| To look at him,
you'd think butter wouldn't melt. But put straight-laced,
mild mannered Tiff Needell behind the wheel of a
car and he starts to burn rubber like a porn star
on Viagra. Make no mistake, the man's a boy racer
in cords and sensible shoes.
'I've been racing cars for the last 25 years
so the oversteering slide is second nature to
me,' he smiles. 'But I can't deny I'm like a little
kid when it comes to pulling stunts and burning
rubber. Let's face it, it's about the most fun
you can have with your clothes on.'
handbrake
turns, reverse flicks, power slides and
doughnuts. 'The only way to learn these tricks and
polish your skills is to get off the public road,'
he explains, exiting a smoking Subaru. 'Disused
aerodromes are great, though obviously you need
permission. But there are loads of track
days where you can take road cars
around a racing circuit and there are plenty of
organised events through the Motor
Sport Association at Colbrook to get you
started.'
So has he ever lost it? 'Oh yeah, plenty of times,' he laughs. 'When you explore
the limits you occasionally go over the top, that's why you need plenty of space.
But although I've had plenty of offs as a racing driver, I've yet to crash on
the road.' Not surprisingly, with Tiff's
reputation for burning rubber he comes in for his fair share of attention
on the road. 'I get boy racers trying to burn me off at lights all the time,'
he confirms. 'I just let them get on with it – I've had my fun on the track
already so I've got it out of my system.
Everyone could be a better driver if they just
learnt to relax more. We never say sorry in this
country. If someone toots their horn at you, the
automatic response is to give them the finger
– even though you know you're in the wrong.
If we all drove in a more relaxed mood, the roads
would be a safer place.'
Sermon over, he then calmly heads off to doughnut
a Porsche until the tyre explodes, powerslides a
transit van to near destruction and rolls a Reliant
Robin onto its roof. Mind you, you should see how
he drives when he's seriously pissed off.
Catch Tiff at full throttle on his new video 'Burning
Rubber' – priced £12.99.
— Graham Wray 14.11.00 |
