MotorsportMemorabilia 1980 Grand Prix commemorative cover signed TIFF NEEDELL

The Williams-Cosworth FW07 was an exceptional car and was driven well by Alan Jones to take the 1980 Drivers' Championship despite the runner-up, Nelson Piquet, in the Brabham-Cosworth BT49, leading for more laps. Supported by Carlos Reutemann, who was third in the drivers' points, Williams easily took the Constructors' trophy with almost twice as many points as Didier Pironi and Jacques Laffite in the Ligiers. Brabham did not have an experienced driver teamed with Piquet and was third best Constructor.

The artwork depicts the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch where Alan Jones, Nelson Piquet and Carlos Reutemann finish the race in the order they subsequently appeared in the championship table at the end of the season. 

Cover size approx 220mm by 120mm

TIFF NEEDELL who started racing in Formula Ford, taking the 1600cc title in 1975, has autographed the third special cover. Upgrading to 2-litre in 1976, he was runner-up in the Formula Ford 2000cc competition and earned the Grovewood Award. After spells in F3 and Aurora F1/F2, he managed to gain a drive in the F1 Championship for Ensign. He raced in the 1980 Belgian GP at Zolder with the Cosworth-powered N180 but was forced to retire with engine problems.

His career as a driver expanded to include Japanese F2, touring cars, Procar Series and sports racing cars. In conjunction with his driving he is extremely well known and widely respected for his work in motor sport journalism and broadcaster / presenter. As a journalist he has contributed to several magazines, starting as a track tester for Autosport in 1982, a writer for Top Gear from 1993 to 2002 and more recently for Autocar. In broadcasting, he began as a motor sport commentator with Murray Walker on BBC Grandstand. He has provided further commentaries for BSkyB, covering F1, NASCAR and IndyCar.

His greatest involvement with television was BBC Top Gear with Jeremy Clarkson and Quentin Wilson (1987-2002) and Head Presenter of BBC Top Gear Motorsport (1995-98). He was also co-presenter of BBC The World Rally Championship (1997-2001) and Channel 5's 5th Gear (from 2002).

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