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And the true identity of The Stig is . . . .

timesonline.co.uk — Some say that it was a publicity stunt, and that the BBC almost broke its own guidelines by allowing a guest to plug a brand of rum. All we know is: Top Gear has claimed that Michael Schumacher is The Stig.

Who dugg this? Made popular Jun 22, 2009

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  • Awwzm, on 06/22/2009, -0/+143I think Schumacher was "Stig for the day" because Ferrari is not going to let anyone else test the FXX on the show.
  • KMartSheriff, on 06/22/2009, -2/+120I feel like Stig is many people (Michael Schumacher being one of them). Also, an interesting quote on Wiki:

    "James May claims that there is a clause in the Stig's contract that should his identity be exposed either through his own willingness or via a member of the Top Gear staff (including the hosts of Top Gear), he has to be fired. Black Stig was let go via this clause; the same clause would apply also to White Stig under the same circumstances."

  • SpookyET, on 06/22/2009, -1/+107I don't believe it. Pay attention at the end when Clarkson says that he doesn't think that Michael Schumacher is the Stig after the debacle in the "reasonable priced car". Furthermore, in the credits, Schumacher is credit as 'guest'. The Stig is always credited as the 4th host.
  • JonTheGoose, on 06/22/2009, -2/+80I am The Stig.
  • Advenger, on 06/22/2009, -1/+74But when you remove The Stig's helmet, there is only another helmet. He has no real face which is why he is The Stig.
  • bossm4n, on 06/21/2009, -1/+72Please don't blast him off the deck of an aircraft carrier.
  • jemka, on 06/22/2009, -0/+64Because Pink is the only color left.
  • hmmmdonut, on 06/22/2009, -1/+53I've always thought that there were several different drivers who drove as "stig".
  • sonicpentatonic, on 06/22/2009, -1/+52One of the most plausible theories that I had heard up to this point was that the Stig was, in many cases, actually a factory driver for whatever car he or she was driving, and just an otherwise skilled (former F1 or similar) driver for those cars that didn't come with factory drivers.
  • 0tis, on 06/22/2009, -1/+46Anyone else think of the Power Rangers?
  • SolidSnake24, on 06/22/2009, -1/+41Even though he's not The Stig, it came as a shock when they revealed it was Schumacher behind the helmet.
  • stupidverizon, on 06/22/2009, -0/+26http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XEqMGrha9w

    video of the stigg crashing a ccx. i thought i'd be that guy for once that posts the video for everyone else when the guy who mentions it doesnt...
  • Gorgonzola44, on 06/22/2009, -2/+27I'm Spartacus.
  • DivineMonkey, on 06/22/2009, -1/+26As much as i love Schumi, he is too diplomatic and stiff. I wish he'd just be himself in interviews.

    Oh, and people who still believe the Stig is Schumi, he is not. Clarkson gave it away at the end, but i guess a lot of people don't understand humour.
  • artofwar420, on 06/22/2009, -5/+27So... we're gonna have a pink Stig now?
  • Roguecop, on 06/22/2009, -0/+21Jackie Stewart is the Stig. AYE, the Flying Scot, ya weee donkeys!!!
  • borez, on 06/22/2009, -0/+20 He is diplomatic and stiff...He's German,
  • Polycarp87, on 06/22/2009, -0/+18I think we can all agree that that little incident was more the fault of the Koenigseggigseggigsegg than the Stig, since they re-designed the car to include a spoiler after that incident. Clarkson always referred to it as the "top gear spoiler".
  • borez, on 06/22/2009, -1/+19Complete bollocks.
  • oriondr, on 06/22/2009, -3/+21Not michael schumacher, they reveal that at the end of the episode :p
  • Pake, on 06/22/2009, -0/+18Definitely not the current Stig. Schumacher and Hamilton are almost the same height (Hamilton being less than an inch shorter), and yet the current Stig is noticeably taller than Hamilton: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44273000/jpg ...
  • Jeepinator, on 06/22/2009, -1/+19He is the most successful Formula 1 driver to ever live. He is often mentioned as the best driver the world has ever seen. This would explain why nobody on the show can even come close to his lap times.
  • Gorgonzola44, on 06/22/2009, -0/+16Some say his skin has the texture of a dolphin's, and that wherever you are in the world, if you tune your radio to 88.4, you can actually hear his thoughts... all we know is, he's called Michael Schumacher.
  • NathanMahdavi, on 06/22/2009, -1/+16That's such a Samantha thing to say.
  • Katana, on 06/22/2009, -0/+15The all black FXX in the show is Schumachers own one, so he's the only person who would be driving it.
  • Nubli, on 06/22/2009, -0/+15Well there was that one African Stig (cousin to the regular Stig) on the Botswana special.
  • diggmeordie, on 06/22/2009, -0/+15Kim Jong il is the Stig.
  • nevetsg2, on 06/22/2009, -0/+14Don't forget The Stig's lorry driving cousin.
  • theStig, on 06/22/2009, -0/+13all we know is one thing... that i'm.... not the stig.
  • inactive, on 06/22/2009, -0/+13stiff and diplomatic is Schumi Hes been called to most boring guy in F1. cant blame him though, im sure everything is boring after driving F1
  • Anubis2051, on 06/22/2009, -1/+14American "Fat" Stig too
  • cyrix, on 06/22/2009, -0/+12Exactly what I was thinking. Just finished watching the episode and I didn't for one second believe that Top Gear would debase themselves by revealing the Stigs identity in a manner such as this. The Stig is a legend, and a HUGE part of the show. The mystery surrounding him is one of the things that has always made the show so great. They wouldn't pull a stunt like this unless the ratings were down, and I highly doubt the shows ratings are so bad they'd do something like this. Anyone who buys this is crazy.
  • inactive, on 06/22/2009, -2/+14That wasn't any old FXX that was Schumacher's personal FXX...

