Ex-Stig Attempts to RETAKE the Top Gear Record!

[@cnat_sepll]

The one thing ACTUALLY holding him back? There wasn't a Spanish speaking lesson on the radio

[@colinscutt5104]

no radio..

[@scsutton1]

Or a romantic novel.

[@na-tv6rn]

Or a James May narrated book on tape.

[@NikoMoraKamu]

tienes razon amigo

[@JRock3091]

Genesis track

[@RobertGracie]

I demand that the Top Gear Test Track is given Grade 1 listed Status it deserves to be preserved for all time and no bulldozer is allowed to touch it!

[@Markknightexeter]

Yeah true, but Dunsfold is still an aerodrome, it was made during world war 2.

[@benllewelyn98]

It should be listed definitely, not only got top gear but for its use in ww2

[@michelvanbriemen3459]

The Top Gear Test Track should be a UN World Heritage Site for all the joy it has given hundreds of millions of people around the world.

[@wisconsineaglesfan7925]

Mayor Daley would have it torn up in the middle of the night.

[@Markknightexeter]

@@wisconsineaglesfan7925 eh?

[@Hundredthldiot]

Top Gear: over my dead body. Stig: ...and we're off.

[@FrankDBoyce]

Hahahaha😂

[@illsaveyes]

You know clarkson’s seen this, and laughed his bollox off🤣🤣🤣🤣❤️

[@mefarri]

Great comment. 😂

[@benjaminnevins5211]

I don't feel bad.

[@stuartsmith5308]

Hoping an owner of an Atom V8 can lend it to DriveTribe and Ben to use for the day.

[@madyogi6164]

With proper wheels.

[@B__L]

They already lapped the V8 on a very slightly damp track. It won't go much faster.

[@gorillafacegwen9247]

There is a 1000 BHP K20 turbo atom which has made its rounds on a couple of channels in which i know Ben has been on. Misha drove it and said it needed alot more aero. I bet that will be the car they bring on to smash the record.

[@Markknightexeter]

​@@gorillafacegwen9247yeah, undrivable though

[@Harmonyww]

How many Atom V8s were made? They seem really rare and I've never seen one for sale anywhere

[@scottbraithwaite83]

Someone should get Mike a proper stopwatch.

[@AIJLarkin]

Someone should get Mike a proper job, I get that he’s passionate but he’s one of the most boring presenters on all of the KZbin car content

[@bran170]

Automated laptimer, .2 of a second can be up to the reaction time of the operator of the stopwatch

[@FiveBlackStripes]

@@samuelgarrod8327disagree. Mike is great.

[@FF-gg1bm]

Yip exactly my thought

[@samcarpenter_]

@@samuelgarrod8327 Get in the bin, Mike's great.

[@benbrandt3]

Finding nearly 2 seconds on a 1:20 track is a huge ask. Valiant attempt.

[@banditdarville.]

Exactly, After the first lap I said to myself "you won't do it".......... and I was right.........

[@LionBlu2000]

@@banditdarville. But he shaved off whole second, so not bad. But still, sliding too much all over the place. You ain't moving if you sliding

[@tommy.eklund]

I'm so glad we have Ben on KZbin nowadays, while he perfected the mute character of the "tame racing driver", he's also a brilliant personality actually presenting.

[@eTiMaGo]

I love how he gets along so well with many other car youtubers, a lot of fun to watch and definitely a humble chap!

[@simtalkayak]

*Tamed

[@mygeoperson]

When they relaunch Top Gear, they can have the three Stigs as presenters and then have a tame motoring journalist.

[@tommy.eklund]

@@mygeoperson lol

[@AlphaGametauri]

When you're so scared the old guy you replaced is faster then you that you have to black mail a car maker to stop them.

[@richienotsorich4303]

Humm.... 🤔 I didn't think of that.

[@Hiznogood]

I think that’s was pretty petty of Andy Wilman, but it’s show business and there’s always some backstabbing going around!

[@TiptronicSS]

"I can't look at the speed, there's too much going on" officer 😂😂😂

[@tommyblackwell3760]

Not something I'd try with a Georgia State Trooper lol!

[@chefcc90]

You didn't "used to be" the Stig. You are THE Stig!!

[@Excludos]

It's weird, because he's not even the longest running Stig. But he's still the real Stig in my eyes. He was there when Top Gear was at its highest. He helped make the show what it was, and even though he wasn't the first Stig, he created the myth, legend and persona that would become the iconic racing driver.

