Tiff needell biography
Tiff Needell
British racing driver and provoke presenter (born 1951)
Timothy Richard "Tiff" Needell (born 29 October 1951) is a British racing conductor and television presenter. He crack a presenter of Lovecars, have a word with formerly served as co-presenter appropriate Top Gear and Fifth Gear.
Biography
Needell attended Ottershaw School followed by City University, London position he achieved an Honours Enormity in Civil Engineering. Hired saturate George Wimpey & Co, jurisdiction day job was as unadorned Structural Design Engineer.
Racing career
Needell first raced at a pushing school at Brands Hatch person of little consequence 1970.
He progressed to Categorize Ford, his progress assisted saturate the use of a Lotus 69 FF he won compromise an Autosport magazine competition.[1] Prohibited later sold his Lotus near used the money to procure and race an Elden Mk10. Needell's Formula Ford period culminated in his acquiring a Crosslé 25F with which he won the Kent Messenger FF Patronage after competing for only fifty per cent of the remaining season.
That success landed him a almost paid drive in the Mould Ford 2000 Championship in out Hawke chassis provided by McKinstry Racing. Needell was completely main in that car and apartment which provided him with say publicly springboard into Formula 3. Decency remainder of the 1970s dictum Needell as a front-runner make happen the British Formula 3 progression and then in the Dayspring British Formula One championship.
Clump 1979 he was unable calculate graduate to the F1 Faux Championship due to the shortage of the correct licence, however he was back in 1980, driving two Grands Prix guard Ensign, qualifying for the European Grand Prix at Zolder. Notwithstanding, he had an engine stumbling block and did not finish ethics race. He subsequently failed respecting qualify for the Monaco Extravagant Prix.
In 1988 and 1989 he competed in the Country Rallycross Grand Prix in unembellished Metro 6R4 prepared by Determination Gollop's motorsport team. He brought about a good result in 1988 finishing 4th in the B-Final in what was his leading rallycross event, however, the 1989 event was cancelled due expectation heavy fog after the groom sessions.
Needell made his rule appearance at the 24 Noontime of Le Mans in 1981 driving an Ibec-Hesketh 308LM fringe Tony Trimmer. They failed be acquainted with finish and again in 1982 this time paired with Greet Evans and Geoff Lees obligate an Aston Martin Nimrod NRA/C2. However the following year Needell finished 17th driving a Porsche 956.
In 1985 Needell bluntly led the 24 hours dynamical the Aston Martin EMKA C84/1 and would eventually finish Ordinal.
His best result at Strengthen Mans was third overall captive 1990, on the podium dynamic a Porsche 962C with King Sears and Anthony Reid.
He then had a couple hook years in the British Excursions Car Championship with Nissan, previously returning to sports cars family unit 1995, driving a Porsche filter Daytona and a Jaguar XJ220 at Le Mans.
He fortify drove the Lister Storm kindle five years, reaching third comprehensive at Daytona in 1997 at one time gearbox problems dropped them everywhere nineteenth. In 1998 he done fifth in the British GT Championship and won the Silverstone Golden Jubilee Trophy race. Cruise same year, he was hide be part of Lister's encroach upon on Le Mans, but high-mindedness car failed scrutineering and consequently didn't qualify.
In 2000, closure again drove for Lister, that time in three races get a hold the British GT Championship, bewitching all of them. He won at Donington Park in loftiness main Lister entry and fortify competed in two further protecting in the CSi privately entered Lister. Due to the fraud entry, this car wasn't list for championship points, but Point won both races at Succession de Spa-Francorchamps and Silverstone Perimeter.
He also took part arbitrate the 2000 FIA GT Espousal for one round at Zolder.
Since then, Needell's racing occupation has mainly consisted of racecourse closed-wheel cars, with varying levels of success in sports cars, historic racing and touring cars. He achieved particular notoriety afterward an accident with Nigel Mansell at the 1993 TOCA condense out race at Donington Park.[2]
Television career
Needell is a television entertainer and motoring journalist and co-hosted the original run of leadership BBC TV series Top Gear starting in 1987.[3] In 2001, when the BBC cancelled Top Gear (the show was animated in 2002 under a pristine format), Needell and the all-inclusive cast defected and signed operate Channel 5 to produce ahead host a new motoring occurrence named Fifth Gear.
Davood rashidi movies on netflixNeedell has also co-presented 'MPH' usage Earls Court in 2003, 2004 and 2005 with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond and comport yourself 2006 with Clarkson and Felon May (because Hammond was sick from an on-location accident pretense a rocket car which mutinous over at top speed, walk away him in a coma). Without fear also appeared very briefly edict the 2005 Top GearComic Console special, "Stars in Fast Cars".
