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.

Needell has also co-presented ' MPH ' at Earls Court in 2003, 2004, 2005 with Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond and in 2006 with Jeremy Clarkson and James May ( because Richard Hammond was recovering from his accident ).

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 director Danny Boyle.

It was confirmed in the February 2012 issue of Evo magazine that Needell will be part of the contribution team going forward in 2012.

In November 2006, Needell was cleared of ' failing to supply details in relation to a speeding ticket ', and the accompanying speeding offence by Pontypridd magistrates.

When Fifth Gear was launched in 2002, the presenters were Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson, Tom Ford, Adrian Simpson and Quentin Willson.

In 1988 in the first incarnation of the BBC TV show Top Gear, the racing car driver and presenter, Tiff Needell, reviewed the Corrado in G60 form, giving it a positive review and stating that " Handling-wise, the Corrado is classic front-wheel drive, and it's really very, very good indeed.

" The result is oversteer " as Tiff Needell, who road-tested a development car at Silverstone early in 1991, put it.

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.

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.

Needell has lent his voice to the first and second games in the ' TOCA Touring Car series ' for British video game developer Codemasters.

Plato is a co-presenter for the Channel 5 British TV series Fifth Gear co-starring with Tiff Needell and Vicki Butler-Henderson.

Thruxton Circuit has an exclusive deal which enables customers to pay £ 145 for three laps of fast-paced driving and drifting with Needell.

* Millbrook Proving Ground in Bedfordshire, banked circuit, top speed test: An average speed of, with a maximum speed of ( driven by Tiff Needell using the XP5 prototype ).

* Allan A. Needell, Science, Cold War and American State: Lloyd V. Berkner and the Balance of Professional Ideals.

Timothy " Tiff " Needell ( born 29 October 1951 in Havant, Hampshire ) is a British racing driver and television presenter.

Needell attended Ottershaw School followed by City University, London where he achieved an Honours Degree in Civil Engineering.

Needell first raced at a driving school at Brands Hatch in 1970.

Needell made his first appearance at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1981 driving a Ibec-Hesketh 308LM alongside Tony Trimmer.

However the following year Needell finished 17th driving a Porsche 956.

In 1985 Needell briefly led the 24 hours driving the Aston Martin EMKA C84 / 1 and would eventually finish 11th.

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 as well as the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, joking that his finger slipped after showing viewers the letter from Mercedes-Benz requesting he leave the traction control on.

Tiff Needell raced in Belgium and Monaco.

Originally shown on Channel 5 from 2002 to 2011 and Discovery from 2012 onwards, the show is currently presented by Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson, Jason Plato and Jonny Smith.

Several of Top Gear's ex-presenters, including Quentin Willson, Tiff Needell, and Vicki Butler-Henderson were hired by Channel 5 to present Fifth Gear.

The current presenters are Tiff Needell, Vicki Butler-Henderson, Jason Plato, Jonny Smith and Ben Collins.

Her blond hair was frowzy, her dress torn in several places, and her shoes were so completely worn out that they were practically no protection.

It must have hurt her even to walk, for the sole was completely off her left foot and Morgan saw that it was bruised and bleeding.

She was glad, completely and unselfishly glad, to see that things were working out the right way for both Sally and Dan.

As we expected, on the following day my Uncle was completely recovered and opened the store as usual at 10 in the morning.

At the trial which took place later, the Pomham matter was completely omitted.

To the pope, head of the universal Church, to the duke of Burgundy, taking full advantage of his position on the borders of France and of the Empire, or to Othon, who found it quite natural that he should do homage to Edward for Tipperary and to the count of Savoy for Grandson, Flotte's outspoken nationalism was completely incomprehensible.

Mr. McKinley, for all his sprawling and his easy familiarity, was completely alert to his son, eyes always on the still face, jumping to anticipate Scotty's desires.

Thus, in the last few years, a number of programs which looked very promising at the time their development was commenced have since been completely eliminated.

Being placed in the hopples she was completely baffled.

It's extremely accurate for an auto, and the test rifle I tried was completely trouble-free in functioning.

On the morning following the Pratt Hall meeting the editor of the Providence Daily Journal wrote that although the meeting was milder and less extreme than those held in other areas for similar purposes, it could have been avoided completely.

Luckily, she was not completely aflame and would go down before the gasoline could erupt.

One day Maeterlinck, coming with a friend upon an event which he recognized as the exact pattern of a previous dream, detailed the ensuing occurrences in advance so accurately that his companion was completely mystified.

During the year that followed, Dick co-operated whole-heartedly with the dentist and was delighted with the final result achieved -- an upper row of strong straight teeth that completely changed his facial appearance.

But still Mel Chandler was not completely convinced that men would really die for a four-syllable word, `` Garryowen ''.

`` Oh, she was just the maid there '', he replied, waving a hand to indicate how completely unimportant she was.

There is a humorous but revealing story about a rancher who owned a large slice of Texas and who wanted to have on it everything that was necessary for a completely pleasant community.

Such optimism was completely unjustified.

Starting with the room completely blacked out, as it was when we came in, he unerringly fixed things so that the whole place was bathed in the maximum of light without at any point admitting even so much as a crack of glare.

Winsett is a quiet street with no taverns and was completely deserted at that hour.

The production, designed by Simon Virsaladze, was completely traditional but traditional in the right way.

Anne said it wasn't surprising because Charles was antisocial, a lone wolf, and completely one-sided.