[@marcjudge680]

Ben Collins ts and always will be THE STIG

[@_Zekken]

​@@samuelgarrod8327We dont know if the stig they replaced him with is the same person as after Clarkson, Hammond and May left. Assuming he is, then he was the Stig for Longer than Ben Collins was.

[@illsaveyes]

Tiff nedell was tha og stig👌

[@MichaelH-ck4hg]

@@illsaveyesI never knew that. Meaning Tiff was the original.

[@Uraninite]

Thank god the test track hasn't been demolished, I hope it never does.

[@BugattiONE666]

its literaly sheduled for complete demolition

[@renz1013]

Yet* 😢

[@Chopin1995]

I went there in 2019, and wasn't allowed anywhere in. I was stopped in front of the gate and that was it... needless to say I was very disappointed. Didn't even see the track from the distance. I don't live in England and was there only 2 times in my life. I wonder what has changed that they can do whatever they want now and film all these videos. Well, at least I tried.

[@EddieAFC]

@@Uraninite *yet Don’t worry though. It’ll be a new build estate soon enough.

[@DigBipper188]

it should become a grade listed heritage site given how long it remained the test track for TopGear.

[@mrsneakyburt]

The fact that hes trying to set a lap record in, not a racing suit and kit, but loafers and a t shirt, Legend

[@TheLifeOfJavi]

Really gives off some Senna energy.

[@randojay]

dont forget the suede shoes

[@xorbe2]

The V8 has 25% more power, while the 4R is 21% heavier ... this was lost before it started, that's a 51% power/weight gap.

[@briansmith7443]

But still only 0.7s off the pace... That's hugely impressive! Or at least shows how much power the V8 Atom was wasting! New Chassis and Aero with V8 Power...?

[@xorbe2]

@@briansmith7443 You can only do so much on a small track.

[@tonyfranklin8306]

but the newer vehicle was able to put more of it's power down through the corners than the old car.

[@R1gortortoise]

In a drag race, sure, most of the time. On the track you have aero as mentioned but suspension geometry, gear ratios, power bands (especially with turbo chargers) and a raft of smaller details (think throttle response, tyre temp changes, brake performance etc).

[@bogusphone8000]

As always, nothing beats a V8. ;)

[@xPyroxx]

Using a phone as a stop watch and human reflexes for when he crosses the line is always going to give inaccurate results. Not a seconds worth, but at least a few tenths.

[@amielterence]

Usually two tenths for reaction time, but I doubt he’s reacting to him crossing the line and then pressing the button. You time it with him crossing the line

[@micglou]

He's not using the phone for the timing... you can see the actual timing equipment @10.15. He probably used the phone to monitor it.

[@pranc236]

Back in the day i bet the track had more rubber on it. 🤷‍♂️

[@DroneStrike1776]

The reaction of a human could take as long as .75 seconds. Hence the 2 second rule when you're behind someone. Study has shown it takes that long for most people to react, visuals, send a message to the brain, brain sends a message to your feet, and your feet now applying the brakes.

[@xPyroxx]

@@DroneStrike1776 I assume you're just expanding on what I said, rather than trying to explain what I said, to me.

[@ThoughtlessDestiny]

Dang he is still a beast behind the wheel. Get that man a V8 atom out there lol.

[@s.lacasse8337]

With a decent span wing!

[@DareToDrone]

I miss Top Gear so much. Thank you Drive Tribe for bringing us the closest thing we have to it. Love the channel. Would love to see you become a prime time TV show but happy to have you here on KZbin. Keep it up everyone.

[@Arxkc]

It's ironic how they wouldn't let him speak because they thought a racing driver wouldn't have anything to say, yet his reviews are maybe the most interesting you'll hear anywhere

[@lewismcdonald2826]

It’s the whole mystique of the sting though… they had the OG trio to do the review and the stig to show what a car at full send could do

[@petrokemikal]

Yeah, because he genuinely knows cars more than any of the topgear presenters past or present..

[@rendymirza165]

you know they often mention in the show (if my memory serves me right) things like "the stig said about the car that.." it just wasn't meant to be aired

[@TheNotoriousMIC]

I came here to say the same thing this guys absolutely brilliant and was criminally underused by the top gear team and really should have been the 4th member.

