The Stig: Difference between revisions
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During the current series, the Stig is supposedly doing tape-recorded course in [[Italian language|Italian]], which plays in the car while he is driving. This is to imply that while he is driving a challenging course, he is still able to concentrate of learning Italian. In previous series, he would listen to [[Classical music]]. |
During the current series, the Stig is supposedly doing tape-recorded course in [[Italian language|Italian]], which plays in the car while he is driving. This is to imply that while he is driving a challenging course, he is still able to concentrate of learning Italian. In previous series, he would listen to [[Classical music]] or [[Rock Ballads]]. |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 21:58, 26 May 2006
The Stig is the mysterious "tame racing driver" of the popular BBC Automobile show Top Gear. His name derives from presenter Jeremy Clarkson's schooldays at Repton School: "new boys at Repton were always called Stig".[1], presumably itself derived from "Stig of the Dump", a children's novel by Clive King written in 1963 or the rally driver Stig Blomqvist.[citation needed] All shots of the Stig show the same racing overalls (black in the first two series, white from series 3 and onward) and a helmet (of matching colour), but never reveal his identity. On 2005's Revved Up DVD, Richard Hammond is shown in the "Top Gear Bunker" opening a cupboard where they supposedly "keep" the Stig. A dead looking figure in the Stig's racing overalls is shown lying in the cupboard. Similarly, when the hosts went to the Isle of Man to test out the Porsche 911, the BMW M6, and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage (2005), Jeremy Clarkson was dispatched to the airport to "pick up a special delivery" where the Stig is shown arriving on the baggage claim conveyor belt before being pushed out on a trolley by Clarkson.
The Stig's primary role on the show is to serve as an unbiased standard on which to test cars. His major role is driving various cars around the Top Gear test circuit. The times he sets with these cars are kept on a scoreboard that keeps track of the fastest cars that have been tested. The easy listening, prog rock and baroque music the Stig supposedly listens to in the car is a perennial source of amusement to the presenters - in Series 8, the Stig also listens to language tapes. His second duty is the training of whoever is the show's Star In A Reasonably-Priced Car (originally a Suzuki Liana, now a Chevrolet Lacetti) that week. Although he never speaks, The Stig is credited as a presenter on the show.
Facts and Rumours
While the Stig obviously has a racing background, his true identity has never been revealed by the Top Gear presenters. The intent is that he functions as an unbiased "standard" that can be used to test cars fairly. However, once Perry McCarthy's book, Flat Out, Flat Broke, was published in 2003, it became clear that he was the original Stig (from 2002 to 2003). McCarthy was a former Formula 1 driver and test driver for the Benetton, Arrows and Williams teams and also tested for BMW F1.
In the first episode of the third series, the original Stig (McCarthy) was "killed off", with some spoof footage of the Stig supposedly driving off the end of the British aircraft carrier HMS Invincible after failing to brake in time. Some believe this was due to the uncovering of his identity, when whilst scheduled to appear in the 2003 Le Mans 24hr Race he was shown in an episode supposedly shot the same weekend helping the Top Gear team as the Stig in a Citroen 2CV 24hr race. This prompted a change of dress and music, and the white Stig was introduced in the second episode of series 3, on November 2, 2003. Of course, due to the Stig's disguise, there is no reason why Top Gear could not use many drivers, according to availability.
Rumours that the Stig was former F1 driver Damon Hill were supposedly confounded when Hill appeared on Top Gear on June 26, 2005. He did the lap and got 1.46.3. However, when asked if he was the Stig, he didn't actually deny this, and some took his apparently rapid availability to appear on the show in another guest's absence to indicate further evidence that he was the Stig. Many racing drivers are often asked if they are the Stig by the public.
It appears that some rarer, privately owned cars may be driven by their owner, masquerading as the Stig. This was the case for the Maserati MC12, privately owned by Frank Mountain, a successful property developer; the car was at the time the only one in the country [citation needed]. Heikki Kovalainen (the Renault F1 test driver) admitted to driving the Renault R24 F1 car around the track in the 2004 series, clothed as the Stig [citation needed]. In a Winter Olympics special episode of Top Gear, the Stig was also shown doing a ski jump using a ski mobile, suggesting that this may have been another person dressed as the Stig doing the extremely dangerous stunt. According to the Swedish tabloid newspaper Aftonbladet, the snowmobile driver performing the ski jump stunt was Dan Lang, a Swedish snowmobile cross driver.[2]
In January 2006, the Daily Express claimed that the identity of The Stig is former Formula 1 driver Julian Bailey. The article does not specify which episodes Bailey was supposedly the driver or provide sources for this claim.
In May 2006, the Stig lost control of the £415,000 Koenigsegg CCX and ploughed through a tyre wall. Koenigsegg did accept that the car suffered from a lack of rear downforce, and took the car back to Sweden to retrofit a rear wing, in an attempt to rectify the problem.
Later that month the Stig beat all other drivers (Including F1) in the Suzuki Liana "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" challenge with a time of 1:44.4.
"Known" information about the Stig
The other presenters of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, like to jest about the Stig as if he is some kind of special creature, rather than a human, and mention a few "facts" before each appearance of the Stig. They always lead with "some say..." and finish with "All we know is, he's called The Stig". In earlier episodes, the Stig is introduced with various ad-libbed lines from the presenters. A collection is available on wikiquote.
During the current series, the Stig is supposedly doing tape-recorded course in Italian, which plays in the car while he is driving. This is to imply that while he is driving a challenging course, he is still able to concentrate of learning Italian. In previous series, he would listen to Classical music or Rock Ballads.
References
- ^ Jeremy on Andy Times Online
- ^ Template:Sv icon Aftonbladet Article