SPOILER WARNING: if you don’t want to know the identity of the Top Gear Stig then you’d better stop reading now.
OK, so you really want to know?
Are you sure?
For some time now the identity of the Stig has been a closely guarded secret. Last time the Stig’s true identity was discovered in 2002 he was shot off the bows of HMS Invincible, only to return as the white Stig. Following the leak of some of extra details last week, the press have finally got their man.
The man in the white suit is Ben Collins, professional stuntman and part time Le Mans racer. 33 years old and from Bristol, Collins was apparently identified when he went to an art gallery for help with producing a limited edition print of the Stig in action.
Collins has actually appeared as himself on Top Gear on a number of occasions. Remember the 2004 stunt where a parachutist leaps into a moving open-top Mercedes? The man behind the wheel was Ben Collins. In a later series he was one of the drivers in the Toyota Aygo five-a-side football match, playing in Richard Hammond’s team. He has also been credited as having “worked closely with Top Gear as a high performance driver and consultant” during the HSE investigation into Richard Hammond’s jet car crash.
So, the question is what happens now? Will the Top Gear executives kill off the Stig again? Or will he be allowed to continue? We’ll just have to wait until the next series starts in June.
Update: hang on, is the Stig really Michael Schumacher?
Source: Daily Telegraph, Wikipedia