[@synapticbit]

I don’t think it was ironic, I think it was strategic. To have a mysterious “professional driver” who was clearly more skilled than the boys be the one to put down official lap times. I’ve heard it said that the thing a professional and skilled driver brings to the table is an ability to achieve 10/10ths from a car far sooner. So, it gave them a conceivably more consistent method of getting lap times with the cars while also having a fun segment where they could make jokes and “play around with” that mystique. What’s interesting is it seems that Ben is the only ex-stig who is doing anything public like this. Where’s the guy who replaced him?

[@Kermisreporter]

02:47 Oh I missed that shot!!!

[@ramsspace4973]

Absolutely

[@czarbomba7]

Some say that if he caught fire, he would burn for a thousand days and that he only knows two facts about ducks and they're both wrong

[@WeAreTheTrueMedia]

😂 Love it.

[@ashlay8713]

😂😂

[@GwilsonDrums]

And that he has a full sized tattoo of his face...... On his face

[@WernerKlorand]

.. and that in his wallet, he has a photograph - of his wallet!

[@davidivaskovic]

All we know...

[@police428]

I love how Collin’s still a racing driver, not just a tester. He is giving input to the engineers to help it get faster! Ariel should come back with a modified 4R with more rear/adjustable areo, an increase in power and some more lightweight bits and see how much more can be pushed!

[@dstewusa7054]

@police428 They made it 400lbs heavier - that was the mistake for track work rather than 400hp being insufficient

[@kennytheamazing]

Literally drove the wheels off it.

[@Yorkshiremadmick]

Literally wrecked the wheels trying to beat the time. Kudos to the driver Ben (Stig), car and tyres. Shame about the reinforced plastic wheels.

[@ViaticalTree]

Literally all 4 wheels stayed on the car.

[@ViaticalTree]

@@SkylineGamingStudios clearly you don’t know what literally means.

That's not what literally means, kid. You literally are using the word literally wrong.

[@chrisbraid2907]

Almost !

[@boriss.861]

Guys 'n' Girls at Atom HQ redesigning of those wheels now Ben almost broke them!

[@triedproven9908]

Yeah that hub area needs to have twice the material atleast, but my guess is it's the heat and the lateral g's that stig put it through it just couldn't cope with. Happend around the tires which is why stig kept getting loose there. The grip probably was there but the wheel wasn't.

[@SKYWURX]

That's pretty scary to be honest. No way it should start cracking at the hub unless you smash a curb side on. Carbon doesn't give much warning so Ben's lucky the wheel didn't depart entirely.

[@fetzie23]

@@SKYWURX Yeah it very well could have been the "one more too many" like Hammond had a couple of times.

[@michaelj3282]

Can someone say "And across the line" in a Clarkson voice please?

[@GryphLane]

"And across the line INNNNN!!" in an Hammond voice

[@michelvanbriemen3459]

"andACROSS, the line" in the James Mayest of voices

[@Mitharan23]

I literally said that to myself on the first lap.

[@James-kk8dw]

On this bombshell .....

[@yatespeterm]

@@James-kk8dw ... and back to the studio ...

[@PHAZER99]

The car at the end is the Praga Bohema if anyone cares

[@utbdoug]

Thanks dude!

[@josephj807]

Ok thx

[@GM-fh5jp]

I cared, thank you.

[@stuartblackwell9580]

Yup, spotted that too. It should be epic.

[@AldoHam]

Thats why these videos have a comment section thanks it was on everyone’s mind so we do care

[@TheCreamRisesToTheTop]

Crazy that they would block Ben from doing a lap in the V8. How insecure must one be to pull a move like that?

[@Makrel94]

My guess is that Clarkson is not involved with drivetribe anymore.. He would never have allowed this.. Willman and Clarkson have made tv together way before the trio was a thing. Notice how in old drivetribe videos, they never mentioned Top Gear, but now it’s fine.

[@sskmanentsa5326]

He had to. The whole point of the Stig character is that he is the best driver around, so his lap times are peak. Ben competing with new Stig would have resulted in a back and forth that would not only ruin the mystique, but mess with their bottom line.

