By: Tiff Needell Foreword: Jeremy Clarkson
Hardback, 320 pages,Dimensions: 23.4 x 16.4 x 3 cm.
Pictures: 113 B&W/colour in block inserts
ISBN: 978-0857330895 Publisher: J H Haynes & Co Ltd
Publisher retail: £19.99; Amazon:£11.59

Before I start this review I have to disclose I’ve known Tiff since we worked together during his time with Unipart in their late seventies F3 days. I was responsible for the promotional side of the team, ensuring Unipart got full value for their sponsorship which included TV documentaries, product promotions, advertising and press relations, and endless road shows. I was the person who suggested to Mo Nunn he should consider Tiff for the Grand Prix Ensign, we’ve stayed friends ever since.

Tiff Needell is best known for being a presenter of BBC’s Top Gear and, recently, Channel Five’s Fifth Gear motoring programmes. Hence the title of his new autobiography, ‘Tiff Gear’. Written with honesty and humour, this is the absorbing story of Tiff’s life around motor racing and later on his inspiring career in TV.

Tiff’s two-race F1 outings take up the first chapter of the book. The rest of it covers how he got there, his love affair with Le Mans and the complications surrounding the two competing TV motoring programs.

Tiff got got into motor racing by winning a Formula Ford car in an Autosport magazine competition. He got to live his dream, even though he was not from a wealthy family. The story of how he made it through endless disappointments is captivating, but he is realistic enough to appreciate that he was luckier than millions but unluckier than a few. As he writes: “It may have been one of the briefest Grand Prix careers on record, but I’m still immensely proud that I made it to the ultimate level of my sport without ever having to buy my way into a drive.”

Tiff had an incredibly varied and long motor racing career, one that saw him race in the Monaco Grand Prix and escape unharmed from an horrific 200mph crash at Le Mans. His other racing activities spanned sports cars and touring cars, including that memorable feud in 1993 with then reigning world champion Nigel Mansell – who also drove in the Unipart F3 team in 1978.

This book is a great read. Even if you are not an out-and-out petrolhead, it moves at a fast pace so you never get bored. One aspect of the book that excited me was Tiff’s ability to give a lot of technical data in a very simple and understandable way, I’ve no idea how he remembered it all throughout his career. Certainly one of the most captivating books I have ever read on the subject. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

At one point (page 120) Tiff comments, “Mike Black always accused me of being too honest.” He’s always been a nice, straightforward guy and he still is.

MICHAEL BLACK