So the Stig is definitely not a F1 driver...

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Ximian said:
Nigel weighs a lot more so if all things being equal, he did a better lap than the Stig.

ROFLMFAO!!!
 
Clarkson certainly doesnt seem like the type who would be bothered to memorize a script, let alone write one.

I think it's about right that the stig timed almost the same as nigel mansell. Given the same car and two equally good drivers, track conditions begin to play a big part in the laptime. Who knows, maybe the air was a couple of degrees cooler, that would certainly be enough to explain a 0.2s difference.

As for early-season times vs late season times... I think there's also the factor of rubber being laid out on the track. What used to be rough concrete has been accumulating rubber on the lines with every passing lap, so its natural that times have gotten much faster since season 1. :thumbsup:
 
fbc said:
Ximian said:
Nigel weighs a lot more so if all things being equal, he did a better lap than the Stig.

:lol: If that's not reaching for straws I don't know what is... Given the length of the track, and weight of the car itself, some extra body weight isn't going to make the difference. All respect to Nige and his lap though - he killed Damon's lap and that's all the matters for me :D
Nigel is the man! And he's doing good in that GP Masters series too.
If you watch F1 you'll agree weight makes a huge difference. In JGTC they penalize the winning cars with weights, you can really see a small amount of ballast can make a huge difference on the track.
 
Dr.Kamiya said:
fbc said:
Ximian said:
Nigel weighs a lot more so if all things being equal, he did a better lap than the Stig.

:lol: If that's not reaching for straws I don't know what is... Given the length of the track, and weight of the car itself, some extra body weight isn't going to make the difference. All respect to Nige and his lap though - he killed Damon's lap and that's all the matters for me :D
Nigel is the man! And he's doing good in that GP Masters series too.
If you watch F1 you'll agree weight makes a huge difference. In JGTC they penalize the winning cars with weights, you can really see a small amount of ballast can make a huge difference on the track.

Sure, in a race car tuned and tweaked to the nth degree a weight ballast can make some difference as the car has been completely optimised for it's weight and how that weight is distributed, so a small change can make a difference as the car is going to be very sensitive and reactive to any changes. A road car just isn't going to be as sensitive to a tiny weight increase as it hasn't been tuned to anywhere like the level a race car has (particularly a reasonably priced car).

F1 is a poor example since the cars are so light that any extra weight is proportionally a much bigger difference than that same weight on a road car.

The Liana weighs around 1200kg, plus the roll cage and camera gear etc, so it's probably up around 1300kg in 'race' :)P) spec. An extra 25kg (sorry Nige...) is less than a 2% increase - not enough to make a difference. Plus that extra weight is within the wheelbase and centred quite low, so it's effect is further diminished.
 
I also thought the stig's time in the most recent episode was suspect for being "just ahead" of everyone else. Then, by coincidence I was watching Episode 1x02 today and when Clarkson puts JK's time on the board, you see this
http://img332.imageshack.**/img332/7278/picture036small9ky.jpg
So it turns out that the stig HAD been on the board before, and for whatever reason they had taken him down when they got the new stig.
Oh and I realize this was the "OLD" stig, but the new one does have much more practice, so I think its reasonable
 
That's true. I'm watching all episodes over and over again. I started again from the begining and saw that old Stig's time was placed .. then removed during the episodes
 
i always though that the stig was more than one person, and different drivers took turns driving as the stig. could be an unfounded rumor since no one really knows.

clarkson did say one time that the stig prefers a different line around the track than f1 drivers, so this could support that the stig is not a former f1 driver. although...i did read that damon hill once admitted to being the stig when he drove the renault f1 car around the track.

btw: newbie here. first post! i've been dl'ing episodes for a while now but decided to get involved and make sure this website stays up forever. we don't get regular top gear/fifth gear broadcasts on tv here in the states.
 
Re: So the Stig is definitely not a F1 driver...

well said:
Well, they put his time on the general Lap Times chart, which means surely he is not a former or current F1 driver? :?

Not only that, but in one of the "best of" episodes Stiggy got a chance to drive an F1 car around the track and it was described as quite a treat for him.
 
Re: So the Stig is definitely not a F1 driver...

janstett said:
well said:
Well, they put his time on the general Lap Times chart, which means surely he is not a former or current F1 driver? :?

Not only that, but in one of the "best of" episodes Stiggy got a chance to drive an F1 car around the track and it was described as quite a treat for him.

Keep in mind that when the Stig drove the Renault car around the track, it was actually the Renault test driver (I forget where, but the driver admitted it was him in a later interview, it might be in wikipedia...)
 
