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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
Entertainment
Dominique Hines

Jeremy Clarkson breaks silence over James May’s ‘massive accident’

Jeremy Clarkson has spoken out about James May's car crash.

May, who was travelling at 75 mph when he crashed into a wall at a naval base during filming of The Grand Tour with co-hosts Clarkson, 62, and Richard Hammond, 52.

May was at the wheel during a dangerous drag-style race in Norway for their hit Prime Video when the accident happened.

He was rushed to hospital for tests, including a brain scan.

Luckily, he was only left with a broken rib.

Speaking of the incident, which is believed to have happened a few months ago,  for the first time, co-star Clarkson said: "It was a massive accident.

(L-R) May, Hammond and Clarkson in scenes from their upcoming, The Grand Tour presents: A Scandi Flick on Prime (The Grad Tour Amazon Prime)

"You know when Hammond [who was involved in a devastating 2006 crash that left him in a two-week coma] has an accident, he keeps going after the accident has begun.

"And this is what people need to remember with accidents - you can roll down a road upside down and on fire for as long as you like, and it’s very unlikely you’ll get hurt.

"What hurts you is coming to a sudden stop. And that’s what happened to James.

"Richard, when he went upside down, didn’t come to a sudden stop. That’s why he’s still here today."

The TV star, who will be back on screens on The Grand Tour presents: A Scandi Flick, when it launches on Prime Video on September 16, continued: "I was standing right next to him when he crashed. I mean, 10 feet away. And I couldn’t believe how fast he was going."

Speaking on Thursday, Hammond also spoke about the crash, joking that May was trying to copy him by crashing.

May was helped out of his Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 8 by paramedics and taken to hospital (Amazon Prime)

"He's taken the only thing I had left, which was crashing," he told The Sun.

 "It's very flattering that he would consider that level of impersonation, but I'll let him have that... He can have the crashing!"

Speaking of his recovery, he added: "It was a hell of an impact. It's pretty dramatic.

May luckily only suffered only a broken rib following the crash (Getty Images)

And I was surprised that all his limbs didn't just fall off."

Shortly after news of May's crash leaked last month, the former Top Gear host took to his Twitter to acknowledge the reports.

He wrote: “Thank you for all your kind comments and funny jokes re my crash, but it was a while back, not that bad, and I’m perfectly OK..."

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