The Stig takes his helmet off

BornToBe?

After all this time, it took the courts to find out the taimed racing driver.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/news/7975346/Top-Gear-court-case-The-Stig-revealed-as-racing-driver-Ben-Collins.html

wonder if he'll drive off an aircraft carriar like the black stig, or if they'll continue the stig thing.
pretty amazing they managed to keep it a secret for so long

checkyabadself

Not really. Its the worst keep secret that Ben Collins was the stig. Ive seen threads(on car forums) at least a year old that named him.

I don't know I they'll keep the stig phenomenon going, as top gear doesn't have a lot of life left in it anyway. Most of the topics and features are already over exhausted.

OutlawPete

All they have to do is get a new Stig.

Fcuk him where the sun don't shine if he wants to cash in.

arybvtcw0eolkf

checkyabadself wrote: »

Not really. Its the worst keep secret that Ben Collins was the stig. Ive seen threads(on car forums) at least a year old that named him.

I don't know I they'll keep the stig phenomenon going, as top gear doesn't have a lot of life left in it anyway. Most of the topics and features are already over exhausted.

Because most of us (including me) haven't a damned clue who Ben Collins is - or care.

fonecrusher1

Awww im kind of saddened by this.:(

Thought it was cool that nobody knew who he was or what he looked like.

Suppose after so many years it was a matter of time till he would want to cash in on his popularity.

Degag

Wonder what colour overalls the new stig will have.....

Anyway, i'm going over to see the TG forum go into meltdown...

Degag

Kasen Glamorous Sunburn wrote: »

Because most of us (including me) haven't a damned clue who Ben Collins is - or care.

Most of us don't know who you are or care either.....

Dravokivich

OutlawPete wrote: »

Fcuk him where the sun don't shine if he wants to cash in.

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Suppose after so many years it was a matter of time till he would want to cash in on his popularity.

To be honest I don't blame the guy. Being the Stig is the most popular thing he's known for... but it was small change compaired to the other stuff he's done.

His main gripe with difficulty publishing a biography about himself was that the other 3 were able to cash in on the franchise big time for themselves. The Stig is as much an asset to the show as the other 3 and the only extra bits he was doing out of it were the roadshows.

And of course he wrote the book for money, like everyone else that has released a 1 or more biographies, otherwise he would of posted it on an ad-free blog :pac:

fonecrusher1

Dravokivich wrote: »

His main gripe with difficulty publishing a biography about himself was that the other 3 were able to cash in on the franchise big time for themselves. The Stig is as much an asset to the show as the other 3 and the only extra bits he was doing out of it were the roadshows.

Yeah but the 'stig' character is replaceable, the other 3 are not. thats the difference. Theres plenty of ex championship drivers who could do the job.

He has every right to want to un mask himself but im not sure if he has a future with bbc now.

Ali Babba

He's shot himself in the foot really I think, he should have kept his mouth shut and he'd be in a dream job for years to come.

Superbus

It really depends on the car I'd say. It wasn't always Ben Collins, like for a particular supercar the marque would send over their own test driver (as Ferrari did with Schumacher and the FXX), but for when it was just testing their cheaply bought cars on some test track, then it was this guy.

They could probably retire the Stig concept now, after all, the first one, Perry McCarthy, 'came out' as the Stig in his autobiography aswell. It's funny, but there's only so much you can do with it. They'd be grand with just having a named professional race driver, might bring it back from pantomime to real life, a bit.

Minstrel27

Well i'll be damned. The worst kept secret in the history of the world is confirmed.

fonecrusher1

Ali Babba wrote: »

He's shot himself in the foot really I think, he should have kept his mouth shut and he'd be in a dream job for years to come.

I guarantee you he will end up a presenter on Fifth Gear.:D

he'll become one of those Z-list celebs that do TV work on channels like Bravo or men & motors or TV3.



Ok mentioning TV3 was a step too far.

phasers

...Am I supposed to be surprised?

I don't give a toss who he is, and there are tons of drivers who would kill for that job so he is easily replaced.

AgileMyth

phasers wrote: »

...Am I supposed to be surprised?

I don't give a toss who he is, and there are tons of drivers who would kill for that job so he is easily replaced.

You're not alone:
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/arts-%26-entertainment/that-whole-'stig'-thing-got-boring-about-eight-years-ago,-everyone-tells-bbc-201008243033/

Royal Irish

phasers wrote: »

...Am I supposed to be surprised?

I don't give a toss who he is, and there are tons of drivers who would kill for that job so he is easily replaced.

I dont think there would be tons of former F1 drivers who would do abit of work like that for the Beeb. Its not as if they need the extra cash.

Also someone said there is not much life left in Top Gear. I disagree with this, unless car companies stop making new cars.

OutlawPete

Dravokivich wrote: »

To be honest I don't blame the guy. Being the Stig is the most popular thing he's known for... but it was small change compaired to the other stuff he's done.

Could he not have come to some arrangement though.