[@marklittle8805]

​@@sskmanentsa5326it was business, not really personal for sure

[@crdc9853]

​@@sskmanentsa5326yeah I thought the same, the only thing that doesn't fit with that theory is that F1 drivers were regularly quicker than the stig in the reasonably priced car but maybe because they're F1 drivers it wasn't as big of a deal for them to be faster

[@nz540im3]

@@Makrel94 arent all of them shareholders? the three hosts i mean. is it known that Willman left the BBC with the boys to pitch what become the Amazon Prime show?

[@lockingdiff]

This needs to be a regular segment on DriveTribe! An all new lapboard with the current crop of cars driven by Ben.

[@sebastianjo752]

This!!!!!!

[@1066wastrel]

I drove the original Atom with a 2ltr Honda engine strapped to the back of it, trust me on this, 2ltrs on a pile of scaffolding with 4 wheels attached is all you`ll ever need! I don`t fancy driving one on the street mind you! Track day car!

[@En_Joshi-Godrez]

Kinda staggering that the v8 is still fastest considering it's using 15 year old tire technology. What a monster.

[@kennytheamazing]

@@En_Joshi-Godrez on a tight track like these, even a little bit of turbo lag might make a difference.

[@Harry._.Thompson]

so they have made a slower and less fun car to drive, lol.

[@En_Joshi-Godrez]

@@kennytheamazing yea, but you put the v8 on modern tires, and it's never going to lose on a track this open.

[@fueledgti]

It’s impressive considering this one in the video was also using Advan A052 which is still one of the best 200TW you can use today. I am unsure what they were using on old top gear though

[@NBSV1]

The new one is less power and more weight. The aero might be more efficient, but also might be less as well. If the new one had the same power and weight with the better aero it'd likely be faster. Would be interesting if they could get one of the V8's like used to set the record. At least that way it should be more driver vs driver.

[@Baat23-o8q]

The county council want to turn that place into a massive housing estate, have done for many years. So far no luck for them due to local opposition. Also there used to be, in the old Top Gear days, a 9 hole golf course on the site, which I played on a few times. Really lucky if you hit the track - you could hit 350 yard drives! Unfortunately I believe the developers had that shut down many years ago.

[@Shif80]

He needs to bring an Ultima GTR720. It’s done a lap of 1min 9.9 without Ben. Imagine what it would do with him!

[@BugattiONE666]

Comperable to the FFX and Caparo, only a smidge behind the Zonda R and DBR9.....christ

[@pariodeusex]

a road legal Radical RXC 650 will destroy both the ariel and Ultima, even the 500hp version is faster than a mclaren p1 on super trofeo R tyres around angelsey, the 650hp version will lap about as fast as a LMP3 car and faster than a FIA GT3 car.

[@felixjanssen2]

1:15 ;)

[@micglou]

That version of the Ultima GTR720 doesn't count, it was not suitable for public roads... and as TG tradition goes, it will be taken off the board.

[@Shif80]

@@micglou it was a production road car

[@Concodroid]

You have got to do the V8 atom. It was a damp track, it actually had standing water out of hammerhead on the atom's lap. Heck, the pagani huayra needed basically racing slicks to beat it.

[@milodemoray]

Ben "THE STIG" Collins, there is no other regardless of records.

[@Vanessinha91Pucca]

At 10:44 it's so weird, he has the exact same posture and driving style he had 10 years ago at Top Gear.. but he is not in the Stig costume... so weird to see

[@deltas4764]

Dunsfold is history, Dunsfold is love

[@131Beda]

This is exactly what drivetribe needs, power laps at the top gear test track with old stig.....more of this!!!

[@yoyoss2]

Gotta get Ben a white helmet for the old times

[@jakeevans1129]

a white simpson bandit

[@WeAreTheTrueMedia]

​@@jakeevans1129 Just the mention of those words brings memories flooding back of my first few years motorcycling 🎉

[@Arcturuseyes]

Ben almost literally drove the wheels off of that car, awesome job.

[@Spinelli__]

The fact he couldn't improve his times after 3 or 4 laps and also there was no dramatic laptime at the end or any of those shenanigans is evidence, to me, that this channel - at least this particular video - is just giving us pure, unaltered facts & reality. it doesn't matter if there's no fairytale ending or even a dramatic ending, it's just giving us pure truth and info. Absolutely fantastic! Honestly, this means more to me, and I'm sure many other viewers, then you may realize.

[@youtubeaccount9058]

...well the end of this video hints at a fairy tale ending in a subsequent episode

[@joshua.snyder]

Watching this has given me more joy than any other car video I have watched in a while! Love it, Ben.

