VIDEO: Tiff Needell and actor John Barrowman crash Subaru rally car on Fifth Gear
In case Richard Hammond's spectacular jet-car crash wasn't enough to convince you of the inherent dangers of filming British television's top car shows, the presenters of Fifth Gear have given us another startling reminder.
Barrowman, who plays a character who cannot be killed on Dr. Who spin-off series Torchwood, was driving the £120,000 rally-spec Subie with Needell riding shotgun when the actor lost control of the car, sending it over the shoulder and flipping several times down the hill before coming to a rest on the shore of a lake. Paramedics arrived at the scene and removed glass shards from Barrowman's eyes before taking both to the hospital with no major injuries. Check out the video after the jump for the segment -- a stark reminder that enthusiasm and ego aren't a suitable replacement for talent.
[Source: Daily Mail via RPMGo.com]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
James 8:10PM (7/23/2009)
Thank goodness John and Tiff are okay! We need John for the new Torchwood series.
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FSM 9:17PM (7/23/2009)
Agreed. I love both of these blokes for the entertainment they have provided me and glad to see them laughing at the end.
AutoblogKeepsMeAwakeAtWork 8:21PM (7/23/2009)
Shards of glass from his eyes!? Wow...
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aj121489 8:43PM (7/23/2009)
Yea I'm not sure how that still gets classified as "no major injuries" with glass shards having to be removed from his eyes...
Mike P. 9:34PM (7/23/2009)
It sounds horrible and sometimes feels excruciatingly painful, but it's really not a major injury... unless the shards are huge, a good eyewash (a proper one) will suffice most of the time. It's not life-threatening so it isn't really a major injury.
Rod 9:58AM (7/24/2009)
For "Removed shards of glass" - Read, drained a bottle of Evian over his face.
Jeff McNeil 8:25PM (7/23/2009)
Amazing how calm they look during and after the crash. The Subaru hardly looks damaged at all either - can't imagine it would have been in the same in a street car without a cage.
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AutoblogKeepsMeAwakeAtWork 9:31PM (7/23/2009)
http://www.clubwrx.net/forums/everyday-impreza-talk/57398-wrx-destroyed-but-i-walked-away.html
I know it's not the same, but the Impreza is one helluva safe car...
Protzenegger 12:33AM (7/24/2009)
Wow, I remember that. What a lucky git.
Venom 9:09PM (7/23/2009)
Rubbing is racing. lol
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sevenbates 9:17PM (7/23/2009)
Hold up here, Noah, he was driving quite well - and better than you would I'd bet. I can think of quite a few "talented" professional rally drivers who have flipped due to a lateral jump. Lay off the snark.
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Yaroukh 9:23PM (7/23/2009)
The (unsuccessful) attempt of the 800bhp Fiesta at Pikes Peak:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8nptFx1jug&fmt=22
This might be actually only a practice/test run but it is still amazing (especially in HD).
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Hootan 9:56PM (7/23/2009)
Amazing vid Yaroukh! I just blogged it and gave props to you in my post:
http://blog.rightpedal.com/2009/07/23/hd-video-amazing-800-hp-ford-fiesta-pike-peak-clim/
Jsams4131 8:08AM (7/24/2009)
Prolly one of the better HD vids I've seen on youtube ever.
Hootan 9:29PM (7/23/2009)
he does pretty well considering he's not trained. don't forget that rally drivers stuff their cars - and even get killed - all the time.
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FThorn 9:34PM (7/23/2009)
I started watching last year. Tiff at first annoyed me. Now he has grown on me. I feel sorry for him now because he is so old and is not the best driver. I certainly do not want him to get hurt. He's a lot more genuine than any Top Gear host/actor/bloke
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EU_reader 10:35PM (7/23/2009)
"So old"? What the hell? He's like 57... You make it sound like he's an incapable, incontinent old fool aged 100 or something. Surely you remember Sir Jackie Stewart in top gear showing May round a track? He was 65 at the time
About Tiff, don't let all those years of racing experience and fifth gear testing cloud your excellent judgement though, obviously your statement is correct: he can't drive a car to save his life... /sarcasm mode
Oh well, you watched it for an 'entire whole year' so I guess that makes you an expert. I'm sure you drive your cars a lot better than he does. Have you seen how he drove that rally car in the video? He's a very skilled driver on all sorts of vehicles and surfaces. He and Plato (much 'younger') have several shoot outs, and he has no problem keeping up.
Let me tell you why you couldn't stand him: he's typically British and you're American, 'nuff said.
Oh well, don't let me keep you from posting a video showing how good a (race-)driver you are. Amaze me.
FThorn 10:48PM (7/23/2009)
You assumed watching for a year mean's one years' worth of episodes. You assumed wrong. I watched many seasons' worth of episodes in the previous year or so of real time.
I won't bother with all the other assumptions you got wrong.
Yago Bal 11:19PM (7/23/2009)
Yes, he's not that good... just an ex F1, sports cars, touring driver... quite lame.
mnemonicj 11:27AM (7/24/2009)
Hey EU_reader, I take offense to your comment generalizing Americans. I am an American and I think Tiff Needell is a great driver. I watch Fifth Gear and Top Gear because they are the two best car shows in the world. You are just a racist prick that can't quell his racist attitude from a simple argument.
I agree with most everything you said, except for the @sshole comment.