The Stig reveals what REALLY HAPPENED in the Top Gear 24-hour race | Le Mans road trip
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- Опубліковано 25 тра 2024
- Plan your trip today: bit.ly/DriveThroughEurope
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0:00 Coming up
0:15 Where's Ben?
0:47 Eurotunnel
1:50 Ben's racing career
3:30 Let the road trip begin
5:45 Driving the Le Mans track
13:04 Driving the Dodge
13:37 The Top Gear 24-hour race
16:11 Ben's gift to Mike
17:08 The Le Mans Classic
22:17 Gift shopping
22:37 Back home
The DriveTribe Dodge Charger has always deserved a good European road trip, so Mike invited ex-Stig Ben Collins to accompany him to the Le Mans Classic. And while on their journey, Mike gets the gossip on Ben's Le Mans career, as well as the infamous Top Gear 24 hour race... What really happened?
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This is one of my favorite things Drivetribe has ever done. I love the insights that Ben can give when he's presented with the opportunity.
Ben is happily married, calm down
great to hear this and really appreciate the support - love working on DT and plenty of dry powder :)
@@BenCollinsDrives Honestly, just you and Harris monkeying around would be its own brilliant content, too bad that can't be a thing.
It's a shame some of it is a lie really :/
@@hsvr balìta
Not speaking about just the 24 hour topgear race, this video was so cool to hear the STIG talk about his experiences. So relaxing and interesting
I now want amazon to surprise Hammond, Clarkson and may by adding him into the grand tour
unfortunately Amazon doesn't have any creative control over the show. It would have to be at contact renewal time and by then it would likely be to late. I like the idea though
I really appreciate how Mike and Ben seem to actually enjoy each other's company so these interactions are more organic. More Ben please. His insight on anything involving cars is a joy to listen to.
I can confirm Ben enjoys a massive burnout away from every single French toll booth 😂 invoice for tyres incoming...
His new nick name is Ben 11
@@pistolpete5189 "i bet i can make longer elevensies than you!"
@@ghomerhust surely an overly long elevenses is in theory just brunch?
if u dont pop the set dont even bring it up
Don't you mean "some say he can't pull away from a French tollbooth without doing a massive burnout"?
No wonder they didn’t let Stig talk, they were trying to protect their jobs
Of course because they are "presenters", they ain't a race car driver like Tiff from Fifth Gear or Chris Harris
@@clxx1302 tiff sure, Chris? 😂😂😂
@@dylanzrim3635 Chris is a legitimate racing driver TF you mean?
@@dylanzrim3635 he’s competed in Le Mans multiple times and has done rallies. He has a proper racing career
Iirc they gave all the credit to the stig for that race & to the engineers for getting the car repaired.
This begins to show you just how much Ben really truly loves racing. It isn't just a passion. He loves it.
Agreed. I have a book called "The Man in the White Suit", which talks about a lot of racing, plus Top Gear behind the scenes.
It's more like a hobby for him so obviously he doesn't need to do it if he doesn't want to.
@@jdapaul1351 Yup, it is a really enjoyable read
@@jdapaul1351 I'll third this statement, awesome book
@@dudeonlygamingandotherstuf7791 i wonder how many people will get this reference, you cheeky rascal ;d, but seriously man, leave the man alone, he knows what he's doing. And i hope he is having a nice drink right now :). perkele. ;d
Still to date my favourite thing Top Gear ever did
Agreed.
It's right up there for me to 👌
My favourite on-track piece they did, but for me the Vietnam trip is still the greatest episode.
When did this happen, i dont remember this at all
@@gglovato it was a very old episode out like in the early 2000s a couple of episodes previous they got some tractors in an attempt to grow some green fuel only to end up with diesel. Sitting on a large amount of it the TG crew along with The Stig and a group of mechanics they entered the Britcar 24 hours at Silverstone with a diesel powered BMW M3
One of my funniest Stig moments was when he goes to buy gas and has a Credit card that says "The Stig" as the name and "Bank of Money" as the bank. I can still remember the boys wondering if he even knew how to buy gas. The Stig was a great "character". They could look at getting "Stig" back in the mix with the OG boys, but there are some issues with the BBC I am sure.
