Tiff Needell
- Writer
- Actor
- Composer
Born on October 29th 1951 in Havant, England, Timothy "Tiff" Needell
attended the City University where he achieved an Honours Degree in
Civil Engineering. He worked as a Structural Design Engineer with
George Wimpy & Co Ltd. In 1975, driving a Formula Ford Lotus F69, he
became 'Townsend Thoresen' Formula Ford Champion and turned
professional in 1977 to drive for the 'Unipart' Formula 3 team. A year
later he 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 Tiff's results in a difficult car were every bit as good as the
Dutchman's. Despite a great deal of interest in his services there were
no Grand Prix seats free for 1981 so Tiff switched to Endurance
Sportscar Racing to further his career and soon became established in
that arena of motorsport. His best results have been two third
classifications, a fourth, a fifth and a sixth in World Championship
events while he has contested twelve Le Mans 24 Hours races with a best
result of 3rd place in 1990 from his six finishes. Now, with the growth
of World GT Racing, he is back in sportscars having returned to Le
Mans, after a two year break, for the '95 race in a Jaguar XJ220 and
then in '96, '97 and '98 with the Newcastle United sponsored Lister
Storm.
Needell began his media career writing track tests and feature stories in the early '80s. He is currently a columnist and feature writer for 'Top Gear Magazine' one of the most successful BBC publications. He is an established television personality with regular appearances as a presenter on the BBC motoring programmes Top Gear and Top Gear Motorsport. He originally joined the BBC TV motor racing commentary team in the early 80s and worked alongside Murray Walker and as anchorman. He became part of BBC 2's 'Top Gear' team in the spring of 1987, and has now completed over 90 assignments for them. He also presented 'NASCAR' and 'Indycar' on Sky Sports in 1992.
Needell began his media career writing track tests and feature stories in the early '80s. He is currently a columnist and feature writer for 'Top Gear Magazine' one of the most successful BBC publications. He is an established television personality with regular appearances as a presenter on the BBC motoring programmes Top Gear and Top Gear Motorsport. He originally joined the BBC TV motor racing commentary team in the early 80s and worked alongside Murray Walker and as anchorman. He became part of BBC 2's 'Top Gear' team in the spring of 1987, and has now completed over 90 assignments for them. He also presented 'NASCAR' and 'Indycar' on Sky Sports in 1992.
