Both BBC Top Gear Stigs Identified : Revelation

Who is the stig? That question has been asked a thousand times on the web and everyone has an opinion on the answer. Below are my current findings....

My Strategy: Deduction, clues and facts

My Conclusion:
New Stig : Julian Bailey
Original Stig : Perry McCarthy

New Stig : Julian Bailey

Original Stig : Perry McCarthy



For those in the UK or who tune into BBC Top Gear they will be aware of a masked (actually helmeted - if that's a word) racing driver. He is the one that drives fast cars around a Top Gear track and records a faster time than anyone else (including Lewis Hamilton!). He also drives round with chosen celebrities so they get to know the track for a couple of laps and then are able to put in a fast time themselves. He is only ever seen in a white helmet and driving overall - so no one can actually see who he or she is.

For a few years now, avid viewers have been trying to identify who is behind the white helmet of the New Stig.

History: The Old Stig
Firstly lets make this clear - there has been two Stigs. The old Stig was Perry McCarthy - The former racing driver - he was the first Stig - Confirmed in his Autobiography, this is nothing new and has been known for some time.
This first (black-suited Stig) was ‘killed off’ a few years back. Perry McCarthy is a little-known F1 driver who qualified in a handful of Formula One races and few will remember.

What we know about the New Stig that's worth knowing
The clues each week from the Top Gear team are of no help, like his favorite food is raw meat, he likes Elton John singing the song "Daniel" and his current ring tone is Coronation Street - all these things are red herrings dreamed up by Jeremy Clarkson and team - ignore.

Now to a few facts:
He is a very fast racing driver
He has a passport as he has joined the team in Europe on more than one occasion.
He can't be the drivers that have already been seen racing against him on the show as that would be silly (though i wouldn't put that beyond the Top Gear team).
He must have a racing driver's licence to drive the F1 cars.
He's a slender man - so James May and Mark Blundell are out of the running!


The New Stig Shortlist:

Ben Collins - an experienced single seater and Sports car driver

Simon Cowell - again due to great lap times, some have said it could be him but he is too committed to other shows like Pop Idol.

This leads to:
Julian Bailey - Another rapid but little known F1 driver who could be the new Stig as he is a similar driver in fame ranking to the original Perry McCarthy. Bailey made 20 Grand Prix starts but, like McCarthy, didn’t qualify for most of them because his cars were too slow. He stopped racing in F1 when he ran out of money, but he is definitely quick enough to perform the lap times of the Stig and has a similar build.

When you look at Julian Bailey and take into account the first Stig was of a similar caliber it becomes obvious that this is your man!

Of course - you may have your say on the matter...