Bring back the american
The Stog
It will always be a legendary episode,
I remember getting teary eyed.
Don't be a sausage, why would you get tearful what are ye a massive weapon or something, give yer heid a wobble man.
@@BariLopesh Tell me you are casual, without telling me you are casual.
Mike is getting better and better at presenting these episodes, it really feels so well put together
I loved reading the "Man in the white suit" book, since it revealed so much about the production of the show and how Ben's job as the Stig was about more than just driving around fast cars on the track or teaching Celebrities to do the same.
For those who haven't read it, search it up, it's well worth it.
May and Hammond smiling at the end was pure British wholesomeness.
"Its there! We've done it!" - Jezza 😢 you beauty.
He did some incredible driving in that 24-hour race
He did but he wasn't driving for anywhere near as long as he's implied here.
Also he was driving against amateurs/semi pros
@@James_08_07 Wasn't he?
@@danhall76 Nope, see my other comments.
@@danhall76 Ben was only in the car from 2am to 5am over night... Driving order was as follows: Ben 4:30pm to 6pm, May 6pm to 8pm, Clarkson 8pm to 10pm, Hammond 10pm to crash at 11:15pm ish, Ben 2am to 5am, May 5am to 5:15am, race suspended, May from 7:30am to 9:30am, Ben from 9:30 to 12pm, Hammond from 12pm to 2pm, Clarkson from 2pm to the finish at 4:30pm.
Overall Ben drove the car for around 8 hours, 3 hrs of which was in the dark. You're welcome.
References: My memory (I was there), publicly available lap chart for car #78 and hour by hour race report on Wikipedia.
I still love imagining Ben as the robotic, Alien-like, aloof , non-talking Stig listening to silly radio stations , or learning a foreign language while registering the "fastest time" on the TG race track. THANKS to finally letting us hear your voice, and see your face, Ben Collins. AWESOME DRIVING. GREAT PERSONALITY. UNFORGETTABLE MEMORIES.
It was nearly all fake, the audio was dubbed in later. The man stood around in the suit was not Ben but a part of the production crew.
And it matters how?
You should do a series where you ask Jeremy, Richard, May, Ben and TG crew members what happened to the cars used in segments. EDIT: Don't take it too seriously. Just thought it would be a cool video.
If it’s anything like what Amazon did they’re all in a storage garage somewhere
@@CometSamurai Drivetribe need to go to that garage than!
@@CometSamurai they did keep some
Lots of cars is in a Top Gear museum in UK
Chances are Hammond wouldn't remember 😂
I love how it started with Ben calling him Michael and ending with Mike. Very wholesome
The motorcar enthusiasts of the internet NEED more Ben Collins content. Whether that's him racing the latest supercars round an international circuit, reviewing popular hot hatches on back roads, or just chatting about his fascinating life. He's such an interesting guy who people naturally warm to, would be a shame to let his talent go to waste.
I love being able to tell people that I got to watch 'The Stig' racing in NASCAR! Sort of - it was the ASCAR series in the UK, they raced at Rockingham Speedway and Eurospeedway Lausitz in Germany, and back in 2002 they had a pretty stacked field including Jason Plato, Nicholas Minassian, Kelvin Burt, Darren Manning, Colin McRae made a few cameos IIRC, and Mr Collins himself in the #84 Territorial Army car - it was in a full army camoflage wrap, looked really cool! So wild looking back on it now, I was 10 years old, and I wish I'd been able to appreciate watching Ben/The Stig racing up close 😊
Love it when Ben is on here such a humble and intelligent guy
Im loving that Mike doesn't need to try and express his personality as much in recent videos, hes much more natural when hes comfortable which you can tell hes starting to be with Ben and vice versa. Pretty cool to see everyone progress, clearly the audience loves it!
Just feels so strange seeing The Stig _out of uniform._
And sitting in the passenger seat?!?! 🥺
I have really been enjoying your videos recently, informative, interesting and your passion comes across in spades. It is great to Ben talking about his career, his cars and how he feels about the Top Gear years. He was a huge part of the show but never had a voice, more of this content please?!!
