Australian Stig - The Stig’s Australian Cousin
Top Gear Australia’s version of the Stig - the Australian Stig - is similarly dressed to the UK White Stig, and his identity is similarly kept a secret.
Marketing in the lead up to the Top Gear Australia series claimed that Australian Stig was the Stig’s “Australian cousin”, but in the first episode he was introduced as just “the Stig”.
In the second series (1st episode) Top Gear Australia’s co-host Steve Pizzati clarified that he is an Australian Stig and “is not intended to be the same Stig from the UK series” which is a great relief to all
viewers and readers alike I’m sure! It is claimed that Pizzati had earlier suggested that the Australian Stig
should have an “Australian” name, such as “Stiggo”, but the other presenters refused.
We’ll look at the precedent behind that refusal when I discuss the Russian Stig - nicknamed “Stigushka” by the hosts - in another post.
But who is the Australian Stig?
Numerous names are in the frame for the Stig’s Australian Cousin including: Rick Bates, Neal Bates, David Reynolds, Jimmy Richards, Mark Skaife, Ian Luff, John Boston, Ben Porter and Michael Patrizzi. Only time will tell which one - or more - is correct (if any).
Watch this blog for more news as it unfolds, subscribe via RSS or sign up for the newsletter if you want to be sure not to miss it, use the social media icons to tell your friends …and of course leave a comment if you have an opinion.
Ben Collins claims he is The Stig
Top Gear, and indeed the BBC, have kept the Stig’s identity a closely-guarded secret for many years. But according to the Daily Telegraph, Ben Collins (from Bristol) recently revealed that he is the Stig.
Ben Collins’ motorsport career started in 1994, competing in Formula First and Formula Vauxhall Junior on his way to International Formula 3, before moving on to Le Mans, GT and NASCAR.
According to The Telegraph, 34-year old Ben Collins let the secret slip when he asked staff at a Bristol gallery to help him produce a limited-edition print of The Stig in action, his intention being to later sell 450 copies for £318 each (£143,100 total).
Other fans of Top Gear, along with this blogger, have been trying to establish the identity of The Stig for many years. Some weight was given to a YouTube clip showing The Stig, in full race gear, talking with a Bristol accent to a foreign TV crew; the video then cut to Ben Collins sounding similar.
BBC Top Gear’s presenters (Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May) have consistently denied that Ben Collins is The Stig.
Collins himself has always denied being The Stig too, but this is to be expected as he would almost certainly lose the role if he admitted it. What is beyond dispute however is that he has appeared on Top Gear as himself on various occasions, perform various driving roles.
In response to the rumour, James May denied that Ben Collins is the Stig.
It has of course been widely speculated that many people share the role of the Stig. Other suggestions as to who the Stig may be have included: Julian Bailey, Damon Hill, Tim Schrick, and even (on occasion) Russ Swift.
A Top Gear spokesman said: “We never comment on speculation as to who or what The Stig is.”
If you would like to go a step further than the BBC and comment on “who or what The Stig is” then please use the facility below. You can also share this post with others by using the social media links.
Who is The Stig?
The debate around “Who is the Stig?” continues, with many Top Gear fans simply refusing to believe that it is (or was?) Michael Schumacher.
I’ll confess now that I have personally suspected that the ‘on track’ Stig is one of a number of different racing drivers, with the actual driver occupying the role changing depending upon who is available to fit within Top Gear’s filming schedule.
I’ve raced nationally & internationally myself in the past, at the opposite extreme my son races cadet karts now, and I can tell you that in all cases the lap-times set by the top few drivers are sufficiently close that any one of them having an off-day can make far more difference than swapping to the next-best driver. Throw in the fact that Top Gear’s Dunsfold test track is often wet, and the cars tested for Power Lap Times are invariably running on road tyres, and once again you have another variable that will make far more difference that swapping the driver.
And I was astonished to see that multi-millionaire ex-F1 driver Michael Schumacher has the time in his schedule to visit the Surrey countryside every week, beautiful though the area is (I live nearby).
