Tiff Needell
Encyclopedia
Timothy "Tiff" Needell is
a British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 racing driver
Auto racing
Auto racing is a motorsport involving the racing of cars for competition. It is one of the world's most watched televised sports.-The beginning of racing:...

 and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

 presenter. He is best known as a former co-presenter of Top Gear and current co-presenter of Fifth Gear
Fifth Gear
Fifth Gear is a motoring television magazine show from the United Kingdom. Originally shown on Channel 5, the show is currently presented by Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson, Jason Plato, Jonny Smith and Ben Collins...

.

Biography

Needell attended Ottershaw School
Ottershaw School
Ottershaw School was founded in 1948, as a school for boys located in Ottershaw Park, Ottershaw approximately south west of London between Chertsey and Woking, an estate which dates back to 1761 when the first house was constructed.-History:...

 followed by City University, London
City University, London
City University London , is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1894 as the Northampton Institute and became a university in 1966, when it adopted its present name....

 where he achieved an Honours Degree in Civil Engineering
Civil engineering
Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams, and buildings...

. Hired by George Wimpey & Co
George Wimpey
George Wimpey was formed in 1880 and, based in Hammersmith, operated largely as a road surfacing contractor. The business was acquired by Godfrey Mitchell in 1919 and he developed it into the UK’s pre-eminent construction and housebuilding firm. In 2007, Wimpey merged with Taylor Woodrow to create...

, his day job was as a Structural Design Engineer.

Racing career

Needell first raced at a driving school at Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch
Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit near West Kingsdown in Kent, England. First used as a dirt track motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently holds many British and international racing events...

 in 1970. He progressed to Formula Ford
Formula Ford
Formula Ford is a single seater, open wheel class in motorsport which exists in some form in many countries around the world. It is an entry-level series to motor racing....

, his progress assisted by the use of a Lotus 69 FF he won in an Autosport
Autosport
Autosport is a weekly magazine covering motorsport, published in the United Kingdom every Thursday by Haymarket Consumer Media. It was first published on 25 August 1950 by Gregor Grant, immediately prior to the Silverstone International Trophy meeting of that year...

magazine competition. He later sold his Lotus and used the money to buy and race an Elden Mk10. Needell's Formula Ford period culminated in his acquiring a Crossle 25F with which he won the Kent Messenger FF Championship after competing for only half of the remaining season. This success landed him a partly paid drive in the Formula Ford 2000 Championship in a Hawke chassis provided by McKinstry Racing. Needell was completely dominant in that car and series which provided him with the springboard into Formula 3. The remainder of the 1970s saw Needell as a front runner in the British Formula 3 series and then in the Aurora British Formula One championship
British Formula One Series
The British Formula One Series, often abbreviated to British F1, was a Formula One motor racing championship held in the United Kingdom. It was often referred to as the Aurora AFX Formula One series due to the Aurora company's sponsorship of the series for three of the four seasons.The long...

. In 1979 he was unable to graduate to the F1 World Championship due to the lack of the correct licence, but he was back in , driving two Grands Prix for Ensign, qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix
1980 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1980 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zolder on May 4, 1980.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings...

 at Zolder
Zolder
The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlaemen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium.Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, as well as the 1980 Belgian motorcycle Grand Prix. The F1 circus...

. However, he had an engine problem and did not finish the race. He subsequently failed to qualify for the Monaco Grand Prix
1980 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1980 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on May 18, 1980. It was won by Carlos Reutemann driving a Williams-Cosworth...

.

In 1988 and 1989 he competed in the British Rallycross
Rallycross
Rallycross is a form of sprint style automobile racing, held on a closed mixed-surface racing circuit, with modified production or specially built road cars, similar to the World Rally Cars, although usually with about stronger engines, due to e.g. their 45 mm turbo restrictor plates. It is...

 Grand Prix in a Metro 6R4 prepared by Will Gollop's motorsport team. He achieved a good result in 1988 finishing 4th in the B-Final in what was his first rallycross event, however, the 1989 event was cancelled due to heavy fog after the practice sessions.

