I have been involved in several crashes but my first was when I was 18 and competing in a kart race at Le Mans in France. Shortly after the race started I spun off the track. The rules state you have to pick the kart up by its back bumper and drag it back onto the track before you can drive off.

As I struggled to drag my kart onto the circuit, another driver came haring round the corner and smacked into the back of me. I went flying in the air and landed on the grass. I staggered to my feet feeling completely dazed and looked down at my overalls, which were ripped to shreds and bloodstained from a leg wound, which turned out to be a punctured calf muscle.

I hobbled over to a marshal and shouted at him to get me an ambulance, with a few expletives to hurry him along. I was taken to a local hospital, where they sewed the wound up. I now have a permanent scar on the back of my right leg as a reminder of the occasion, together with a massive trophy for having the best accident in the race.

Vicki Butler-Henderson presents Fifth Gear, which returns to Five on September 25

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