SOME say he was built from a stolen Ferrari blueprint, others that he’s an alien from the Planet Speed. But they’re all wrong —because the News of the World knows the real identity of The Stig.
We’ve finally run to ground Jeremy Clarkson’s anonymous Top Gear hero .
And we can tell you he’s MARRIED, lives quietly in a comfortable £300,000 home and was once TERRIFIED of driving.
We can also report that when he’s not screaming around the show’s famous Gambon corner at breakneck speed in his white suit and black-visored helmet, the racetrack ace likes pootling around in a £15,000 car that would even bore James May.
And his NAME is . . .
OK, Jeremy, stop tearing up the paper and keep your hair on . . . we have no intention of wrecking the great mystery for Top Gear’s millions of fans. All we’ll reveal is his eyes behind the trademark white helmet and a few other clues.
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The true identity of the superdriver who tests new models and coaches stars in the Reasonably Priced Car feature has always been kept a closely-guarded BBC secret. “Who is the Stig?” is one of the most popular questions on search engines.
But last week we found a leak in the Top Gearbox—and a senior BBC source last night confirmed: “Yes **** ******** IS the Stig but don’t tell anyone I’ve told you.”
Some say the Stig drinks petrol and uses a V8 engine to power his Philishave, but we’ve discovered he found his first track outing as a youngster “terrifying”.
Yet that didn’t stop him growing up to learn his trade in Formula First, GT Racing and Stock Cars . . . and almost make the grade as a Formula One driver.
Now in his 30s, he earns around £150,000 a year combining his Top Gear job—showing presenters Jeremy, James and Richard Hammond how it should be done— with some stunt and test driving. And that’s as much as we dare tell you.
We only know that this Stig has no intention of going the way of his predecessor, Perry McCarthy. Perry did the job for 22 Top Gears until he revealed his secret and was “killed off” . . . by being shot off the end of aircraft carrier HMS Invincible in a rocket-powered vehicle.
Former Formula One and Le Mans racer Perry, 47, still speaks warmly about his time. “It was great fun—and I’m still a big fan,” he told us.
Meanwhile the Beeb are determined the present Stig keeps his visor firmly down.
“This is the best-kept secret in motor racing and we want to keep it that way,” said our source. “No one will ever officially confirm his identity.”
http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/news/124186/Top-Gears-Stig-unmasked.html