Swiss Hill Climb Organizers Fined $5000 Over Richard Hammond’s Rimac Crash

It’s unclear if the hill climb event will go on.

byChris Tsui|
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After Richard Hammond took quite the tumble in a 1,200-horsepower electric Rimac Concept_One on a Swiss Hill Climb course in June, the FIA (along with his family, for that matter) were less than pleased, launching a look into "disciplinary proceedings" over the ordeal. The racing organization has reportedly delivered a fine of more than $5,000 to the Swiss Hillclimb Championship organizers, according to Motorsport.com.

Switzerland's motorsport authority, Auto Sport Schweiz, announced Tuesday that the FIA has ruled that the "show runs" (presumably, runs performed with the sole purpose of getting more B-roll for the car show the crew was filming) Hammond and company were doing at the time of the accident violated the governing body's International Sporting Code and that the crash "acted against the interests of the sport." As a result, organizers have been fined 5,000 Swiss francs, or $5,138 at today's exchange rates, on top of six-month license suspensions for race director Christian Muller and stewards Hermann Muller, Karl Marty and Daniel Lenglet. Motorsport.com reported that the future of the entire event "is now in jeopardy."

Alongside colleagues Jeremy Clarkson and James May, Hammond was indeed filming for Season 2 of The Grand Tour at the time of the accident. He reportedly lost control of the Croatian supercar at the top of the hill, rolling it a considerable distance before the car landed on its roof and burst into flames. Hammond was able to climb to safety, only suffering from a fractured knee. 

The Grand Tour is scheduled to return this October.

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