Needell made his first appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining...

 in 1981 driving a Ibec-Hesketh 308LM alongside Tony Trimmer
Tony Trimmer
Tony Trimmer is a British former racing driver from England, who won the Shell British Formula Three Championship and E.R. Hall Trophy in 1970....

. They failed to finish and again in 1982 this time paired with Bob Evans and Geoff Lees
Geoff Lees
Geoffrey Lees is a former racing driver from England. He participated in 12 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 16 July 1978. He scored no championship points.-Career:...

 in an Aston Martin Nimrod NRA/C2
Nimrod NRA/C2
The Nimrod NRA/C2 was the only Group C racing car ever built by Nimrod Racing Automobiles in partnership with Aston Martin. It ran initially in 1982 in the World Endurance Championship before also joining the IMSA GT Championship...

. However the following year Needell finished 17th driving a Porsche 956
Porsche 956
The Porsche 956 was a Group C sports-prototype racing car designed by Norbert Singer and built by Porsche in 1982 for the FIA World Sportscar Championship...

. In 1985 Needell briefly led the 24 hours driving the Aston Martin EMKA C84/1 and would eventually finish 11th. His best result at Le Mans was 3rd in . He then had a couple of years in the British Touring Car Championship
British Touring Car Championship
The British Touring Car Championship is a touring car racing series held each year in the United Kingdom. The Championship was established in 1958 as the British Saloon Car Championship and has run to various rules over the years – "production cars", then FIA Group 1 or 2 in the late 1960s...

 with Nissan, before returning to sports cars in 1995, driving a Porsche at Daytona
Daytona International Speedway
Daytona International Speedway is a race track in Daytona Beach, Florida, United States. Since opening in 1959, it has been the home of the Daytona 500, one of the most prestigious races in NASCAR. In addition to NASCAR, the track also hosts races of ARCA, AMA Superbike, Grand-Am and Motocross...

 and a Jaguar XJ220
Jaguar XJ220
The Jaguar XJ220 is a mid-engined supercar produced by Jaguar in collaboration with Tom Walkinshaw Racing as Jaguar Sport between 1992 and 1994. It held the record for the highest top speed of a production car , until the arrival of the McLaren F1 in 1994...

 at Le Mans. He then drove the Lister Storm for 3 years, reaching 3rd overall at Daytona in 1997 before gearbox problems dropped them to 19th. In 1998 he finished 2nd in the GT1 championship and won the Silverstone Golden Jubilee Trophy race.

Since then, Needell's racing career has mainly consisted of racing tin-tops (hard-topped cars), with varying levels of success in sports cars, historic racing and touring cars. He achieved particular notoriety after an accident with Nigel Mansell
Nigel Mansell
Nigel Ernest James Mansell OBE is a British racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the CART Indy Car World Series...

 at the 1993 TOCA
TOCA
ToCA are the organisers and administrators of the BTCC and the supporting series of the BTCC. The BTCC is the UK's biggest motor racing championship and one of the world's most highly respected motor racing series ....

 shoot out race at Donington Park
Donington Park
Donington Park is a motorsport circuit near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England.Originally part of the Donington Hall estate, it was created as a racing circuit during the pre-war period when the German Silver Arrows were battling for the European Championship...

.

Television career

Needell is best known in the United Kingdom as a television presenter and motoring journalist, in particular in association with the BBC TV series Top Gear which he started co-hosting in 1987. In 2001, when the BBC cancelled Top Gear (the show was brought back in 2002), Needell and the whole cast defected and signed with Five to produce and host a new motoring show named Fifth Gear
Fifth Gear
Fifth Gear is a motoring television magazine show from the United Kingdom. Originally shown on Channel 5, the show is currently presented by Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson, Jason Plato, Jonny Smith and Ben Collins...