[@Gamefreak8112]

He's on the cusp in a lesser Atom, get this man a proper and equal one then send it around again! JUSTICE FOR BEN!

[@lee4171]

He can borrow my 2011 focus 1.6 tdi if he wants. Once that turbo kicks in, up to 100 bhp on tap.

[@Nighthawk-lr9km]

I missed the old test track.

[@honestmcgyver]

The one thing holding him back - Mikes reactions on pressing the iPhone stopwatch button.

[@MrAdopado]

He's not timing it with an iPhone! He might have a data link with the actual timing equipment but nobody would ever use a phone to do the timing ... you can bet Ben would be complaining if that was the case. The phone was probably just used for the video "look".

[@metahertzuk]

Awesome to see Collins back! 100% needs to borrow a V8 Atom because it really didn't look that "planted" w/aero

[@notorioushkm97]

"Some say he drapes his cloths in a pool of lavender, and he wrote a book about riding a bicycle for dogs, all we know is he's called Ben Collins"

[@luminatrixfanfiction]

We have to account for human reaction time of a stopatch which is about .2 seconds reaction time. So in reality, Ben's best time isn't 1.15.8 but rather 1.15.6 accounting for human reaction time of stop watch. He's only .5 seconds behind the new stig in a car that has 100 less horse power and weighs 115 kilograms more. If he had the 2008 V8 Atom, he'd have beaten the new stigs time. There's no doubt about it.

[@johanleo41]

Some say he used jet fuel in his car, just to see if it would make it fly. Some say he can drive through any rush hour traffic, in less than 10mins.

[@0Y02USH]

TG/GT didn't die, and it will never!! Because it lives on, as DT!! ❤❤❤🎉🎉🎉

[@0Y02USH]

​@@ripvanwinkle2002 Understandable, have a great day m8!

[@WW-wf8tu]

Nice tries Ben. I personally believe the V8 has the edge, no matter who drives it, how old they are, or who is running the stop watch. 😄

[@THETuerre]

NOT having Ben as himself on Top Gear sems now to have been an error in judgement. His commentary as a profesional driver is invaluable!

[@DaDa-David]

WOW! Ben rung it out, massive effort! :-)

[@Holmesy87]

For a fair comparison, we should get the Stig that beat him to send the same car round. Would be interesting to see.

[@BaysMediaWorld]

What a driver. Urg. I’d love to meet him one day. Childhood hero.

[@lifeofishant]

Thanks for featuring the track again! The camera angles used to be a lot better with top gear though, I must say

[@Recessio]

Top Gear had fixed camera positions. DriveTribe just rented the track for the day, they dont own it.

[@nuguns3766]

Check out series 2 with their camera angles because they're better than the later series They're more action packed and sometimes over the shoulder cam on the windshield I really felt the speed. I thought it was way better than the usual

[@TheZacEdwards]

Ben getting that fired up makes me wanna run through a wall 😂

[@jpsuperstar]

I notice the difference between him and most of the younger youtubers he's palling with--there is an iron intensity that he somehow manageds to take the edge off when he's presenting in polite company

[@jkliao6486]

Ben has always been the guy this channel should have all along a while back.

[@MaDMaXGroW]

Ben still got it. 100%

[@ignacioriosjr603]

I’m sure the next Stig wouldn’t be able to pull those kind of times in this Atom. Ben you ARE THE BEST!!💪💪💪💪

[@SimonH69]

You need the Mcmurty Speirling

[@phillippatryndal4255]

But that'd be cheating :P /s

[@GamingThrottle]

The producer at top gear still showing everyone why you shouldn't watch it after the original trio left how petty we wont feature your car if you let someone else drive it

[@GuyBoggan]

Can't help but feel there is a lot of error in using a phone to time this and the act of a screen touch, I think it could easily vary by tenths of a second, not only because of the error in sensitivity of a screen but in the act of doing it you've got to move from a high hovered position to tapping the right part of the phone, with a stopwatch you are already holding the button and you only have to focus with your eyes. One better of course would be an automated lap timer, which would accurately capture the start too, but certainly a phone is wildly inaccurate here - through user error.

[@willyrivero470]

How accurate are your timing records? A mild millisecond on your ON or OFF from moving your finger counts. Wouldn't it be better to have a sensor on the track for accurate timing? I would love to see him brake the record but in more proper way of lap timing.

