who is the sting on top gear?

Answer 1

If you mean THE STIG, it is Martin Donnely ex F1 driver.

Answer 2

The Stig is the mysterious "tame racing driver" of the popular BBC motoring show Top Gear. His name derives from presenter Jeremy Clarkson's schooldays at Repton School: "New boys at Repton were always called Stig". 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.

The Stig's primary function 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, currently Greek ones. 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 on camera, The Stig is credited as a presenter on the show.

The Stig's 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. The car had been stripped of any excess weight in an earlier test to see whether they could decrease the 0-60 time. They had also added nitrous oxide to the Jaguar. Some believe the killing-off of The Stig was due to the uncovering of his identity, when while 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 was supposedly done in a Jaguar XJS modified by Top Gear. 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. All that anyone can tell about the Stig is that he is a white male, as can be seen from the gap between his helmet and jumpsuit and that he wears size 10 racing boots as discovered by the Sunday Times when the Driving section wrote an article about the show.

Many racing drivers are often asked if they are the Stig by the public and rumours abound that other racers assume the mantle of the Stig in various capacities. In a Winter Olympics special episode of Top Gear, the Stig was shown doing a ski jump using a snowmobile, which was almost certainly not the "regular" Stig (if indeed there is one) as this is an 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. 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, marking the first recorded instance of the Stig being involved in an accident. After a suggestion by the Stig to add a spoiler for downforce, 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. Koenigsegg later sent back the car with its new rear spoiler, and the Stig made the fastest ever power lap in it (1 minute 17.6 seconds). Jeremy Clarkson closed the show by jokingly saying that Top Gear doesn't just test cars, they design them.

In the same month, the Stig beat all other drivers (Including F1 drivers) in the Suzuki Liana "Star in a Reasonably Priced Car" challenge with a time of 1:44.4, after which he walked off the stage, apparently not caring about his lap time.


F1 Driver comparisons to The Stig
Some fans of the show have speculated that current Stig is a former or current Formula 1 driver after it was revealed the Black Stig was a former F1 driver. Four F1 drivers, past and present, have taken the Liana onto the track, with each being compared to The Stig in various ways.

Rumours that the Stig was former F1 world champion 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.

On July 31, 2005, a current F1 driver, Mark Webber appeared on Top Gear. He did the lap in the Suzuki Liana in 1.47.1 on a wet track. Jeremy Clarkson observed that Webber took the same line around the first corner as Damon Hill, and that the Stig's is different. However, at the conclusion of his lap, Clarkson presents Webber with a t-shirt that reads I AM THE STIG on it. This is probably unlikely, as he was a current F1 driver at the time.

Former F1 driver Nigel Mansell took the Liana around, and in the first turn, his line to the first turn almost mirrored The Stig's line as observed by Jeremy Clarkson. Nigel Mansell admitted that he hoped that the closer line was faster than going wide of his other F1 counterparts. However, no mention is given that he is The Stig, as Jeremy Clarkson instead noted that The Stig theorized that the Liana could garner a 1:44 time on the track. Nigel Mansell did it, with a time of 1:44.6.

During the review of current F1 Driver Jenson Button's lap time, Jeremy Clarkson commented that he (and the other F1 drivers) took very different lines than The Stig. Jenson Button commented to this observation: Well obviously, The Stig isn't a Formula One Driver. Jenson Button was slightly slower than Nigel Mansell with a time of 1:44.7.


"Known" information about the Stig
The presenters of Top Gear, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond, regularly introduce the Stig with a few jocular, spurious rumours before each appearance. They always lead with "Some say..." (e.g., "Some say the outline of his left nipple is exactly the same shape as the Nürburgring, and if you give him a really important job to do, he'll skive off and play croquet"), and finish with "All we know is, he's called the Stig". The general suggestion created by these introductions is that the Stig is not a normal human being. In earlier episodes, the Stig is introduced with various ad-libbed lines from the presenters. (e.g., "Please welcome, his Holiness, the Stig!").

Answer 3

It's Perry McCarthy a "nearly was" in F1 terms. He's done sebring and Le Mans.

Answer 4

Dont know who the current one is but the very first was Damon Hill

Answer 5

Hes the in-house driver ..could be a different person every week for all i know..never seen him without a helmet, have u guys??? :o

Answer 6

*The Stig* changes from one season to the next, but its always a famous racing driver.

Answer 7

well sting sang for the police, do you mean the stig? its me

Answer 8

it's actually the stig,and i think you'll agree it's definately annika rice from treasurehunt and challenge annika!!!

Answer 9

This was asked last week

Answer 10

It's me. I am The Stig.
In my dreams!