Atkinson found huge success in the Blackadder series

"He races quite a lot and he is absolutely fine," she said.

Steve Cooper, financial director of Croft, added: "It was a racing incident and he was shaken up but was not injured.

"I believe his brakes had failed or did not work and he went off the track and hit a barrier."

The race - the seventh of the meeting - had to be restarted after Atkinson was checked by a doctor and his battered red sports car was recovered from the track.

He then left the circuit, where he last raced two years ago.

Rescue

This is not the first time Atkinson has survived a near miss.

In March this year he was said to have taken control of a Cessna 202 aircraft after the pilot passed out - saving the lives of his wife and two children.

Atkinson is believed to have been on a family holiday in Kenya when the drama unfolded.

In 1999, the star also walked away unhurt after crashing a �650,000 MacLaren which he had bought to celebrate the success of the film Bean.