SOME say he was the best Stig on Top Gear, others say he is a high-credentialed endurance driver, all we know is that Ben Collins is headed to Mount Panorama for the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour.
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The man who grabbed worldwide headlines when he revealed he was the driver beneath the white helmet who played ‘The Stig’ on British motoring show Top Gear, and was subsequently fired, has joined the list of talented international stars who will contest next year’s Bathurst 12 Hour after signing on with Maranello Motorsport.
He will partner former V8 Supercars driver Tony D’Alberto and ex-Formula One racer Mika Salo in the Maranello Motorsport Ferrari, one of 55 entries for the February 6-8 event.
While Collins is best known for acting as The Stig and being the stunt driver for Daniel Craig in the James Bond movie Quantum Of Solace, his endurance driving resume is impressive.
He has competed in the Le Mans 24 Hour, raced at Sebring and earlier this year steered a Ferrari 458 Italia GT2 car in the World Endurance Championship.
Collins has also sampled what it is like to do a flying lap at Mount Panorama.
He partnered Nathan Pretty in one of the Kelly Brothers Racing Holdens for the Bathurst 1000 back in 2009, the duo finishing the Great Race in 20th position.
Though his first lap of the iconic 6.213 kilometre circuit was actually done in a 1953 Chevrolet while the track was open to regular traffic, Collins was quick to realise why Bathurst is held in such high regard in the motor sport industry.
“I was aware of Bathurst being a mental racing track,” he said prior to his Great Race debut, before admitting he was “quietly falling in love” with the Mount.
“I heard of it in Europe, but I didn’t really understand it at all until I got over here.”
It was part of the reason he contacted Maranello Motorsport, the team which took out this year’s Bathurst 12 Hour, and asked them about driving in the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour.
“The Le Mans 24 and Macau Guia circuits are the most challenging and enjoyable tracks I’ve raced on, but Bathurst takes it to another level,” Collins said.
“To be racing in the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour with reigning champions Maranello Motorsport is a fantastic opportunity for me.
“Bathurst is intense because, like Macau, it punishes the slightest transgression, and like Le Mans your focus has to be impregnable for a lot of laps. I’ve loved racing the Ferrari 458 GT in the World Endurance Championship this year and I cannot wait to ride one over the mountain."
Maranello Motorsport team owner Mark Coffey said he was happy to have Collins on board as he looks for back-to-back Bathurst wins.
The 2014 edition saw Salo, along with John Bowe, Craig Lowndes and Peter Edwards claim the chequered flag after 296 laps in the Ferrari F458 Italia.
“With John Bowe and Peter Edwards moving over to the Flying B Racing Bentley program, we needed to make sure we could build a team that could ensure the Ferrari remained an outright contender in 2015,” he explained.
“When Ben contacted us we went very quickly from having never met before to having him locked in to the team. He’s been great to work with so far and we’re looking forward to having him as part of the team alongside Mika.
“It is very difficult to find drivers with both experience in Ferraris and at Mount Panorama and Ben ticks both boxes. He’s proven to be highly capable and has a lot of experience and we’re certain he’s the right guy to help take us back to the top of the podium.”
Of the 2015 Maranello Motorsport line up, D’Alberto is easily the most experienced when it comes to racing at Bathurst.
He got his first taste of the famous track in 2004 when racing a Ford Falcon into third place for Howard Racing in a support category race during the Bathurst 1000 event.
D’Alberto placed 10th in this year’s Bathurst 1000 as co-driver for Tim Slade.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunity to be with the reigning champion team. Maranello Motorsport has assembled a great line-up of drives which should make for an exciting event for us. I’m really pleased to be part of the event and the team,” he said.
“The Ferrari is a great car to drive and it’s good that I already have experience working with the team after working with them in Townsville earlier this year. It will be great to work with Mika and Ben to try and deliver a Bathurst win.”
