Who is the Stig is a question fans of Top Gear have long asked, and now a British paper is claiming to know the Stig’s true identity…but won’t share.
News of The World claims that the Stig is a man, in his 30s who gained his driving experience in Formula First, GT Racing and Stock Cars. Off the Top Gear test-track, he drives a £15,000 “reasonably priced” car, is happily married and lives in a £300,000 home. The paper claims the source is a BBC executive, but will say no more other than he earns £150,000 a year combining his Top Gear job with some stunt and test driving.
The identity of the Stig has long been rumored, but if what the News of the World says is right, the obvious candidate for the answer to the question who is the Stig is Ben Collins.
There’s a couple of things pointing towards Collins: he’s in his 30’s (born 1975) and has raced in Formula First, GT Racing and Stock Cars: that’s a fairly unique combination, and none of the other rumored Stig candidates match it. And he’s also a stunt driver, who worked with Daniel Craig on the last James Bond movie.
There’s also the known connection between the show and Collins. Following Richard Hammond’s crash in September 2006, the Health & Safety Executive report into the event recorded that Collins had “worked closely with Top Gear as a high performance driver and consultant” and had prepared a briefing for Richard Hammond preceding the event.
Collin’s has appeared on the show as himself three times, but never up against the Stig; his most recent appearance was as a driver in the Toyota Aygo football game at the beginning of Series 6.
Obviously the only way we can be 100% sure is with an admission from the BBC or show, but you’d have to think if the News of the World report is accurate, Ben Collins is the Stig.