My money would instead have been on somebody like Derek Bell (about whom I’ll say more in another post) who is an amazingly talented driver, still very active (I met him at the Nurburgring a few years ago when he was driving an Audi RS6), and lives less than an hour’s drive from the Top Gear test track. Nigel Mansell is regularly found driving in the West-Country too, where he races (purely for fun) a Rotax 177 kart at the Dunkeswell race circuit that he owns.
There has also been speculation that The Stig could be Damon Hill (another retired Formula One driver, like Schumacher and Mansell), Mark Webber (a current F1 driver who finished second in the British Grand Prix last weekend), Martin Brundle or even Ben Collins. I’ll cover these rumours in separate posts.
But for now, at least until this evening’s show, the Top Gear team tells us that “The Stig is Michael Schumacher”. Or at least, it was!
So why reveal this secret now?
It’s no secret that Top Gear has had its budget substantially cut as a result of the recession, so if they were previously paying Schumacher to act as the Stig they may no longer have the money to do so, so now they’ll need to find a new Stig. What better way to make the swap-over than to reveal the identity of the retiring “White Stig” before introducing the new “Blue Stig” (or whatever colour is chosen next)?
Of course, if that’s the plan, then it will throw the credibility of the comparative Power Lap Times into some dispute because there can be no denying that very few people can hustle a car around a race track quite as fast as the legendary Michael Schumacher. So maybe the Stig will get slower?
And of course Schumacher drove the Ferrari FFX around the Top Gear test track last week, and set a new Power Lap time in the process, which means that if Jeremy Clarkson announces tonight that last week’s revelation was merely a hoax then we’ll know one thing for sure:
Probably the only car that has ever been taken around the Top Gear test track by Michael Schumacher is the Ferrari FFX, giving it an instant advantage over every other car that has ever been around that track (as, I suspect, did it’s slick tyres when every other car has run on road tyres!).
And don’t forget that Schumacher is Ferrari’s development and test driver, so he knows the FFX inside out as he helped develop it. So that gives the FFX two advantages:
1) The man driving it knows it better than any other car that any Stig has ever has ever driven around the track; and
2) It was being driven by one of the very best drivers the world has ever known!
And I can understand why Ferrari would wish to do this, not just because it makes their product look dramatically better (indisputably the very best!) but also because in a previous show Top Gear’s regular Stig crashed the Koenisegg …and they wouldn’t like that happening to a FFX.
So maybe it was just a PR stunt, to get massive viewers for the new series, with Ferrari paying for Michael Schumacher to appear on Top Gear and pretend to be the Stig?
My best advice is to be sat in front of your TV tonight, with BBC2 turned on, and watch the latest developments!
And when you’ve seen Top Gear, leave a comment here to share your opinions with the rest of the world. You can share this post too, using the social media links below:
Fat Stig (Big Stig - Stig’s American Cousin)
Fat Stig, officially called “Stig’s American Cousin” was yet another example of a cameo appearance by other Stigs on Top Gear.
Series 9 Episode 3 of Top Gear was set in the United States, with the presenters buying American cars and driving them across four states whilst on holiday.
One of the challenges set for the presenters was for the cars to set a lap time around a racetrack, for which “the Stig’s American cousin” was introduced. This Stig was nicknamed “Big Stig” by the presenters due to his obese appearance and was noted by Jeremy Clarkson to have a “very relaxed driving style”.
Fat Stig even made “Captain Slow” (James May) look fast!
We’ll have more news about the American Stig soon, so either sign-up via RSS (the small orange button top-right, just under the Search box) or leave your name and email in the box on the right and we’ll keep you updated.
And of course, you can read more here about other cousins of The Stig
Meanwhile, if you want to say anything please leave a comment, and if you want to share this post please use the social media buttons below.
African Stig
The African Stig was introduced in Top Gear Series 10 Episode 4, which featured the presenters driving across Botswana.
To test the performance of the three cars used by the presenters around a dirt rally track, Jeremy Clarkson introduced “the Stig’s African cousin”, who as since become known as “African Stig”.
This incarnation of the Stig was black, wore only Puma shoes, a loincloth with sash and the iconic white helmet.
This Stig set lap times for two of the cars, but walked away from the track when Jeremy Clarkson’s Lancia Beta failed to start. The others joked that African Stig was “in a hurry”, and decided “not to take your [Jeremy's] car”.
