at the Raidillon curve had McCarthy not managed to regain control of the car. He relived this dramatic story and discussed his brief stint around the F1 paddock during an appearance on award-winning motoring podcast Fuelling Around. The team folded before the end of the season in controversial circumstances and McCarthy was left without a drive. In a July 2004 interview with The Times, McCarthy discussed how this period in his career had contributed to his being dubbed the world's unluckiest racing driver, saying "Dick Dastardly had more luck than me". McCarthy did not race in Formula One after 1992, but tested for both Williams and Benetton teams during the 1990s. He was denied a permanent role as test driver at Benetton because he was covering for their normal test driver, Alessandro Zanardi, who was unwell. He had little success at Williams because he did not see eye to eye with the engineers and the position was then given to David Coulthard. Top Gear After a brief retirement, McCarthy returned to sports car racing, appearing at Le Mans in 2002 and numerous other events. In 2002, he released his autobiography entitled Flat Out, Flat Broke, in which he spoke candidly about his time in Formula One and, in the second edition, his work for the BBC's Top Gear motoring show as The Stig, a masked, anonymous, racing driver who evaluated the latest high performance cars. McCarthy was the original, black-suited Stig, who left after the first two series. He provided commentary on F1 races for the BBC in 2009. McCarthy now works as a corporate ambassador and after-dinner speaker for corporations around the world. Bibliography In 2002, McCarthy wrote an autobiography, titled Flat Out, Flat Broke: Formula 1 the Hard Way!; it detailed his career, and the hardships he faced while trying to break into Formula One. In the second edition of this book, McCarthy revealed that he was Top Gears The Stig. Racing record Complete International Formula 3000 results (key) Complete Formula One results (key) Complete 24 Hours of Le Mans results References |- English racing drivers English Formula One drivers 1961 births Living people International Formula 3000 drivers British Formula 3000 Championship drivers Andrea Moda Formula One drivers 24 Hours of Le Mans drivers American Le Mans Series drivers World Sportscar Championship drivers Sportspeople from Essex Top Gear people Porsche Carrera Cup GB drivers Oreca drivers DAMS drivers