. He does however, still contribute to Top Gear magazine
Top Gear (magazine)
Top Gear is an automobile magazine published by BBC Worldwide, and named after the BBC's Top Gear television show. It was first published in October 1993 and is published monthly at a price of £3.95. The major presenters of the television series—Richard Hammond, James May and Jeremy Clarkson—are...

. Needell has also co-presented 'MPH' at Earls Court in 2003, 2004, 2005 with Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...

 and Richard Hammond
Richard Hammond
Richard Mark Hammond is an English broadcaster, writer, and journalist most noted for co-hosting car programme Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and James May, as well as presenting Brainiac: Science Abuse on Sky 1.-Early life:...

 and in 2006 with Jeremy Clarkson and James May
James May
James Daniel May is an English television presenter, journalist and writer. He is best known for his role as co-presenter of the award-winning motoring programme Top Gear alongside Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond....

 (because Richard Hammond was recovering from his accident). He also appeared very briefly in the 2005 Top Gear Comic Relief special, Stars in Fast Cars. In 2009 he appeared on James May's Toy Stories
James May's Toy Stories
James May's Toy Stories is a television series presented by James May. The series was commissioned for BBC Two from Plum Pictures. The first episode, "Airfix", was shown on BBC Two at 8:00 pm on Tuesday 27 October 2009....

featuring the building of a Scalextric
Scalextric
Scalextric is a toy brand for a range of slot car racing sets which first appeared in the late 1950s, as a creation of British firm Minimodels. The brand is currently owned and distributed by Hornby.-History:...

 around Brooklands. In 2011, he appeared on Top Gear, driving the Ariel Atom V8 in a race against a BMW S1000RR around the Top Gear Test Track
Top Gear Test Track
The Top Gear test track is used by the BBC automotive television programme Top Gear. It is located at Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, United Kingdom. The track was designed by Lotus Cars...

. The segment was done in humour, with James May supposedly driving the Atom V8, only for it to actually be Tiff.

Needell says his highlight to date is "accidentally, ahem, ignoring the strict instructions Ferrari issued about not touching the traction control on their half million pound Enzo..." He has also done this on Fifth Gear while reviewing the Bugatti Veyron
Bugatti Veyron
The Bugatti Veyron EB 16.4 is a mid-engined grand touring car. The Super Sport version is the fastest road-legal production car in the world, with a top speed of . The original version has a top speed of...

 as well as the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren
The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is an Anglo-German grand tourer car jointly developed by Mercedes-Benz and McLaren Automotive, built in Portsmouth and the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, Surrey, England and sold from 2003 to 2009...

, joking that his finger slipped after showing viewers the letter from Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz is a German manufacturer of automobiles, buses, coaches, and trucks. Mercedes-Benz is a division of its parent company, Daimler AG...

 requesting he leave the traction control on.

He was one of several people suspected of portraying the elusive masked racing driver The Stig
The Stig
The Stig is a character in the British motoring television show Top Gear. The character plays on the anonymity of racing drivers' full-face helmets, with the running joke that nobody knows who, or indeed what, is inside the character's racing suit. The character was the creation of presenter Jeremy...

 on the current format of Top Gear. The true identity of The Stig was eventually revealed as being Ben Collins but in late 2010 Needell returned to Top Gear after a nine-year absence to train Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire
Slumdog Millionaire is a 2008 British epic romantic drama adventure film directed by Danny Boyle, written by Simon Beaufoy, and co-directed in India by Loveleen Tandan. It is an adaptation of the novel Q & A by Indian author and diplomat Vikas Swarup...

 director Danny Boyle
Danny Boyle
Daniel "Danny" Boyle is an English filmmaker and producer. He is best known for his work on films such as Slumdog Millionaire, 127 Hours, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and Trainspotting. For Slumdog Millionaire, Boyle won numerous awards in 2008, including the Academy Award for Best Director...

