After seven years, the undercover bond-like figure who raced around the BBC Top Gear track, has been launched into the public conscious.
The BBC recently failed to issue an injunction against the release of the Stig’s autobiography, and we now all know the identity of the man behind the white mask. His name, to be exact, is Ben Collins: the winner of the Ascar series championship, a member of the armed forces and a stunt driver.
Not exactly the F1 demi-god we were all hoping for.
The public had pondered the identity for years, and speculative announcement appeared in tabloid newspapers, online forums and more commonly, general conversations which had the whole family chipping in their own far-fetched revelations.
Now the big question has been revealed I’m slightly disappointed. Not only because it wasn’t an Ex-F1 driver who spent his weekends reliving his glory days, but also the way in which the story came to the public’s attention. It should have been a grand occasion in Top Gear’s history, yet it was a more a man standing outside the courthouse posing for cameras, while everyone whispered the same awkward question: ‘’who is he?’’
Reading on, I was hopeful Ben Collins book would answer this question.
I am a fan of the show, but every Christmas I receive a Top Gear gift like a DVD or a calendar and whilst I feel grateful, I usually feel a little cautious. This merry occasion it was ‘The man in the white suit’ which unsettled my stomach.
I mean honestly, how can a man who has already spoiled the big ending in two words throw together a whole book. Despite my scepticism, I succumbed to the pressures of trying to enjoy every gift and gave it a chance. Surprisingly, It wasn’t all bad.
Mr Collins book starts out slow, but gains momentum as the reader is shown the enormity of the Top Gear show and the surreal life The Stig has lived in the shadows. He recalls the struggles he faced concealing his identity from the media, while juggling his own life as a racer and a father.
A big highlight of the book is when he answers the questions I’ve been shouting at the T.V for years: ‘‘Come off it Clarkson, that isn’t real? It’s quite clearly fake?’’ and so forth.
As the years went on, I became more apprehensive about Top Gear’s validity in their film-making. It seems with the rise of the shows success, more and more entertaining scenarios just happen to fall into place.
Most of which are more set up than an episode of You’ve Been Framed.
Thankfully, Collins book is dictated around the over the top challenges and nail-biting driving sequences because as expected, the Stig was an essential part of the operation. While I found joy in reading that certain challenges were innocent from having a script , there are too many occasions when the Stig’s driving is masqueraded as Clarkson’s or Hammond’s . It’s like a magician revealing his secrets and I can understand now why Clarkson and co feel betrayed.
On a happier note, the book does provide an insight into the soft nature of the 3’lads’: Clarkson, Hammond and May. Looking at Collin’s relationships with the cast, it is welcoming to read the three presenters are still fairly passionate about the entire production. Surprisingly, the Top Gear team, while only in the minority, have accumulated 350 million followers across the globe.
Unfortunately, Ben Collin’s endless rambling about his personal life ultimately hinders much of the fun. He expresses his life outside of the ‘white suit’ in far too much detail. I understand, some may find it interesting to read about the everyday life of Ben Collin‘s, but I didn’t.
In reflection, this type of self-focused dribble was my initial fear when I tore open the dubious package on Christmas day. With so many other inspirational stories on the Waterstone’s bookshelves, I found it difficult to admire the apparent struggle of Collin’s own life. For a man who has great job as the Stig, he seems to give off the impression that his real passion is racing. Before reading this book I barely heard of the Ascar series, yet I certainly read a lot about it in this book.
In the conventional sense, a biography of your life should include all aspects, but Collins simply over sells it. There are points in the book where I feel he is trying to claw on to other people’s experiences rather than his own.
Overall, the book does bear some resemblance to a magician revealing his secrets, but it’s more amateur theatrics than Houdini or Harry Potter.
With all the exposure of production processes, I don’t think Top Gear can really be viewed with the same dazzling and entertaining polish it once was.
To enjoy this book you need to be someone who has happily enjoyed most of the Top Gear shows, but to truly understand what he is trying to put across, you need to have a passion for motor sport.
It is an enjoyable read, but with Collins endless yarn about struggling to find sponsorship, it feels like an obvious advertising tool to promote his racing career.
By coming out as the Stig he may now get to live his dream of racing at a high-end level, but at what price? He has turned his back on the Top Gear team and from what I can gather, there isn’t a sincere apology from either side of the fence.
He blames a questionable palm reading with a fortune teller as his motivation for coming out of the closet. Yet, as the British media have said, the real reason seems to be his own fury at being paid a ‘mere’ £5000-£10,000 an episode.
If Collins admitted to this instead of making up some laughable excuse I would have read this with more of an open mind. When you know the book was written out of some form of spite; you can’t help stand in Clarkson’s corner.
That being said, it does answer who the Stig is… or more correctly who he was. If your fan of the programme then this is a good book for you and it does have some insightful comments.
It’s just a bit Marmite really, it might enhance your love of the show, or it might have you smugly flicking over to ITV at seven O’ clock on a Sunday. After all, they do say that ignorance is bliss.
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