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Tiff Needell

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Tiff Needell presents a new series, 'Tiff Needell's Ad Brakes', for the Men and Motors channel and can also be seen on the current series of '5th Gear' for Five.

Aside from racing Tiff is an established television personality who regularly appeared as a presenter on the BBC motoring programmes TOP GEAR and TOP GEAR MOTORSPORT, as well as being a columnist and feature writer in TOP GEAR MAGAZINE. He has also worked alongside Murray Walker and as sole commentator for motorsport presentations on BBCs GRANDSTAND and has been the presenter for Sky Sports American NASCAR and Indycar series.

Born on October 29th 1952 in Havant, England. Tiff finished school in summer 1969 and attended the City University, London, where he achieved an Honours Degree in Civil Engineering. Worked as a structural design engineer with George Wimpey & Co Ltd until turning professional racing driver in January 1977.

Having attended the Brands Hatch Racing Drivers School during 1969 and 1970, when money permitted, Tiffs career began in a dream story when he won his first racing car - a Formula Ford Lotus 69F in a competition run by the weekly racing magazine Autosport. From this beginning he worked his way up through the national racing scene to become a Formula Ford Champion in 1975. In 1976 he then became runner-up in the Formula Ford 2000 Championship the same year as he was to receive the Premier Grovewood Award - he was selected by the panel as the most promising young driver of that year.

During 1977 Tiff was selected to drive for the Unipart Formula Three Team and was able to turn professional racing driver. Fourth in the 1978 British Formula Three Championship, behind Nelson Piquet, Derek Warwick and Chico Serra he moved to the British Formula One Championship for 1979 and finished second in his first ever Formula One race.

A year later Tiff achieved the ultimate status of Grand Prix Driver with a couple of outings for Team Ensign. Although only joining the team while they waited for Jan Lammers to be free from his commitment to another team, Tiffs results in a difficult car were every bit as good as the Dutchmans.

Despite a great deal of interest, there were no Grand Prix seats free for 1981 so Tiff switched to Endurance Sportscar Racing to further his career and soon become established in the arena of motorship. His best results have been two thirds, a fourth, a fifth and a sixth in World Championship events while he has contested twelve Le Mans 24 hour races with a best result of 3rd place in 1990 from his six finishes.

Away from Sports cars there were wins in British Thundersports - racing a Chevron-DFV B26 and a CanAm March-Chevrolet 847, Tiff had victories in four out of ten races in the Saab Mobil 900 Turbo Championship in 1987 and four out of ten, again driving a Porsche 944 Turbo in the 1988 British Porsche Championship. One-off victories in the British Touring Car Championship in 1987 & 89 and another win in the one make Rover 216 GTi series in 1991.

As a journeyman driver Tiff has raced all over the world with single seater outings not only in Europe, but also in Japan, Malaysia, Macau and India where he won the 1985 Bangalore Grand Prix. There have been sportscar events in the USA, including six starts in the Daytona 24 hours and drives in the British Rallycross Grand Prix in both Metro 6R4 and Ford Escort Cosworth.

In 1992 Tiff won his first ever rally in a one-off outing in the Ford RS2000 Rally Sport Series and then finished 30th in his second event - the slightly tougher RAC Rally, driving a Group N Sierra Cosworth in this British round of the World Rally Championship. Further rally outings were in a Mini-Cooper in the 93 Charringtons Historic Event, the Scottish Rally in a Formula Two Vauxhall Astra and then the RAC again in 1996 in a works Skoda.

With the collapse of the World Sportscar Championship at the end of 1992, Tiff turned to the increasingly high profile scene of Touring Car racing and landed a place with the works Nissan Team driving their Primera eGTs in 93 and 94 but the cars were not competitive and the team left Tiff without a drive when they withdrew from the British scene at the start of 95.

Now with the growth of World GT Racing, Tiff is back in sportscars having returned to La Mans after a two year break for the 1995 race in a Jaguar XJ220 and then in 96, 97 and 98 with the Newcastle United sponsored Lister Storm.

Oh yes, and he was the man who helped Nigel Mansell into the wall at Donnington Park in 1993.

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Video of Tiff Needell

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Find out how to book Tiff Needell as the after dinner speaker for your next event by calling Speak Out on 0131 654 1000 or clicking here.

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