You can read more here about various incarnations of The Stig
Watch this space for more news as the story progresses (sign up via RSS or our newsletter feed on the right to be kept updated); you may also use the social media icons below to refer others to this page, and/or leave a comment below this post if you wish.
White Stig
After the Black Stig was “killed off”, a new “White Stig” was introduced, wearing white overalls and helmet. White Stig has been featured in Top Gear beyond just the Power Lap segment. His work has included driving cars in other segments of Top Gear, and racing against the hosts (Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond). He has also been recruited to undertake other tests.
White Stig has also appeared outside Top Gear in some of Jeremy Clarkson’s motoring specials, such as 2005’s Heaven and Hell, 2006’s The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, 2007’s Supercar Showdown, and 2008’s Thriller.
The White Stig also collected Top Gear’s third award for Best factual programme at the 2008 British National Television Awards. The Stig did not speak, but supplied an acceptance letter from the rest of the Top Gear crew that was read out by Griff Rhys Jones.
White Stig posted the fastest lap time of 1:44.4 around the Top Gear test track for the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car segment.
You can read more here about various incarnations of The Stig.
Watch this space for more news as the story progresses (sign up via RSS or our newsletter feed on the right to be kept updated); you may also use the social media icons below to refer others to this page, and/or leave a comment below this post if you wish.
Black Stig
The first Stig, the Black Stig, wore black overalls and helmet. It was introduced in the first episode of the current format by Jeremy Clarkson as the resident test driver, as the presenters could not consistently post fast times themselves. Clarkson noted that “we don’t know its name, we really don’t know its name, nobody knows its name, and we don’t wanna know, cause it’s a racing driver.” Clarkson then described the Stig as having a very small brain, worthless opinions, and a disorder described by Clarkson as “Mansell Syndrome” (named after Nigel Mansell). Its job description was to “just go out there and drive fast”.
Black Stig posted a lap time of 1:46 for the Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car segment. This Stig was used for the first two series of the show. It was then “killed off” at the start of the third series when he was shown driving a modified Jaguar XJ-S off the flight deck of HMS Invincible during a stunt and landing in the sea.
You can read more here about various incarnations of The Stig
Top Gear’s Stig finally ‘unveiled’
Michael Schumacher has revealed himself as Top Gear’s mysterious test driver the Stig.
The former Formula One driver took off the Stig’s famous white helmet during an interview with presenter Jeremy Clarkson after the studio audience urged him to reveal his true identity.
More at…
http://entertainment.uk.msn.com/tv/news/Article.aspx?cp-documentid=148115727
The answer to “Who Is The Stig?” - revealed as Michael Schumacher
The question “Who Is The Stig?” that has been asked by literally millions of fans of BBC TV’s Top Gear programme was last night revealed as Michael Schumacher, in an interviewer with presenter Jeremy Clarkson.
Co-presenters James May and Richard Hammond were nowhere to be seen as the mysterious ‘White Stig’ walked through the audience and took a seat with Clarkson. The Stig has never spoken to the camera, and when asked to remove his helmet joking shook his head to imply “no”.
But the D-rings on The Stig’s Simpson Racing helmet were clearly free, and the chin-strap unfastened.
Clarkson turned to the audience who started chanting for The Stig to remove his helmet and, slowly, he did just this to reveal none-other than a grinning Michael Schumacher underneath. Michael Schumacher is a retired Formula 1 racing driver, and you can read more about him on this page Michael Schumacher – A Short Biography.
It has been widely speculated that “The Stig” was a role shared by a number of drivers, including Damon Hill, but it is unlikely that Michael Schumacher would agree to have his name associated with another’s driving. As such this effectively puts paid to the speculation, at least as far as the man on the track is concerned, because it remains likely that an actor would have played the other roles (e.g. an appearance at the Motor Show, or travelling on the tube).
Quite why the Top Gear team decided to reveal The Stig’s identity on the opening programme of the new series is unclear, although the fact that their wings have been clipped with budget cuts brought on by the recession may well have some bearing on it.
Watch this space for more news as the story progresses (sign up via RSS or our newsletter feed to be kept updated); you may also use the social media icons to refer others to this page, and leave a comment below this post if you wish.