Heikki Kovalainen?

And for edit, I think it was funny that Jeremy said "Maximum Attack" and "learning italian" while Stig was driving. Makes me think. Makes me think Lancia Martini. Makes me think 19 WRC-wins. :roll:
 
Re: So the Stig is definitely not a F1 driver...

janstett said:
well said:
Well, they put his time on the general Lap Times chart, which means surely he is not a former or current F1 driver? :?

Not only that, but in one of the "best of" episodes Stiggy got a chance to drive an F1 car around the track and it was described as quite a treat for him.


Ah, that's some good logic thinking. In fact I happened to have clipped these two vids just yesterday. Enjoy!

Renualt F1 Car Lapping Top Gear Test Track (Onboard)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uphjLppVGM

Renualt F1 Car Lapping Top Gear Test Track (TV Program)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uphjLppVGM :mrgreen:
 
Buck-O said:
matt_shaw said:
Buck-O said:
Im still of the belief that the curent stig is a former rally driver. Given his hard in, pedal out driving fasion. And the quick sawing at the wheel for car correction. As well as the rather lurid power slides he often pulls off on throttle out of a bend.

And really, the only rally drive i know of with the credentials to do that sort of driving with any amount of compitance is Colin McRae.

But there may be someone else out there i dont know of.

You know what, thats a good theory :thumbsup:

Another thing that I have know idea why I noticed, but The Stig has very skinny legs. Colin McRae is a skinny man; connection???

Well, not just that, but i think Colin has the right attitude to really get a laugh out of doing somthing like the Stig.

Besides, its not like hes got a busy schedule or anything. :lol:

wait a sec...the stig started wearing alpinestars racing suits just recently correct? where there times where the stig wore alpinestars then didnt wear alpinestars and then went back to alpinestars? because if this is the case, then just match the non-alpinestars times whith the times colin was driving for skoda last year. reason is because colin is still sponsored by alpinestars and thats the suit he wears.
 
p0w3r said:
wait a sec...the stig started wearing alpinestars racing suits just recently correct? where there times where the stig wore alpinestars then didnt wear alpinestars and then went back to alpinestars? because if this is the case, then just match the non-alpinestars times whith the times colin was driving for skoda last year. reason is because colin is still sponsored by alpinestars and thats the suit he wears.

That thought has crossed my mind too.

And honestly i dont remember. Perhaps someone with all of the episodes can go back and take a look. Becuase i dont have any for more then a week, then replace them with next weeks.

I have also thought that the Stig could actually be Nigel Mansel as well. COnsidering the times where so identicle.

And if you remember the interview with Nigel and Jeremy, the whole "flying in on the helicopter" thing was done kinda tounge in cheek.

WHo knows.
 
I agree on the Nigel point. The whole time they were talking it felt like they were laughing inside. Either Clarkson is awful at keeping a straight face (I suspect he is), or he is an extraordinary actor so good he can act like a bad actor on purposde :?
 
Dr.Kamiya said:
Clarkson certainly doesnt seem like the type who would be bothered to memorize a script, let alone write one.

Clarkson is a writer....
 
jeffy777 said:
Dr.Kamiya said:
Clarkson certainly doesnt seem like the type who would be bothered to memorize a script, let alone write one.

Clarkson is a writer....

To underscore the point -- he writes columns in Top Gear magazine. He writes for the Sunday Times. He has books published. He writes the scripts for all his videos. In the behind-the-scenes last season with Jimmy Carr, they said he writes most of the script for each Top Gear episode.

Jeremy's career started off as some kind of PR/press release type of bloke.
 
Thew only scripted parts are:

News
End of car review synopsis (at the end of car reviews, the jokes they then make are scripted). Saw this on the Revved up DVD.

Challenges (cheap cars/ porsches/ Aston vs. Train etc.) are mostly spontanious, with some parts jammed in to coincide with the voice over they use on the final film. During the reviews themselves, they must highlight certains aspects of the car. This is decided beforehand, kinda scripted but not entirely. The comments are not thought of beforehand i think. They're all very good with superlatives.
 
BimmerFan said:
i always though that the stig was more than one person, and different drivers took turns driving as the stig. could be an unfounded rumor since no one really knows.

My arguement against this is the consistency that the Stig displays in his laps would be impossible if it were more than one driver, what would be the point then, it'd kinda be like having an off sized ruler to measure things, see what i mean? personally i like the idea of him being Colin McRae, but the finnish driver sounds likely as well... but at the same time I don't want to know, because it'd ruin the fun of watching the show. just my opinion
 
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