Surely any risk taken is considered worth taking by the taker. And breaking the speed record was one that Hammond thought worth taking. A tyre blew on his sixth run (they think.)

Statistically he probably risked his life less than anyone of the millions who light up a cigarette every morning of their adult life.

If we understood his thought process and thought alike we would all be attempting the record. That's what sets risk takers apart from us. It doesn't make them wrong. It makes them different.