Top Gear’s Stig revealed!
June 22, 2009 by George Skentzos
British television program Top Gear has done something none of us could have expected for its first show of the series – and it’s good, really good.
But to maintain a thin veil of secrecy we will warn you now, do not read on unless you want to know the true identity of the Stig. This is no joke, if you click ahead you will discover who the man (or woman) behind the helmet is – and it is no let down.
Welcome to the other side where it can be revealed that Top Gear’s white Stig is in fact none other than seven time Formula One World Drivers’ Champion Michael Schumacher.
For many he was too obvious to be the man behind the mask, but in true Top Gear style they have proved why they are the world’s favourite car program.
Following the reveal, Schumacher was interviewed like any other guest, leading many to believe this was merely a convenient hoax – which may be the case.
But of course this is likely what Top Gear would have expected meaning the easiest way to maintain the secret identity of such a high-profile Stig would be to unmask the legend and leave the rest to rampant conspiracy speculation.
Could Top Gear have hidden Schumacher behind the helmet for all these years?
Print it: 
Lol of course its a hoax. The Stig is a different person for each type of drive, with one usual driver for most of the cars. The Mazza MC12 for example was driven by its owner for the TG lap, and in the winter special they got a champion snowmobile rider.
Still, bloody excellent episode.
Also Im preeeeetty sure it was Shuey driving the FXX..
I think it might be a hoax, as they fired the original Stig for revealing his identity. Maybe if it was the final ever episode i could believe it but i dont think he’s the real Stig.
Not a chance. The Stig is may different people.
That sure is surprising, but I doubt that he actually is the Stig. Perhaps has done a few stints as the Stig but like KC said, there are different Stig’s depending on the requirement of the vehicle being driven.
No way, surely the car culture realises that Schu, would never be allowed to run in F1 as well as Top Gear for the years Shu was driving, and then for Schu to travel from either Monaco, and or Germany just to drive a few days with the BBC?
Dont think so.
And I wonder how long SBS will take this time to air the new series? Lose TGA, put this new ep on tonight SBS!!!
Sorry guys but no, the Stig is world sports car driver Ben Collins. Top Gear UK has only ever used two Stigs for the UK filmed shows. The first driver was black (can’t remember his name) and when he was “killed off” in the Jag XJ off a ship episode, he was changed to the current Stig. If you type Top Gear UK into You Tube and have the patience to trawl through the clips, you will find interviews with Stig 1 and the current Stig, both with helmets off. There is also a short bio on Ben Collins. He has an impressive CV of European and USA sports car racing.
The Shuey unveil is just a bit of fun. They have never used different drivers for different cars.
I am with all the other dudes, its a hoax.
Great that they finally got M/S on the show though.
M/S *may* have driven some of the Italian cars as the Stig, but i doubt who would have been in UK when he was paid by Ferrari, proves its a hoax
Anyway, their are many Stigs, not just one.
T/G, the origonal one, is a great show, wish they would dump the Aussie one so we can go back to seeing the best one without the big delay.
The Aussie Stig is called “The Chip” total rip off of T/G [A ex motoring show on C10]
Mail is the FrugalOne was also a Stig driver at one time…
Cheers
F-0
You know, I just watched it again. Shu doesnt even walk or even have the same mannerisms as “the Stig”. No way, good stunt Top Gear UK, but sorry.
Yeah I just watched the episode and it ends with Schu doing a ‘lap’ in the reasonably priced car. Which involves him stalling, missing gears, driving off the track, going the wrong way etc, after which Clarkson says he doesn’t think he really is the Stig.
Not that it was hard to tell that it was fake but yeah, they pretty much confirm it’s just a joke later on. Good to see TG UK again after the AU one but.
Heh. Mark Webber wore an “I am the Stig” T-Shirt a couple of years ago. Maybe he is the real Stig.
This is a really good publicity stunt that for a change doesn’t involve Clarkson ticking off some do-gooder group. Everyone is talking about Top Gear. Ratings next week will be great.
Sorry, FrugalOne but I am the Stig!!!!!11!!!!1!!!!elevnty one!!!!
What a nation of cynics we are! What a sad state of affairs if we can’t believe someone if they tell us something.
I’m going to accept it’s true until advised otherwise by someone who knows, as opposed to a bunch of people who think they know.
I can never figure out why they did all those sometimes-funny-often-stupid some say… things on Top Gear because whether this is him or not, they look incredibly stupid when it comes out. Because he’s not a robot that can’t function in the real world and thinks only of driving, he’s a person and probably a pretty boring one at that.
on the topic, TG Australia is so lame…..bring back the UK version to Aus TV please
Definitely Shu driving the FXX.. Shu has the only black FXX ever made.