When was auto racing invented? When the 2nd automobile left the assembly line.
As a man in his mid 30s who grew up watching top gear religiously and still do(when i can cause its not easy in America) its amazing to just see the stig as Ben and hear him talk considering i watched him be silent for so many years. I loved this episode
Cool, I didn’t realise top gear had fans over in America aswell
love how with that title about 1/10th of the video was actually about that
Over half way in, I'm still waiting....
It didn't go unnoticed that this video is 24 minutes long 👀 well played
The sting is iconic. I’m very glad that he is now allowed to show the world how cool he is
Uh, yeah - more of this please - fantastic to hear Ben's running commentary while tooling down the straights and weaving the corners at Le Mans. Yes please - more like this!
This is one of my favourite “Top Gear” challenges. It’s a shame we’ve not seen more of the three (well four) leads in similar events.
Big fan of this. Very different to a lot of UA-cam content. Just an two experts talking about a subject they are passionate about, no gimmicks. Love it.
The production on this video is fantastic! Great job, really enjoyable watch!
Way to go Mike, and your production team, I think this was probably the best piece you’ve done, yet. I thoroughly enjoyed that. Thank you to all of you.
One of my favorite TG builds ever, such a plucky underdog!
How that beemer survived the mosler crash is insane , thing was doing well over 120mph into the side of the car , ripped through the front end
@@thatonenigeriansformula Yeah, it really was incredible! For a while it was in Beaulieu Motor Museum, on display, but it isn't anymore- so is probably rotting in a warehouse along with all the TG cars that were once on display but have been pushed out because of new Top Gear stuff.
Lovely film, lovely subjects, well done all around. Nothing like a road trip with a racing legend to bring you around.
I love the Stig and he is an Iconic char, but Ben talking about everything makes me wish he actually did a series or show. Mike is also amazing and this was just a pleasure to watch. Well done !
As someone who has read The Man in the White Suit, I can confirm it's an excellent book. As is How To Drive, by Ben.
Not just his incredible story, and in How To Drive, the awesome teaching, but the eloquence he writes with. Ben makes it so easy to understand, and so memorable it soaks into your subconscious.
I listened to the audiobook of How To Drive at the start of a 6 month driving suspension, and 6 months later it STILL made me a better driver
These are some of my favorite segments of Drivetribe. Please keep making content. Love it.
Really enjoyed this guy's and tbf pretty much everything you put out is A+ a great balance of interesting and entertaining.
Your stories, ideas, editing and presenting has come on in a big way, quality stuff right here
This is the best UA-cam video I have ever seen. Production, subject matter, people involved - great show, really truly love it
really enjoyed the camaraderie and back-and-forth in this one. Great stuff.
Great episode!
This made me reminisce about the old Top Gear which is very much missed and could never be reproduced. I will be buying that book, thank you for everything you've done over these many years, Stig.
I really enjoyed Ben's presentation on the Circuit De La Sarthe. I was much of a Gran Turismo and Racedriver Grid fan as a kid, and this track was definitely my all time favourite. You can also tell just how much Ben loved his racing career. Great video guys, you got my like
Absolutely great interview. To be driving the track/road and have the experience being explained to you in every detail. Perfect.
One of your best videos guys…….love this style. Keep them coming.
love the interviews
mike is a real natural at this stuff, and he keeps getting better
Hammond and may did some excellent talent scouting finding him
Brilliant video guys, agree with some of the comments on here, great to hear Ben's comments and memories he's had at Le Mans excellent!
Man… the layout and production on this one really felt like Top Gear of old - the ones we all became fans of.
He talks about this all with SO much passion. It's amazing :)
Absolutely top notch video! Very informative and I love the fact they went into detail on the LeMans cars. Please!!! More like this! Very well done indeed!!!
This has been one of the better DT episodes in a loooong time. Always a pleasure watching Collins. He articulate and very matter of fact!