[@CHUNGHO3]

That Praga Bohema at the end gave me the chills 👍

[@SternLX]

Seeing Dunsfold again after so many years brings back so many joyful TV watching experiences. Ben being there flogging an Atom again is Icing on the cake.

[@76_SPZL]

11:27 I hope the next car is a Suzuki Liana

[@xX_Gravity_Xx]

He may not have the percentage stats to back it up, but he may just be one of the greatest of all time. The variety of different driving styles he's had to adapt to and been successful at are in borderline unknown territory. I'd imagine he'd have never thought that his career would end up with such a track record. Dude is a legend, and his ability to hop in almost anything and be quick is mighty impressive. There are guys in F1 right now who definitely couldn't do that.

[@shadlad91]

@@samuelgarrod8327what’s so funny about the truth ??

[@metadata4255]

"may not have the percentage stats" is like saying you're a genius but you're bad at taking tests lol

[@xX_Gravity_Xx]

@@metadata4255 Not really. Tests don't vary when it's time to take them, based on what desk you sat at and what the performance and specs of the pencil were. Moreover, opportunity plays a much larger role in motorsports than most people care to admit. If he had been given as many second chances as certain others in his early career, or had as much money behind him, who knows what his career would have looked like in terms of competition. Also, the most prominent part of his career, and most likely the most developed part of his career, wasn't competitive, so there weren't even any stats to rack up. Not really fair to hold that against him, when he was living the dream, don't you think?

[@shadlad91]

@@metadata4255 he means a lot of the stunt driving and other driving jobs he did did not tallied actual racing stats Ben has way more driving experience under his belts then just actual racing. As OP said , his full send ability with anything on wheels is second to none imho. You can’t create leader board or racing stats off that part of his career.

[@ATomRileyA]

The old Ultima GTR with 720bhp did 1:12 (1:09 on slicks) Think its time for another lap in the much faster and more modern Ultima RS with 1200bhp. Come on make it happen.

[@geraldrossouw4425]

Exactly what I was thinking, what record are they talking about? Quite a few faster production road cars around that track, so I assume they are only talking about the Arial Atom record specifically. They are definitely being vague, perhaps deliberately so.

[@Schizm1]

I REALLY enjoy all content with Ben. With sad news of Grand Tour ending at least there's still some legacy of OG TG/GT that lives on

[@jasonrojas26]

He is not the ex stig. He is the stig

[@The_Nametag]

Hearing Ben's thoughts on the car and the track is the perspective we were never allowed to have with The Stig. Great stuff, and can't wait to see the next attempt.

[@AisuruMirai]

Why do they pretend to use a phone for timing and have Mike ostentatiously jab it with his finger? If you're gonna go for goofy theatrics, why not just use a giant Flavor Flav stopwatch?

[@rdub202]

What's worse is all the comments thinking that's how they actually timed this 😂

[@spusuf]

Phone is usually for ballpark times for in between laps, done professional equipment needs a laptop to view

[@BionicRusty]

Big UPS for posting this 🤜🤛 Most other channels would have hidden it away. 😂

[@endlessoul]

I had some insane fun in the Atom in Dunsfold. It's where my picture comes from!

[@AutoBeta2T]

😮

[@GryphLane]

Did you manage to put your face back together afterwards?

[@VestedUTuber]

One thing to consider, Dunsfold is an interesting mix of technical sections and long straightaways. It feels like a car with sufficient aero and more power would be better on this course than one with optimized aero and less power, provided it's also nimble enough to handle the tight corners at the ends of the straights. The Atom 4R would probably absolutely stomp the Atom 500 on a course like Suzuka or Silverstone, but it'd be the reverse at a course like Le Mans or Daytona.

[@danh.owdoyoudo]

Wilmon’s a proper whinger, isn’t he?

[@din0wayway]

Proper go. Can’t blame the man he wanted it, but the slight power difference with slight weight difference wasn’t enough. THE RIM was literally breaking apart for the force.

[@garrymartin5877]

Stop calling him the Ex stig. He IS the stig. The OG stig

[@ryana4369]

Perry McCarthy is OG STIG though.

[@Gorbyrev]

That was fantastic, thanks Mark, Ben and team.

[@MarkoVukovic0]

So, it's made for the track but the wheels start delaminating after a few hard laps. Right...