There’s no way it’s Schumacher. The only reason he was the Stig for that particular episode was because they tested the Ferrari FXX and the particular car they tested happened to be Schumacher’s own personal one (he’s the only guy who has a black FXX without a racing stripe).
the australian stig is Brocky, his death was just a cover.
Can’t be – I AM THE STIG
Schumacher is obviously isn’t the Stig. It’s just one of the Top Gear stunt that executed brilliantly, as usual. :)
When you think about it why would Ferrari allow 1 of their most precious track car FXX do a lap on the Top Gear track in the hands of a non Ferrari tester/driver?
Also several seasons back when TG:UK requested an Enzo to run on their track, Ferrari refused and JC had a lil rant and had to borrow someone else’s Enzo to do a review.
It is possibly Schu’s own FXX on the track….apparently there aren’t many black ones…
He isn’t the stig….I just watched the episode and at the end the ‘bombshell’ was that that Michael isnt actually the stig.
TG fooled us all lol. Zahmad, yes that is Schu’s FXX as it doesn’t have the white stripe.
Okay, Tim. If you’ve watched it, I’ll believe you.
Yep they got him in to drive his own car the FXX, obviously when they sat him on the couch and JC interviewed him, as per the usual ’star in the reasonably priced car’.
Just downloading the episode now – 700Mb may take a while with our pathetic broadband speeds.
Go to http://www.topgear.com, there’s an interveiw with Schumacher,
about his lap in the FXX.
April fools day a little late for this year folks.
Last part of the episode:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v.....re=channel
I liked not knowing who (or what) the stig is. I liked it when it used to portrayed as a thing programmed to drive fast. Some Say….
Schu would have been outed long ago. Too many fans can recognise his walk amongst other mannerisms! Besides, Top Gear bag Ferrari far too much for Schuey to be associated with it.
Great fun though!
A few points from us here at Top Gear.
1 Thanks for the praise
2 Stop slagging off TG Oz.
3 Learn to keep left.
4 Maintain your speed.
5 The Stig is really a 14 year-old girl that could
out-drive any of you Aussies any day of the week !
I agree with Gibbo, I liked the notion that the Stig is some driving machine, a terminator built for driving, with a strange attitude to all things.
And give TG Aus a break, I find it alright, not as good as TGearUK but its got its wit and subtly amusing and plus the Aussie culture mixed into it, you can relate to as well.
I think that this series of TG Aus is miles better than the last series. They seem to be working better together. Still nowhere near as good as the Uk series, but then they have a few years of history now. If you watch some of the first UK episodes, they were not that great either. I seem to remember reading an interview where Clarkson said they were lucky to last until series 2 or 3 themselves.
The first Stig (I mentioned above) was Perry McCarthy. He was also a sportscar and UK Thundersports driver. He is also interviewed on You Tube. If I find the interviews with him and Ben Collins again, I will leave an address. The joy of working nights…
Likely that different experts on a track/vehicle combination are used. Do the bloggers who are convinced they know the “real” identity of the stig work on the program? Or are they just second hand opinions, im guessing the latter
Totally agree with Joober and Mad Max about TGAus.
My belief is that it’s Ben Collins – there’s quite the evidence out there to support. I think the intent here was that Top Gear is using Schumacher as a front to reflate the conspiracy, and to shift attention away from people and media possibly coming closer to realising and uncovering the identity of the real Stig.
Think about it. The question is no longer “who is the Stig?” but instead people are asking “is Schumacher really the Stig?
Also, at the end credits of the episode, Schumacher is accredited as ‘guest’ whereas Stig is always accredited as the 4th host. – something to think about – accidental? or intended?
I wouldn’t think that, through popular belief, there are multiple Stigs – Schumacher being one of them (remember Black Stig was just one person), as that would defeat the whole purpose of having consistency in the way of a dedicated driver (the Stig) for lap comparisons. It would render the Top Gear lap time board inaccurate in its representation and useless, and Top Gear (worlds most popular car show) wouldn’t do that for the sake of having multiple Stigs – remember, the lap time is about ranking vehicle track performance, not about the Stig. A lot of people reference cars through the Top Gear lap rankings.
I just watched the new episode of Top Gear, and at the end it’s made very clear that it’s all a joke, Schumacher is NOT The Stig.
Stuzz, ok I will make it easy for you. Into Google search, type in “top gear/ben collins. Up will come a whole host of information and short film clips. Just look through these and you will come up with a few good ones and finally you will find an interview with Ben where he discuss what he does on the show. Another clip shows hime (helmet off) giving driving instructions to a celebrity. There is also a clip where you have an interview with Perry McCarthy (the original black Stig). Also if you type “ben collins” into Wikipedia there is a full bio on him. This has been around for about 12 months. So no. I’m not guessing, just researching.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boqEObSrJXM
Shuey is too small to be the stig. as soon as he walked out in his suit, you could tell it wasnt the usual stig!
nice try :)
got ratings for sure!
Spot on The Salesman