Top Gear (1977)

BBC Top Gear report on the 1985 RAC Rally This was the the Top Gear program where William Wollard completely flunked doing a live broadcast without a prepared script or autocue.

A Car of the Decade special featuring one iconic car from each decade from the 1900s to the 1980s. Some interesting moments, a very young looking Tiff Needell telling how mass produced two seater sports cars have been killed off by the hot hatch; and a prophesy from William Woollard on what will be the car of the 1990s. Presenters were: William Woollard Frank Page Chris Goffey Sue Baker Tiff Needell

Historic motorsport was very different 35 years ago. In fact, on the rallying side it was very much in its infancy, with the recently-formed Historic Rally Car Register (HRCR) starting to organise dedicated events to showcase the ex-works rally cars owned by its members. With the launch of the first-ever international rally for classic cars — the Pirelli Classic Marathon — in 1988 though, historic rallying got a huge dose of publicity. Designed to relive the golden age of rallying, the Classic Marathon devised by the HRCR’s Philip Young was a six-day blast from London to Cortina in Italy and back — taking in some of the classic rally stages of the ’50s and ’60s along the way. The rally caught the imagination of the media in a big way, and crucially was filmed by the BBC for a Top Gear special called The Great Chase. The one-hour programme was apparently seen by 6 million people at the time, many surprised to see an Anglia 105E taking part with ’60s rallying stars, Anne Hall and Val Morley inside.

Granite City Rally

Britten V1000

Eurocars at Mallory Park

unknown number of episodes (17 November 1995 - 22 February 1996)

Tiff Needell and Jeremy Clarkson drive the McLaren F1, Lotus Elise, Aston Martin DB7, Jaguar XK8, Porsche Boxster, Ferrari 641 (1990 F1 chassis), Ferrari F50, BMW Z3, TVR Cerbera, and Porsche 911 GT1.