[@Chobham]

Ben squeezed every last drop of performance out of that car with a 15.8, with the limited configuration settings it had. Well done!

[@barneyrubble9309]

What was Willman's beef ffs? How petty can you be....I suppose they couldn't have the true STIG beat the imposter stig in the same car.

[@invisiblekid99]

Yeah strange. I’d get it if Ben walked out or gave up his identity, but he left because the Radio Times outed him and there is zero point of a Stif “where everybody knows your name”

[@scruff520]

I was willing Ben so hard to beat that time! Felt like i was in there with him, exhausted now 😅, well done Ben Collins x

[@Andrei-ng2yz]

Something tells me that tapping on the Iphone screen is not the best way to time a lap

[@stagger87]

Cannot wait to see Ben absolutely send the Bohema around here, Absolutely gorgeous and mental looking piece of kit, no doubt he'll be able to work some magic!

[@henrymarkstewart1067]

If that story about Wilman is true then he sounds like an absolute… (complete the sentence)

[@1320crusier]

Mans relentless pursuit of speed ^_^ Love it. Now we need Ben and the other Stig in a head to head race.

[@HarmLess7]

Still absolutely insane that he's only 0.7 off a car with more HP, less weight and a higher top speed, that's a proper flex right there... He'd be putting in 1:13s in the V8 I'm sure.

[@Khanrad93]

How did Top Gear record the lap times? Surely it was more precise than a bloke with a stop watch and eyeballing it. Love Ben! He's the real Stig.

[@anochieugochuku7176]

Are you really using the stopwatch app? Couldn't you find more timing consistency with Harry's Lap Timer Track Addict Racebox Pro or Mini ??

[@zachaphina3140]

How do you think TopGear timed laps?

[@AlexKall]

Oh this is awesome! The old track and Ben back on the track behind the wheel, absolutely awesome!

[@EddieAFC]

Some say he keeps a photo of his wallet in his wallet.

[@EvolvedCasualGamer_HM]

Some say that he grinds his teeth at night in agony while the lap records which he was unable to break do not let him sleep like a curse!! This man who is ''The'' Stig went in for a topgun maverick style lap and I so badly wanted him to beat the record.

[@bradwhite5884]

​@@samuelgarrod8327 and that in reality, there's no proof that it is no longer funny after ten years, all we know is, he is still the Stig

[@EddieAFC]

@@samuelgarrod8327true, but the concept of having a photograph of your wallet inside your wallet will always be amusing...

[@GTChucker86]

@@samuelgarrod8327some say, you know two facts about ducks and both of them are wrong

[@TheWeatherLightCafe]

Kind of a bad look for the Atom- one day at the track doing exactly what the car was designed for and the wheel is breaking?!

[@srodigital]

He probably shouldn't have stopped to have such a long a chat about his laps, he was more than likely in the groove, lap times coming down, tyres nicely up to temp as well as the car. Just a thought not a criticism. Nice to see Ben at that track again.

[@MrAdopado]

Ben is a pro ... the film is edited ... he would have fully warmed up the car and tyres before the launch. If you've ever competed in sprint events you'll know the routine. We don't know what he actually did but I would imagine he would have done a couple of super fast laps and then drawn up to the line and then launched for his timed lap.

[@markcocker355]

Why did Willman try to stop the V8 having that last push?

[@simondale3980]

willman did it because he couldnt have the old stig being faster than the new one, it would have made TG look bad i guess.

[@zqzj]

​@@simondale3980Regarding the lap times, I believe there's more to it. The track times weren't intended to showcase the fastest possible laps a car could achieve. The show lacked the resources and time to finely tune each vehicle and continuously drive until no further improvements in lap times were possible. The times we saw represented the best they could achieve with limited effort. While it's true that any of these times could potentially be improved upon, doing so would defeat the original purpose.

[@evander6979]

You can tell Ben is taking it personally, this is a proper grudge match, what a driver!!!

[@Cloxxki]

The wing seems less than optimized. Get Vulcan Alpha on the case.

[@TheEvertw]

I loved the monologues TG gave whenever the Stig came on. Greatest TV show ever.

[@datNERO17]

Cam on the helmet and you dont show ANY footage of it :( ?

[@martinjudd1284]

Cant wait to see Ben back on the top of the list. Go STIG.

[@imSchwaggy]

Stig beef is crazy.