    Also I had to torrent this because the beeb still haven't fixed its licensing to to show even homemade shows on iplayer in Ireland. It's about bloody time...
  • graemee, on 06/22/2009, -1/+13There will never be a green stig.
  • ScannerMobs, on 06/22/2009, -1/+12There are, Shumacher is not the stig, he has been on the show before and there is not a chance they paid him for every episode (imagine his fee!).

    I heard from a friend of a friend that there have been 3 or 4 stigs (inc Ben Collins), all from pro racing, touring cars etc, they have rotated, swapped over..

    I mean if it WAS Shumacher all along - why keep it a secret?! Surely better have it known that one of the greatest drivers ever is on every show.. laughable publicity stunt, and hilarious that Clarkson even had to tell people his name.. STFU and review some cars
  • Syphon220, on 06/22/2009, -0/+11i regulary attend the show live and know a lot of the top gear producers as my old man holds a light aircraft in the hanger where the studio and track is (dunsfold, surrey, England.) and i can tell you that your pretty much spot on.

    They have a test driver, but the idea of stig was devised so that car companies could do the speed runs with their own trusted drivers all the while top gear can claim its all one driver that they employ called "the stig". they used a different driver for many of the high performance cars like the koenigsegg etc

    moderately clever,

  • GhostInAShell, on 06/22/2009, -1/+12Some say he drinks motor oil and was born to a gypsy with wheels for legs...
  • redfred18t, on 06/22/2009, -1/+10And the fat American Stig
  • greiin, on 06/22/2009, -0/+9The reason Michael Schumacher was "Stig", was because he owns that Ferrari FXX (#30 of 30). And he's not gonna some random guy drive the car and risk it getting crashed. =)

    If you watch the episode all the way through, you see them joking about Schumacher riding the reasonably priced car and saying that he might not be "the Stig".
  • holyskeleton, on 06/22/2009, -3/+12.... //./. .... /./.. .//. ././. /.. ././. ./. .... ../. ../. ...
  • netwonder, on 06/22/2009, -0/+8I was hoping he would have a helmet within the helmet and not show we he really was. Oh well.
  • dsmx, on 06/22/2009, -1/+9Well Shumi was revealed as not being the stig. However if white stig's actual identity was discovered maybe shumi could be the replacement, in red.
  • ArrakisDune, on 06/22/2009, -1/+9http://lmgtfy.com/?q=The+Stig
  • usesparingly, on 06/22/2009, -0/+8"wah, wah, wah. We want independence from the British! Oh wait, except for your TV programming" ;)
  • Secret7000, on 06/22/2009, -1/+8I'm The Stig!

    (we need a good Spartacus style sound-off here)
  • cowsgonemadd3, on 06/22/2009, -1/+8I was hoping for a blue stig myself.
  • inactive, on 06/22/2009, -0/+6Yeah, but Red Stig with pin stripes goes even faster.
  • EllisSpice, on 06/22/2009, -0/+6Has no one else noticed that the FXX ISN'T road legal? That means that he shouldn't have been there, and as such I must have dreamt the whole thing....
  • ohreilly, on 06/22/2009, -0/+6"Also I had to torrent this because the beeb still haven't fixed its licensing to to show even homemade shows on iplayer in Ireland. It's about bloody time..."

    Might be because your licence fee goes directly to RTE, not the BBC.

    Just because it appears on Sky/NTL it doesn't mean you have some right to access all of the BBC's services.
    When RTE manage to launch an international channel or turn off their encryption for "homemade shows" (the BBC did it years ago for everything) maybe something should happen.
  • Secret7000, on 06/22/2009, -1/+6No, it didn't.
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