Top Gear presenter Richard Hammond has spoken for the first time after being involved in his second high speed crash within a year.

The pint-sized presenter was driving a £100,000 BMW 330Dti Sport when he was shunted off the track while taking part in a 24-hour Le Mans-style race at Silverstone on Saturday.  

But Hammond dismissed the incident as "a bit of a collision" and after the car was repaired, rejoined the race.

The 38-year-old TV star said: "Reports of my shunt this weekend have been greatly exaggerated.

"We were competing in a 24-hour race at Silverstone in a BMW. During one of my driving stints, a much faster car tried to overtake and there was a bit of a collision.

"It was nobody's fault - it was what they call a 'racing incident'. I managed to limp the car to the side of the track and wait for a truck to take me back to the pits, where it was quickly fixed."

He added: "Most importantly, no, Jeremy and I did not enjoy a 'comforting' hug. I would rather be hugged by a threshing machine and he would rather hug a chainsaw."

Hammond was left seriously ill after crashing a rocket-powered car at 288mph on September 20 last year.

A BBC spokesman said: "The three presenters and The Stig were racing a car ... at Silverstone over the weekend. During the race, at night, Richard was driving and another car shunted him off the track. Richard wasn't hurt at all but the car was damaged. It was taken back to the pits and repaired before Richard carried on with the race."