgetting things after seconds of absorbing the information.
He said: “You can tell him something and five seconds later it is gone out of his head.
"Well, it is not his fault, it is because he cannot drive and he went upside down and damaged his brain."
The Grand Tour: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May return for season 2
You can tell him something and five seconds later it is gone out of his head
"He has no capacity for remembering anything and some of it is because he is not interested in anything and some of it is because he has had brain damage.”
Jeremy was speaking ahead of the new series of Amazon hit show The Grand Tour, which previously saw Richard flip a supercar over which swiftly burst into flames in Switzerland last year.
A statement from the show’s producers confirmed the star was in a crash on the Hemburg Hill Climb, but was left with less serious injuries before.
They said: "Richard was conscious and talking, and climbed out of the car himself before the vehicle burst into flames.”
The Grand Tour season 2 will return later this month
The Grand Tour: Richard Hammond crashed his car during filming last year
The keen biker escaped with a fractured knee and was unfased by the incident as he returned for more stunts in this year’s forthcoming series.
This time round, Richard, Jeremy and James May perform stunts for The Grand Tour charity adventure across Mozambique.
Season two of the gripping series sees the presenters crossing 14 countries, up 700,000 miles, using 63 cars, and testing £11million worth of vehicles.
According to a programme spokesperson, Richard paid £800 for a TVS Star HLX 125, which is made in India and designed for the tough conditions of Africa for the new series.
The Grand Tour: Richard Hammond on his motorbike in Mozambique
Speaking ahead of the special, set to air later this month, he told the Mirror: “I had a slight incident in Switzerland when I departed the road backwards in quite a fast car, but I also crashed a number of times on a motorcycle in Mozambique.
“Basically, what’s gone wrong is I keep getting injured.”
Jeremy also spilled that the daring trio struggled to contain their laughter during filming despite their dangerous stunts.
He told the publication: “There are moments where I laughed so much, you know that dangerous laughter when you think, ‘If I do not breathe in I’ll suffocate.”
The Mozambique special of the Grand Tour will be available on Amazon Prime from February 16.