TV star & ex-Formula 1 racer Tiff Needell to appear in an SD1 Rover at the Goodwood 73rd Members’ Meeting

Television star and ex-Formula 1 racer Tiff Needell is the latest big name to be added to the Goodwood 73^rdMembers’ Meeting line-up as the star-studded entry list for the March 21-22 event nears completion.

Needell, whose father Tony contested the inaugural Members’ Meeting at Goodwood in 1949, will race in the Gerry Marshall Trophy for Group 1 touring cars of upto 1982 vintage, which is named in honour of the 1970s tin-top cult hero.

The Fifth Gear and former Top Gear presenter, who started the 1980 Belgian Grand Prix for the British Ensign team and can also list a British Touring Car race win and a podium finish at the Le Mans 24 Hours among his many achievements, will race a 1981 Rover 3500 SD1.

Tiff and the Rover he will be driving

Other pictures of Tiff and SD1 Rovers (The most beautiful cars of its era)

The car, which carries the famous Daily Express livery, is the same machine in which Needell finished ninth in last year’s Gerry Marshall Trophy. He will once again share the former Dave Price Racing and Tom Walkinshaw Racing car with its owner, Peter Mallett.

Goodwood House Captains Emanuele Pirro (Torbolton), Jochen Mass (Darnley) and Nicolas Minassian (Aubigny), all of whom will lead their respective teams in pursuit of the Goodwood House Trophy, have all now had their cars for the Gerry Marshall Trophy confirmed.

Formula 1 Grand Prix winner Mass will pilot a 1982-spec Rover 3500 SD1 in the Sanyo livery made famous by Jeff Allam’s British Touring Car exploits while five-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Pirro – second in last year’s race – will drive Philip Perryman’s 1977 UFO Jeans BMW 530i; a car that makes its Members’ Meeting debut in 2015.

Minassian, who was unable to compete in last year’s event, has secured a seat in Duncan McKay’s BP Ford Capri III 3.0S, which was driven by Darren Turner last year. Anthony Reid, whose Methuen House took the prize in 2014, was last week confirmed to drive a Triumph Dolomite Sprint.

They join a top-line list of current and former professional racers in the Gerry Marshall Trophy, which includes 2012 World Touring Car champion Rob Huff, BTCC title winners Andrew Jordan Tim Harvey, Robb Gravett and tin-top heroes Steve Soper, Darren Turner, Rob Austin, Stuart Graham and Patrick Watts.

Rolls Royce Motors breaks sales record again, for the fifth consecutive year.

• 4,063 cars delivered to customers in 2014 (+12%).
• Fifth consecutive record year and the highest sales in the marque’s 111-year history.
• Reaffirmation of leadership of super-luxury segment (>Euro 200,000 net).
• Bespoke personalisation at highest-ever levels.
• North America tops regional figures, ahead of the Middle East, Europe and China.
• United States is biggest individual market.
• 200 new jobs created over the past two years.
• Major expansion underway in Southern England.
• Results reaffirm Rolls-Royce’s status as the world’s leading super-luxury goods manufacturer.

Rolls-Royce Motor Cars has today revealed record sales results for a fifth consecutive year, with 4,063 cars sold globally during 2014. This exceptional result means that sales have more than quadrupled since 2009.

Strong sales were reported worldwide, with double-digit growth in most regions, North America (up 30%), the Middle East (up 20%) and Europe (up 40%). The United States remained the company’s most significant individual market. Rolls-Royce’s home market, the United Kingdom, is the company’s fourth largest individual market (up 13%).

Europe saw strong growth in a number of markets with Germany up by 30%, while in Asia Pacific, Australia grew by 75%, Japan by 60% and Korea 20%. In the Middle East, highlights included Bahrain (up 50%), Kuwait (up 45%) and Oman (up 27%). Emerging markets such as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Vietnam all showed promising growth.

The best-selling Rolls-Royce dealership in 2014 was Rolls-Royce Motor Cars Abu Dhabi. As part of the marque’s commitment to long-term sustainable growth, six new dealerships were opened in 2014, including Mexico City, Calgary, Canada and Gold Coast, Australia. A total of 127 dealerships are now in operation and further expansion is planned for 2015.

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Chief Executive Officer, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars said, “This fifth consecutive record year saw Rolls-Royce Motor Cars break through the 4,000 car sales level for the first time in its 111-year history. The result confirms that our strategy of balanced, sustainable and profitable growth is delivering and that Rolls-Royce remains the world’s leading luxury goods brand. This extraordinary success has been built on strong foundations: pinnacle products, dedicated people and a commitment to ensuring a balanced global sales picture.”

Sales were driven by strong orders for Ghost Series II, launched in November, and Wraith, which enjoyed its first full year of sales, while the incomparable Phantom remains the company’s pinnacle product.

Bespoke Collections including Waterspeed, Pinnacle Travel and Metropolitan, and unique creations such as the Maharaja Phantom Drophead Coupé contributed to Rolls‑Royce sustaining its leadership of the industry in the area of individualisation. In 2014, Rolls‑Royce once again sold more cars in the +Euros 200,000 net segment than any other manufacturer.

2014 also marked the first year in which every Phantom, and the great majority of Ghost and Wraith models, left the Home of Rolls-Royce at Goodwood in West Sussex, England with significant Bespoke personalisation. A record number of customers spent personal one-on-one time with Rolls-Royce’s Bespoke design consultants commissioning their personalised vehicles.

To meet such strong demand, particularly for Bespoke cars, the company has created over 200 new permanent jobs in the past 18 months. More than 1,500 people are now employed at the Home of Rolls-Royce.

Further evidence of Rolls-Royce’s commitment to expansion in Great Britain came in September when the company announced plans for its new Technology and Logistics Centre at Bognor Regis, close to Goodwood. Construction of the new 30,000m² facility, which is due to open in 2016, is well underway and around 200 new and existing staff in technical and logistics roles will be employed at the Centre.

Business Secretary, Vince Cable said, “Rolls-Royce motor cars are famous throughout the world with increasing numbers now exported abroad. The skill and dedication of its workers here in Britain has led to another very successful year.

“The UK’s automotive industry is thriving with a new car rolling off the production line every 20 seconds, and increasing levels of investment that’s helping to secure local jobs. Through our industrial strategy we are backing companies like Rolls-Royce Motor Cars as they go from strength to strength, giving them the right environment to invest with confidence and create high-skilled jobs”.

Historical sales:       

2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014
300	792	796	805	1010	1212	1002	2711	3538	3575	3630	4063

Rolls-Royce regions by sales in 2014:

1. North America
2. Middle East
3. Europe
4. China
5. Asia Pacific

Largest markets in the world for Rolls-Royce in 2014:

1. United States
2. China, mainland
3. UAE
4. UK
5. Saudi Arabia

Super-luxury segment definition. Above Euros 200,000 net.