Richard Hammond is a TV legend. The presenter shot to fame on Top Gear and continued his partnership with Jeremy Clarkson and James May on The Grand Tour on Amazon Prime while he now presents for Drivetribe on YouTube. The original trio have, of course, now finished doing their long road trips together.
Hammond has been in his fair share of speedy incidents. He, of course, had a horrible crash in a jet-powered dragster that left him in hospital. He has also had an accident driving a Rimac prototype, but a recent incident was…a lot more mundane.
Hammond was recently caught speeding on British roads, on two occasions, and living up to the speedy name he made for himself on the motoring shows. The incidents were first reported by Worcester News before going around the rest of the internet. Naturally, it got plenty of people talking.
Hammond was fined the equivalent of $2,300 for his speeding offences. One of which took place in a Porsche EV, while the other was in a Bentley. The first of the offences took place towards the end of 2025, with speed camera images showing the former Top Gear presenter at the wheel of the Porsche.
Where Was Hammond Caught Speeding?
The 56-year-old was first captured speeding in his Porsche Taycan Cross Turismo EV at 68mph in a 50mph limit zone. This took place on the A40 in Pencraig, Herefordshire on December 2nd 2025. Hammond was then clocked driving his Bentley Continental GT at 82mph in a 70mph zone on the M50 Rudhall Overbridge, also in Herefordshire, and this happened on December 22nd 2025.
The former Top Gear host pleaded guilty to the two speeding charges through his solicitor. Both of the cases had been pursued by West Mercia Police. Magistrate Ann Minton ordered Hammond to pay a total of £1,771, which included two fines of £333 and £666, £240 in costs, and victim surcharges costing £532. That roughly converts to $2,300.
Hammond had been caught speeding by a police officer with a handheld speed gun in the first offense on December 2nd. Another handheld speed gun caught him again on December 22nd. The initial tickets, sent to a Grade II listed Herefordshire castle that Hammond bought in 2012, and to a £1 million farm estate near Hereford, were returned as “addressee gone away.”
Hammond’s Speeding Offences Became a Complex Case
This made the case more complicated than you would expect for a simple speeding fine. Eventually, Hammond was traced to his £2 million home near Abergavenny in Wales. This is where a staggering 30+ vehicles of his are kept, ranging from his iconic Opel Kadet Oliver to the Chevrolet SSR from a recent Grand Tour special across Europe. Hammond had also been accused of another speeding offense in August 2025.
There were also charges of ignoring police letters and failing to identify himself as the guilty driver. However, a letter read to the court by his solicitor stated he had replied and identified himself as the driver, replying to the query via first-class post. Those charges were dropped as Hammond had paid the speeding fines. Seven points were also added to his licence.