. In the same episode Jeremy Clarkson referred to Needell as the "Emergency Stig"

Other work

He has an occasional column in the car magazine Auto Express
Auto Express
Auto Express is a weekly motoring magazine sold in the United Kingdom published by Dennis Publishing. The Editor-in-Chief is Steve Fowler.Launched in September 1988, its 1000th issue was published on 20 February 2008. It's only weekly competitor in Britain is the long established Autocar...

.

Needell has lent his voice to the first and second games in the 'TOCA Touring Car series
TOCA Touring Car series
TOCA is a racing video game series developed and published by Codemasters, initially focusing specifically on Touring car racing but more recently expanding to cover a wide variety of motorsport...

' for British video game developer Codemasters
Codemasters
The Codemasters Software Company Limited, or Codemasters is a British video game developer founded by Richard and David Darling in 1986...

. His voice is also featured in the 'Ferrari Challenge'
Ferrari Challenge (video game)
Ferrari Challenge Trofeo Pirelli is a racing game developed by Eutechnyx and published by System 3, based on Ferrari Challenge, a single-marque motorsport championship. The Nintendo DS version features wireless multiplayer and the Wii version will use the motion sensing functionality for steering...

 and 'Le Mans 24 Hours' video game for racing game developer Eutechnyx
Eutechnyx
Eutechnyx is a computer and video games developer, founded in 1987 as Zeppelin Games and also briefly known as Merit Studios Europe. They are based in Dunston, Gateshead in the United Kingdom...

. He also features in the video game Race Pro
Race Pro
Race Pro is a sim racing video game developed by SimBin and published by Atari exclusively for Xbox 360. The game is described as having "ultra realistic car models" with cars ranging in power from to . The game uses the new Lizard game engine whereas the PC SimBin games used the Gmotor engine...

 racing an Aston Martin DBR9. Additionally, he is the voice of the Road Angel road safety device and GPS speed camera alert system, as well as the face on their advertising campaigns. He was the launching announcer for the high speed Rita roller coaster at Alton Towers
Alton Towers
Alton Towers is a theme park and resort located in Staffordshire, England. It attracts around 2.7 million visitors per year making it the most visited theme park in the United Kingdom. Alton Towers is also the 9th most visited theme park in Europe...

, as well as narrating several Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...

 documentaries.

Thruxton Circuit
Thruxton Circuit
Thruxton Circuit is a motor racing circuit located near the village of Thruxton in Hampshire, England which is used to host a number of motorsport events including British Touring Cars and Formula 3 racing....

 has an exclusive deal which enables customers to pay £145 for three laps of fast-paced driving and drifting with Needell. The laps are filmed from within the car and feature his commentary and conversation with the passenger.

Personal life

He lives in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...

 with his wife Patsy and his three sons, Jack, Harry and George.

His younger brother Chris is a team manager for Barwell Motorsports team racing Aston Martin DBRS9
Aston Martin DBRS9
The Aston Martin DBRS9 is a racing car built by Aston Martin Racing to be a cheaper alternative to the Aston Martin DBR9, both of which are based on the Aston Martin DB9. The DBRS9 is the only GT3 class car produced by Aston Martin and was introduced in 2005....

.

In November 2006, Needell was cleared of 'failing to supply details in relation to a speeding ticket', and the accompanying speeding offence by Pontypridd
Pontypridd
Pontypridd is both a community and a principal town of Rhondda Cynon Taf, Wales and is situated 12 miles/19 km north of the Welsh capital city of Cardiff...

 magistrates. He was defended by Nick Freeman
Nick Freeman
Nick Freeman is an English solicitor. Freeman is the owner of Manchester based legal practice Freeman & Co., and is best known as a celebrity defence lawyer, specialising in traffic and speeding offences.He has been nicknamed "Mr...

, otherwise known as Mr. Loophole, who also defended former colleague Jeremy Clarkson on a similar case.

He is a football fan and supports Southampton. He is also an active user of Twitter
Twitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...

.

He also works as an after dinner speaker.

