There are a couple of nice mysteries on this world: how did Mesolithic man construct Stonehenge, what the heck occurred to flight MH370 and who the hell performed The Stig on Prime Gear? Fortunately, that third one is way simpler to reply and gained’t lead you down a conspiracy concept nightmare stuffed with aliens, monsters and authorities cowl ups.
The Stig was a staple on “Prime Gear” for many of its 20-year run on our screens. In that point, the Tame Racing Driver put in all types of unbelievable laps across the present’s check tracks in every part from a Koenigsegg CCX and a Ford Focus RS to an precise Components One automotive.
By now, we all know that it wasn’t the identical Stig that set all of these lap instances, most notably as a result of there was Black Stig for the primary two years after which a White Stig changed it. However, do you know the long-lasting race swimsuit was truly worn by three totally different drivers over The Stig’s 20-year sting on our televisions?
The primary incarnation of The Stig appeared on our screens in 2002 and 2003. The Black Stig, because it’s recognized, was portrayed by British racing driver Perry McCarthy, who beforehand raced within the 24 Hours of Le Mans between 1996 and 2003.
McCarthy donned the black race swimsuit for 2 collection of the hit present, however his cowl because the Tame Racing Driver was blown by a British tabloid and his character was killed off. Black Stig was then changed by the primary White Stig, which was performed by touring automotive racer Ben Collins.
Collins donned the swimsuit for seven years, from 2003 up till 2010. Throughout that point, there was even an episode the place “Prime Gear” promised to disclose the character’s true id, however when the helmet was taken off it was seven-time Components 1 world champion, Michael Schumacher.
Schumacher sadly wasn’t ever actually the present’s Tame Racing Driver and after finishing a lap of the “Prime Gear” monitor, Clarkson even informed the viewers “I don’t assume Michael Schumacher is The Stig.”
Followers didn’t have to attend lengthy to seek out out who was truly beneath the masks, nevertheless, as the actual id of the character was revealed in 2010 when Collins elected to burst his personal bubble. The racing driver wished to launch a ebook about his profession, which recognized him as The Stig, and this meant he was quickly kicked off the present.
Collins was changed by a second White Stig, and the id of this driver remained secret for greater than a decade.
Clarkson revealed the identify of the third and closing Tame Racing Driver throughout a Q&A on the British pub that he owns simply final yr. When requested concerning the id of The Stig, Clarkson stated: “The unique Stig was Perry McCarthy, adopted by Ben Collins, adopted by Phil Eager. There isn’t a present ‘Prime Gear’ so there isn’t a present Stig, however the final one was Phil Eager.”
Eager is yet one more British racing driver, and he reduce his enamel driving in collection like British GT and the European Le Mans collection. Throughout his profession, he gained the British GT Championship in 2009 and picked up 24 race wins. Nonetheless, he may not be any faster than Rubens Barrichello so does all that silverware actually matter?
So, there you have got it, The Stig was as soon as Perry McCarthy, Ben Collins and Phil Eager. It was by no means actually Michael Schumacher.