i'm not a fan of plato but i'd hardly call him a failed racing driver as he's been profesional for a number of years and is the number one driver for seat in the BTCC.
needel is a dam good driver actually, he drove in F1, the original stig (perry mcarthy) never qualified for an f1 race, so by that standard tiff is the better driver, in fact neither got a reasonable chance due to circumstance / finance. schumacher once said that tiff should have been an f1 driver, on being told he had, schumacher said he couldn't believe that no one had given him a real chance with a top car. he also added that there was no way he could match tiff for his ability to place a car accuratly for the cameras.
re drivers not making good presenters, if perry mcarthy hadn't been the original stig (which he blew by giving it away in his autobiography) he would have been more than capable of presenting, as anyone whos ever heard him talk will know.