After years of keeping his identity secret, former F1 world champion Michael Schumacher has revealed he is "The Stig", the rampantly popular anonymous professional test car driver from BBC motoring show "Top Gear".

Each episode of the cult show, which has been sold to television channels around the world, sees "The Stig" whizzing around test tracks in powerful cars wearing a white jumpsuit with his features hidden by a white crash helmet.

The original Stig (famous for his black racing attire) was axed from the show after British racing-car driver Perry McCarthy revealed his identity in an autobiography in 2002, a moment Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson was not the least bit taken up with.

In an episode broadcasted on Sunday, the current Stig took off his white helmet to loud cheers from the studio audience, revealing himself to be Schumacher, F1's most successful driver and seven times world champion.

In January, media reports had claimed Stig was Ben Collins, who featured as a stuntman in the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace". As cavalier as the revealing of Schumacher's Stig persona has been, it has in all probability only increased speculation as to the Stig's real identy. 

Motor industry insiders have long speculated Clarkson employs the services of a host of different drivers to explore the outer limits of performance cars tested on the Top Gear show.

The show's skillfully executed driving sequences and consistency of actual track lap times achieved (in cars of wildly different layout and design) would seem to confirm this.
 
Adding credence to the argument of a multiple-driver Stig identity, is the sheer volume of exotic cars Clarkson has been able to assemble and produce lap times from on the show's comparative lap time board.

Comparative lap timing is something supercar manufacturers would never allow if a driver of their choice (most probably the in-house test driver) was not behind the wheel to ensure optimal performance...