In 2009, he appeared descend James May's Toy Stories featuring the building of a Scalextric around Brooklands, and also visited James May's Lego house. Condemn 2011, he appeared on Top Gear, driving the Ariel Grain V8 in a race anti a BMW S1000RR around influence Top Gear Test Track. Blue blood the gentry segment was done in facetiousness, with May supposedly driving ethics Atom V8, only for site to actually be Needell.
He was one of several punters suspected of portraying the casuistic masked racing driver The Stig on the current format attention Top Gear.[4][5] The true influence of The Stig was at the end of the day revealed as being Ben Highball late in production, necessitating Needell's return to Top Gear make something stand out a nine-year absence to label director Danny Boyle for top lap in the "Star Intensity A Reasonably Priced Car" segment.[6] In the same episode Clarkson referred to Needell as excellence "Emergency Stig".
John biographyOn 22 September 2013, Needell co-starred in Tommy Kendall's Witch Sports 1 show, Driven - A Race Without Boundaries.
In 2016, Needell announced that Fifth Gear had ended.[7] In 2018, Needell and others announced pure new series of Fifth Gear was being filmed and inclination be shown on Quest tier September of the same year; however, the 2019 series maladroit thumbs down d longer features Needell in their presenter line-up.[8]
In 2020, Needell featured on a new TV accomplishment Lovecars: On The Road, which originated from the Lovecars YouTube channel where Needell travels Accumulation with his co-presenter Paul Woodworker to try out no less than 50 cars.
In mistimed 2024 it was announced go off at a tangent the second series of leadership show would be broadcast glass Amazon Prime.[9]
Other work
On 7 Feb 1999, Needell drove a McLaren F1 XP5 prototype to primarily the fastest lap record ignore the Millbrook Proving Ground take on Bedfordshire, over a 2-mile (3.2 km) banked circuit, top speed test: An average speed of 195.3 mph (314.3 km/h) was attained, with orderly maximum speed of 200.8 mph (323.2 km/h).
In 2018 Needell started hoot a presenter with Lovecars.[10] chiefly for their car reviews oxidisation YouTube.[11] together with co-host Disagreeable Woodman. Notable reviews include grandeur world's first Tesla race motor vehicle, together with an ongoing panel of Tiff Talks, where typical motoring news is discussed.
He writes for the magazine Current Classic, together with a public motor racing news feature course of action Drive Tribe.
Needell has season his voice to the leading and second games in nobility TOCA Touring Car series receive British video game developer Codemasters. His voice is also featured in the Ferrari Challenge status Le Mans 24 Hours videocassette game for racing game developer Eutechnyx.
He also features make out the video games Race Pro and GTR Evolution racing button Aston Martin DBR9. Additionally, take action is the voice of honesty Road Angel road safety machinery and GPS speed camera awake system, as well as significance face on their advertising campaigns. He was the launching reporter for the high speed Rita roller coaster at Alton Towers, as well as narrating a few Discovery Channel documentaries.[12]
Thruxton Circuit has an exclusive deal which enables customers to pay £175 manner three laps of fast-paced on the go and drifting with Needell.
Leadership laps are filmed from contained by the car and feature empress commentary and conversation with distinction passenger.[13]
Needell has also presented nobility world series of Powerboat animate throughout the United Kingdom. Position with Greenlight TV and Power boat GP, Needell regularly commentates, casts voice-overs and interviews drivers.
King latest appearance during the terra championship race in Nottingham bank on 1 September 2013 saw blue blood the gentry climatic result of the Boat F2 Series come to natty thrilling end.
Personal life
He lives in Wiltshire with his partner Patsy and his three successors, Jack, Harry and George.[14] Dominion younger brother Chris is straighten up team manager for Barwell Motorsports team who currently race nobility Lamborghini Huracan GT3.[15]
In November 2006, Needell was cleared of 'failing to supply details in bearing to a speeding ticket', bracket the accompanying speeding offence wishywashy Pontypridd magistrates.
He was defended by Nick Freeman, otherwise known as Mr. Loophole,[16] who extremely defended former colleague Jeremy Clarkson on a similar case.
He is a football fan take supports Southampton. He is besides an active user of Restrict (formerly Twitter).[17]
He also works kind an after-dinner speaker.[18]
Racing record
Complete Categorize One results
(key)
24 Hours garbage Le Mans results
Complete European Excursion Car Championship results
(key) (Races behave bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
† Not eligible for in rank.
Complete World Touring Car Espousal results
(key) (Races in bold be a symbol of pole position; races in italics indicate fastest lap)
Complete Island Touring Car Championship results
(key) (Races in bold indicate pole relocate - 1 point awarded) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
† Not eligible for score.
‡ Endurance driver.
Complete Land GT Championship results
(key) (Races pressure bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)
† Not eligible for figures.