The stig

[Donova]

Does anyone know who "The Stig" on top gear really is:confused: :)

[kronk10]

Does anyone know who "The Stig" on top gear really is:confused: :)

Apparantly there isnt just one stig theres several, which is rather iffy seeing that no one driver however good they are is the same:confused:

[db_1.2]

damen hill i thought? i seen him at the mph show last year anyway, obviously he didnt take his shizzle off but one bloke did role a little pinto powered go cart Lol

[Timmy]

There been two which i know of one was the merc test car driver i think sorry can't rember names

[Jim Mcrae]

Apparently he lives in tiverton in devon so i have been told. I met him couple of weeks back at the motor show, didnt say much though. Got a pic on my phone
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/bhpnos/DSC00036.jpg

[draper]

its me !!

[Jack]

It was Perry McCarthy

[boredbloke]

that the old grey guy?

Cos I've seen a pic of the stig unmasked... was an f1 driver once upon a time...

[Lee]

i know that the particular stig who took the F1 car around the test track HAD to be an ex F1 driver or test driver, as they dont let just anyone drive those buggers in anger!

My guess is its a few different people to keep the costs down. I imagine an ex F1 driver will charge slightly more for his services than a 'normal' race car driver. And you will also find a lot of high performance companies will only let their own test drivers take cars out, especially prototypes. The handy thing about 'the stig' is that he can be whoever the hell you need him to be at the time!

[John]

Hey bt, i know who the stig is, it's ernie ofof pvg, i've saw him in your landow pics driving a blue nova.

(lol )

[Lee]

no, that was the Stick, not the Stig lol

[John]

Ahh i see, easy mistake to make though!

(Lol, snigger, my humour misses the mark yet againlol lol )

[Donova]

Some good answers there people, thought Damon Hill was a bigger bloke than the "stig" looks though, but as said could be several "stigs";)

[RJM25R]

It was Perry McCarthy, ex test driver for Lotus and McLaren amongst others. He also did some work for VW.

He wrote a book called "Flat Out Flat Broke" about being skint in formula 1, i got it for xmas and it's a good read!!

Some quotes I found


The first Stig was Perry MaCarthy and he was replaced by the 'white Stig' as Autosport or a similar magazine exposed him, so the Beeb launched him off that aircraft carrier. As for the identity of the replacement, there are lots of theories. Personally I think it's Michael Jackson due to the 'colour change' http://lancerregister.com/images/smilies/biggrin.gif



HI YEAH PERRY MCARTHY WAS FIRST STIG. AND NOW ITS DAMON HILL I USED TO WORK AT MCLAREN F1 IN WOKING WHERE THEY ALSO MAKE THE MERC SLR THERE. AND WHEN TOP GEAR TOOK SLR ROUND THERE TRACK RON DENNIS GIVE US ALL A SPEACH CONGRATULATIONS AS SLR DID HAVE TOP SPOT FOR A WHILE. SAID IT WAS ALL THANKS TO THE STIG.... OR DAMON AS WE KNOW HIM.


http://www.crash.net/picture_view_single~cid~26~pid~107822.htm

Good interview http://www.crash.net/feature_view.asp?cid=26&id=6611

BUT.............

Some people say that he can drink beer through his earhole, and other people say his teeth are whiter than Richard Hammond's.
All we know is that he's called..........
















Ben Collins!

Ben Collins, used to be a decent enough f3 driver, then indy lights, then, f3 again, then 2 years world sports cars, then ascar champion at rockingham, and same again in 04

as well as being the stig. Now you know.

[Max Power]

Many people suggest Damon Hill is Top Gear's current "tame racing driver", The Stig.

He may well be, but Damon did appear on Top Gear in 2005 and set a lap time of 1:46.3 as the Star In A Reasonably Priced Car (then, a Suzuki Liana). Nigel Mansell and Jenson Button have also both attended the show and set lap times of 1:44.6 and 1:44.7, respectively.

The Stig, set a time of 1:44.1 - 0.5 of a second faster than any of the F1 drivers to attempt the lap. This is a large gap in motor racing terms.

My personal feelings are that The Stig is a one off driver as opposed to a selection of test / F1 drivers. This is due to the 'lines' that the aforementioned F1 drivers take, and the 'lines' that The Stig take around the track; quite different.

The F1 drivers tend to perform well as they will recognise the general rules of thumb when trying to perform a quick lap, but the Stig must know the track well to be able to push the cars further when testing them or setting lap times.

The first Stig - or "Black Stig" as he was referred to, due to the colour of his clothing - was Perry McCarthy, a former F1 driver and test driver for the Benetton, Arrows, Williams, and BMW teams.

The identity of the current Stig - or "White Stig" due to the same reasons as outlined above - will be of the same sort of motoring stature.

Perry McCarthy on the following website

http://www.crash.net/feature_view.asp?cid=26&id=6611

is quoted as hinting (?) to the idea that the current "Stiggy" is a girl. This may or may not be true, he may have been told to say this to distract any audiences trying to identify the current mysterious figure.

P.S: Does anyone know where there is a decent Nova - 1.0 / 1.2 - as standard as possible for a few hundred quid in Wiltshire? Email me at x8ox@hotmail.com if you have or know of a Nova to this spec. White if possible and in good cond. Thanks.

Matt

[Matt2107]

Loved the Stig's race in the Westfield against the presenters actually building one.
Was hilarious when he went for petrol... although most petrol stations will not serve you with a helmet on.

[Mike]

Loved the Stig's race in the Westfield against the presenters actually building one.
Was hilarious when he went for petrol... although most petrol stations will not serve you with a helmet on.

I saw that, was ace!!

[Matt2107]

THought it was great when Clarko did a bit of a wheel spin over the line.
If I'd just built that from scratch with a brand new engine I'd have taken it a bit easy but I think Clarko just wanted to look hard.

Last bit when the stig was pulled over was fantastic.