Complete Formula One results

Year Entrant Chassis Engine 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 WDC Points
1980
1980 Formula One season
The 1980 Formula One season was the 31st season of FIA Formula One motor racing. It featured the 1980 World Championship of Drivers and the 1980 International Cup for F1 Constructors which were contested concurrently from January 13 to October 5 over a fourteen race series...

Unipart
Unipart
Unipart Group is a multinational logisitics, supply chain, and consultancy company headquartered in Cowley, United Kingdom. It has operations in Europe, North America, Australia and Japan and works across a variety of sectors that include automotive, rail, marine and leisure...

 Racing Team
Ensign (racing team)
Ensign was a Formula One constructor from Britain. They participated in 133 grands prix, entering a total of 155 cars. Ensign scored 19 championship points and no podium finish...

Ensign
Ensign (racing team)
Ensign was a Formula One constructor from Britain. They participated in 133 grands prix, entering a total of 155 cars. Ensign scored 19 championship points and no podium finish...

 N180
Cosworth
Cosworth
Cosworth is a high performance engineering company founded in London in 1958, specialising in engines and electronics for automobile racing , mainstream automotive and defence industries...

 V8
V8 engine
A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft....

ARG
1980 Argentine Grand Prix
The 1980 Argentine Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on January 13, 1980 at the Autódromo Juan y Oscar Gálvez Circuit in Argentina. It was the first race of the 1980 Formula One season...


BRA
1980 Brazilian Grand Prix
The 1980 Brazilian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Interlagos on January 27, 1980.- Classification :-Notes:*Lap leaders: Gilles Villeneuve , Jean-Pierre Jabouille , René Arnoux...


RSA
1980 South African Grand Prix
The 1980 South African Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Kyalami on March 1, 1980.Alain Prost and Marc Surer both crashed in separate incidents during qualifying: Prost broke his wrist and Surer suffered serious injuries to his legs. Neither started the race, with Prost also missing...


USW
1980 United States Grand Prix West
The 1980 United States Grand Prix West was a Formula One race held on March 30, 1980 at Long Beach, California.__FORCETOC__-Summary:Nelson Piquet took pole, fastest lap and his first career race win to dominate the weekend in his gleaming blue and white Brabham...


BEL
1980 Belgian Grand Prix
The 1980 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Zolder on May 4, 1980.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standingsConstructors' Championship standings...


Ret
MON
1980 Monaco Grand Prix
The 1980 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Monaco on May 18, 1980. It was won by Carlos Reutemann driving a Williams-Cosworth...


DNQ
FRA
1980 French Grand Prix
The 1980 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Paul Ricard on June 29, 1980.Financial problems meant that this was the last race contested by the Shadow team.- Classification :-Standings after the race:Drivers' Championship standings...


GBR
1980 British Grand Prix
The 1980 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Brands Hatch on July 13, 1980.This race proved to be Patrick Depailler's final Grand Prix...


GER
1980 German Grand Prix
The 1980 German Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at Hockenheimring on August 10, 1980. It was the ninth round of the 1980 Formula One season...


AUT
1980 Austrian Grand Prix
The 1980 Austrian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on August 17, 1980 at the Österreichring circuit in Austria. It was the tenth race of the 1980 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :*Milestones:...


NED
1980 Dutch Grand Prix
The 1980 Dutch Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on August 31, 1980 at the Circuit Zandvoort in the Netherlands. It was the eleventh race of the 1980 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* Milestones...


ITA
1980 Italian Grand Prix
The 1980 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 14, 1980 at the Imola Circuit in Italy. It was the twelfth race of the 1980 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* Milestones:...


CAN
1980 Canadian Grand Prix
The 1980 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on September 28, 1980, at the Montreal Circuit in Canada. It was the thirteenth race of the 1980 Formula One season.- Classification :- Notes :* Milestones:...


USA
1980 United States Grand Prix
The 1980 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One race held on October 5, 1980 at the Watkins Glen Grand Prix Race Course in Watkins Glen, New York...


NC 0

External links

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