Just the Facts:
- Ben Collins is revealed as The Stig on the BBC's Top Gear.
- Collins' autobiography is to be published by HarperCollins.
- The High Court in London refused to grant the BBC an injunction blocking the publication of the book.

LONDON — Racing driver Ben Collins has been identified as "The Stig" after the High Court in London refused to grant the BBC an injunction blocking the publication of the Top Gear star's autobiography, according to media reports out of the U.K. on Wednesday.

Collins, who has performed as a James Bond stunt double, planned to unmask himself in a book published by HarperCollins. The BBC said "it won't confirm or deny that Ben Collins either was or remains The Stig," following the court proceedings on Wednesday. But the U.K.'s Telegraph was more forthcoming, trumpeting that "racing driver Ben Collins has been revealed as The Stig."

The Stig is famous for his white overalls and dark-visored helmet that obscures his face. The frenzy about his identity has prompted Top Gear to sell a T-shirt with the slogan "My Dad Is The Stig" on its Web site.

The BBC started legal action against HarperCollins last week, but its coverage of the court battle also had a lighthearted tone.

"Top Gear presenter James May, who was a studio guest on BBC London when High Court's decision was announced, made light of the situation," reported BBC News. "He said: 'Obviously I'm now going to have to take some legal action of my own, because I have been The Stig for the past seven years, and I don't know who this bloke is, who's mincing around in the High Court pretending it's him.'"

This isn't the first time The Stig has been outed. Racing driver Perry McCarthy outed himself in an autobiography called Flat Out, Flat Broke.

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