Released the book with his name blacked out, most likely would have sold more copies with the air of mystique.

I think he would earn more as Stig than he would as Ben Collins.

He was getting £2,000 to open nightcubs and other personal appreances.

And he could send a friend along as him, who would know

Was the ideal job.

Maybe he just wanted a little taste of fame.

Dravokivich

Ali Babba wrote: »

He's shot himself in the foot really I think, he should have kept his mouth shut and he'd be in a dream job for years to come.

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

I guarantee you he will end up a presenter on Fifth Gear.:D

he'll become one of those Z-list celebs that do TV work on channels like Bravo or men & motors or TV3.



Ok mentioning TV3 was a step too far.

From Wikipedia....

He worked as a precision-driver in the film National Treasure: Book of Secrets where he doubled for the actor Nicolas Cage and drove in some of the high-speed sequences in London.[16][17] As a precision-driver in the 2008-film Quantum of Solace, Collins drove James Bond's Aston Martin DBS as a stunt double for Daniel Craig in the title role.[2][4][5][9][15] He also holds a World Record for the maximum distance of driving a car on two wheels (a maneuver called "skiing").[15]

He is a regular writer for Autosport Magazine testing the latest Racing Cars, has written for The Sunday Times, fronted Sky Sports' televised NASCAR coverage,

Doubt he'll have much trouble finding more work...

fonecrusher1

Royal Irish wrote: »

Also someone said there is not much life left in Top Gear.

Ive been hearing that for the last 5 years. And will probably still be hearing it in another 5 years.

As long as its attracting the huge viewing figures it'l be around for a good few years yet.

phasers

Royal Irish wrote: »

I dont think there would be tons of former F1 drivers who would do abit of work like that for the Beeb. Its not as if they need the extra cash.

Also someone said there is not much life left in Top Gear. I disagree with this, unless car companies stop making new cars.

Who said anything about F1 drivers?

Car manufacturers send their own drivers to do the power laps anyway so the Stig doesn't even do those.

Dravokivich

AgileMyth wrote: »

You're not alone:
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/arts-%26-entertainment/that-whole-'stig'-thing-got-boring-about-eight-years-ago,-everyone-tells-bbc-201008243033/

haha... not a very well informed writer there...

"And as for the Stig. His name is Ben Collins and the best he could do with his life was to go on television and encourage people to drive like dicks."

He's done a TV show about encouraging boy racers to drive safer.

Superbus

Sniff Petrol's take on it - it's written by one of the Top Gear scriptwriters.

http://sniffpetrol.com/2010/09/01/fans-react-to-stig-news/

There was shock across the world today after a High Court ruling finally allowed popular Top Gear racing driver The Stig to reveal his identity.

‘I was frankly shocked,’ said one Top Gear fan outside the court room. ‘I had no idea it was… sorry, what’s his name?’

Other fans of the BBC motoring show were equally aghast at the news. ‘I couldn’t believe it!’ wrote one contributor to a Top Gear discussion forum. ‘To think all this time it was a bloke whose name I’ve only just been told but now can’t remember!’

However, some Top Gear viewers were less easily confused. ‘I knew all along it was Lewis Collins,’ said one ardent Top Gear enthusiast. ‘He was quite good at driving in The Professionals and his drumming with Genesis was great. No, wait, who were we talking about again? Bootsy Collins?’

Meanwhile, other fans were less certain. ‘It’s Pauline Collins out of Shirley Valentine?’ wrote one confused fan on a BBC message board. ‘God, that race suit really covered up how small and Liverpudlian she is. And that she’s almost 70 years old. Fair play to her.’

Despite the confusion, the thoughts of all Top Gear viewers seemed to be summed up by one anonymous contributor to a news discussion group. ‘The revelation about this Joan Collins person is amazing,’ they wrote. ‘I look forward to being able to buy a book all about someone I have never heard of and in whom I have literally no interest whatsoever.

fonecrusher1

Dravokivich wrote: »

Doubt he'll have much trouble finding more work...

Great wikiwork but the reason he decided to un mask himself was for good old money. Nothing else. So he obviously doesn't think he's being paid enough.

Doing a bit of stunt driving for a few weeks each year & writing the occasional review for a paper or magazine will never earn him anywhere near what Jeremy Clarkson, James May or Richard Hammond are making each year. Especially Clarkson.

Goodluck to him but i think he's in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks he will become a huge tv star based on being the stig for a while.

Dravokivich

fonecrusher1 wrote: »

Great wikiwork but the reason he decided to un mask himself was for good old money. Nothing else. So he obviously doesn't think he's being paid enough.

Doing a bit of stunt driving for a few weeks each year & writing the occasional review for a paper or magazine will never earn him anywhere near what Jeremy Clarkson, James May or Richard Hammond are making each year. Especially Clarkson.

Goodluck to him but i think he's in cloud cuckoo land if he thinks he will become a huge tv star based on being the stig for a while.

but... but... but... that's all he was doing with Top Gear...

biko

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