Richard Hammond crash caused by tyre blister

London - The jet-powered car which crashed on 20 Sept, 2006 with Richard Hammond at the wheel in a stunt of the TV Programme Top Gear, was using tyres made by Hoosier. The two rear tyres were five years old. The immediate cause of the crash was damage caused to the front right tyre on the run prior to the crash. These are some of the key points from the investigation into the crash by the UK Health and Safety Executive.

The report summary, which can be downloaded from the HSE site, says the tyres were sent to the Transort Research Laboratory after the crash, and the TRL studied the tyres.

In paragraph 89, the sumary says, "The Transport Research Laboratory report suggests that sometime during the penultimate run the right front tyre picked up a small pointed foreign body (or bodies) which pierced the outer tyre casing just at the inside edge of the tread. This seems to have caused a blister in the outer side which was evident on the film at the end of the penultimate run, but which then seems to have subsided. The report confirms that the bulge was not apparent at the start of the final run, indicating 'that 'air' from inside the tyre was escaping into the tyre structure but not escaping from the tyre'."

The TRL noted that the Hoosier tyres, "are made for sports car racing not for ultra-high speed sprints / record attempts." According to the report, the makers of the jet car, Primetime Land Speed Engineering (PTLE), said, "they originally chose the tyres based on the experience of other teams operating similar vehicles. The tyres have very stiff sidewalls, which made them suitable for travelling very fast in a straight line. (This stiffness could, however, mask a loss of tyre pressure in the event of a slow puncture). They have been using the tyres for approximately 12 years without incident and this proven track record cannot be denied."

While the TRL criticised the fact that both rear tyres were over five years old, it concluded that tyre age did not contribute in any way to the accident. Hoosier recommends that competition tyres should be used within 2 years.

Among the conclusions of the report is recommendation 31: " Although the age of the tyres was not found to have been a factor in this accident: as a matter of principle, it is considered that PTLE should not use tyres for high speed runs that exceed the manufacturers recommended age limit of 2 years. In particular they should not fit tyres older than 2 years when third parties are to drive their jet cars and extreme vehicles."

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Press statement from HSE includes link to download report summary