This has to be one of my favorite videos. I could watch the Stig for days on end. Wonderful speaker and so knowledgeable.
One of your best ever... Too Gear OG"s appreciate this.... Much love.
A road trip to Le Mans with The Stig? You’re living the dream sir.
This was great, thanks to the both of you!
Great content!! Thanks & Keep It Coming!
Mike, this was a very enjoyable film. I quite enjoyed this. And thanks Ben for sharing your racing and TV stories. The 24hr race you and the boys did on TG was one of my favorite highlights.
Cheers to you both.
Such a great video, really really enjoyed this.
Probably the best video you guys have made so far genuinely lost track of time listening to and watching this
very well produced. excellent music choices! great insight from the Stig! great "Casablanca" finish!
Thanks for including us on that trip. The description of the track was riveting.
Really hope Mike gets some future track racing opportunities as Ben said and all the support needed to be successful. Bright future ahead of him. Excellent watch, great story!
Kudos to DT - fantastic bit of content from start to finish. Real return to form. Thoroughly enjoyed this
That was one of my favorite episodes. I loved how Jeremy got teary eyed at the finish.
Great editing, awesome music !! Cheers from Brazil.
I also got emotional at the end of that episode/race. One of the best episodes they ever did! Miss the gang a lot!
Great video. Keep it up guys, both of you presenting is working very well.
It's privilege to have Ben in the channel. I enjoyed every minute of it. For me, it's the best video of DriveTribe by a country mile. Also the excitement in his voice and eyes when Mike was explaining the details of Silk Cut JAAAG was just priceless.
Kimssiinnn
Shame most of them were wrong!
In 1981 I went to LeMans and camped with some guys from England. Tony asked if he could borrow money for gas to get back.I did, the next day he took me for the same drive around the track, under the Dunlop bridge, down the Mulsanne straight, without chicanes, Indianapolis, Arnage. It was magic. Yes, I have pics.
Such an awesome video! Joy to watch!
Drive Tribe has outdone themselves again. Loved listening to Ben breakdown the Le Mans course and especially hearing about the TG 24 hrs in the diesel BMW.
What a great day out. Thanks DT!
That Casablanca outro takes the cake ❤️
Need to watch that Top Gear episode again! Thanks.
this is absolutely brilliant - keep these coming
More videos like this please. This has to be one of the best videos you guys have done on this channel
Awesome video, please bring some more 🙏
Mike I think you have knocked it out of the park. This is your best video yet! Awesome job.
Just finished watching that episode by coincidence and now I get to watch this, very cool
Excellent video. Hope to see more like this!
Great video guys. Really enjoyed that.
Great video the endurance race is probably my favorite top gear episode/segment
This is one of the best videos on UA-cam. Pure quality right here
It's nice to know Stig has a voice, an interesting one too.
Great stuff! Le Mans classic, The Stig, priceless stories, what else do we need?
Great shots and editing as always
Awesome video guys!!
The Cinematography on this is brilliant. Great Job ! :)
This was a great segment! 🔥🔥🔥
I was at Le Mans in 92. The group C cars were awesome. Drank beer all night but was wide awake spectating on the home straight, Dunlop bridge and Tertre Rouge.
I love the drive in the rain, you really get a sense of what star in the reasonably priced car was like behind the scenes; the way Ben would instruct the guests.
Great video, thanks guy's 👏👏👏👏
Reading Ben's book as a kid was such an eye opener to the reality of Top Gear, away from judgement, and just fun go read.
This was just excellent. More please.
I absolute love these videos keep them up
Well done boys. Without a doubt, an absolute gem of all the DriveTribe videos.
23:50 "Maybe one day" indeed Mike. Proud to see that dream become a reality for you in the video you uploaded earlier today, it's a real testament to the trajectory of the channel over the last year or so. Hopefully there's plenty more to come!
Great content and production. 👍🏻👏
First bit seems like a long ad for the “Flexiplus” deal but it is a really well done & entertaining video. Much appreciated
My apologies I’m having trouble trying to message you
More of this please, drive tribe with special episodes and guest appearances
What a thoroughly enjoyable video, thank you!