So the world now knows The Stig has been ex-Formula Three racing driver Ben Collins. It’s been an open secret for months anyway. A couple of things puzzle me. Why has he chosen to reveal it in an autobiography? It’s not like Collins has had the sort of competitive success that Lewis Hamilton has had. Will his book be that great a read anyway? And given that he knew the first Stig, Perry McCarthy, was sacked after he revealed his identity, does Collins really expect to be doing hot laps for Top Gear next series? Surely not. Richard Hammond wrote on his Twitter page earlier this week: “So now you know who The Stig is, we’ll fire him so you don’t know who he is again. What a kerfuffle over nothing.” I’m inclined to agree.
* Another foreign country, another altercation with the local constabulary. This time it was Germany; I was in the back of a minibus for a two-minute ride from a Munich restaurant to my hotel, and the driver was pulled over because I wasn’t wearing my seatbelt. I was told I would have to pay a €30 fine, and when I didn’t have my passport to hand I was told: “This is very bad” by a stern-faced patrolman. Fueled by a couple of beers I started laughing, told the policeman I didn’t have €30 – which was true – and he said okay and left. Very bizarre indeed.
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