The Stig
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 The Stig (Series 3 onwards) |
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| Born: | unknown |
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| Occupation: | "Tame Racing Driver" |
The Stig is a racing driver on the revised format of the BBC motoring show Top Gear. He is cast as a mysterious "tame racing driver" whose identity is unknown, and who never speaks on camera. Nonetheless he is fully credited as a presenter along with Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May.
His primary function on the show is to drive various cars during segments of the programme, most often around the Top Gear test circuit, setting times which are then recorded on the Power Lap board. His second duty is to train whoever is the show's Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car that week.
The Stig's name derives from presenter Jeremy Clarkson's schooldays at Repton School.[1] He was originally going to be called "The Gimp".[2]
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[edit] Identity
The Stig's true identity is never revealed on the show, and in order to maintain the secrecy, all shots show him wearing full racing overalls and matching helmet. All that can be seen from the gap between his helmet and jumpsuit is that he is a white male with dark hair. It is also known that he wears size 10 racing boots as discovered by the Sunday Times when the Driving section wrote an article about the show.[3]
Officially there have been two Stigs. The first Stig (who wore black overalls and helmet) was "killed off" at the start of the third series when he was shown driving over the edge of the HMS Invincible during a stunt and landing in the sea. He was replaced by a new Stig (wearing all white) who is the current driver on the show.
The identity of the first Stig was revealed to be Perry McCarthy when his book Flat Out, Flat Broke was published in 2003. McCarthy is a former Formula 1 driver and test driver for the Benetton, Arrows and Williams teams, and also tested for BMW F1.
The identity of the new Stig has not been officially revealed. However, rumours abound that several racers take the role of the Stig in various capacities. In a Winter Olympics special episode of Top Gear, the Stig was shown doing a ski jump using a snowmobile. According to the Swedish tabloid newspaper Aftonbladet, the snowmobile driver performing the ski jump stunt was Dan Lang, a Swedish snowmobile cross driver.[4] In January 2006, the Daily Express claimed that the identity of the Stig is former Formula 1 driver Julian Bailey.
Fans of the show have speculated that the current Stig is a former or current Formula 1 driver. The show has capitalized on this speculation by hosting several F1 drivers on the program, ambiguously hinting that any of them may be the Stig without ever revealing his true identity. The Top Gear website also lists The Stig under the F1 drivers section of the Power Lap board.
On the episode of June 26, 2005, Damon Hill appeared as the Star in a Reasonably Priced Car. When asked directly by Clarkson if he was the Stig, Hill evaded the question and did not provide an outright denial or confirmation.[5] Mark Webber was interviewed on July 31, 2005 and at the conclusion of his lap Clarkson presented him with an "I AM THE STIG" T-shirt. Webber was then warned not to wear it around the F1 paddock, as "Michael doesn't always wear red".[6]
When former F1 driver Nigel Mansell appeared on the show, Jeremy Clarkson noted that the Stig theorized that the Suzuki Liana (the show's "reasonably priced car" at the time) could achieve a 1:44 time on the track.[7] Mansell proved the Stig's theory by lapping in a time of 1:44.6. Clarkson also noted that Mansell's line through the first corner was the same as the one taken by the Stig.
During the review of Jenson Button's lap, Clarkson commented that he, as did most of the other F1 drivers, took very different racing lines than the Stig. Button commented that "...obviously, the Stig isn't a Formula One Driver."[8] Since then The Stig has achieved the time of 1:44.4. Beating Mansell by only 0:00.2.
[edit] Introductions
The presenters of Top Gear regularly introduce the Stig with a few jocular, spurious rumours before each appearance. In earlier episodes, the Stig was introduced with various ad-libbed lines from the presenters, such as "Please welcome, his Holiness, the Stig!" Later episodes standardised the introduction, usually leading in with some outlandish claim (e.g., "Some say the outline of his left nipple is exactly the same shape as the Nürburgring"[9]) and concluding with "All we know is, he's called the Stig." The general suggestion created by these introductions is that the Stig is not a normal human being.
[edit] Listening habits
Another source of entertainment for the presenters is the music the Stig chooses to listen to while doing Power Laps around the Top Gear track. Often a specific genre will be chosen for one or more seasons. These have included one-hit wonders, easy listening, prog rock, baroque, advertising jingles and even language tapes. Clarkson claimed in the show's first episode that it calms him down.
[edit] External links
- BBC - Top Gear - Team profile. BBC. Retrieved on 2006-11-30.
- Interview with Perry McCarthy. crash.net.
| Top Gear |
| 1977 to 2001 - 2002 to present |
| Presenters |
|---|
| Current: Jeremy Clarkson - Richard Hammond - James May - The Stig |
| Previous: Jason Barlow - Steve Berry - Julia Bradbury - Vicki Butler-Henderson - Brendan Coogan - Jason Dawe - Noel Edmonds - Chris Goffey -
Kate Humble - Tony Mason - Tiff Needell - Michele Newman - Angela Rippon - Quentin Willson - William Woollard |
| Episodes and Broadcasters |
| Top Gear Episode List - Top Gear Broadcasters and Video Releases |
| Featured segments |
| Star in a Reasonably-Priced Car - The Cool Wall |
| Spin-Offs |
| Rally Report - Top Gear Motorsport - Stars in Fast Cars |
| Related articles |
| Top Gear Magazine - Jon Bentley - Fifth Gear |
