With a win percentage of 77.5% in MotoGP and a drivers' championship in Formula one, Two wheels or four, John surtees was endowed with a gift to race
Son of a motorcycle dealer and side car champion, John Surtees or ‘Big
John’ had his first racing outing and victory in the sidecar of his father’s
Vincent but the duo was later disqualified as Surtees was underage. And from then on the
British racing legend has been blessed by Victoria for his innate prowess in racing.
From childhood Surtees was the kind to plough his own field. It was this attitude
that led him to work in the Vincent factory as an apprentice at the age of 16. His passion
and enthusiasm for racing was what enabled him to get deeply involved with any project he
had the opportunity to work on. Three years after the first race of his life, in 1951, the
Englishman gave motorcycling legend Geoff Duke a run for his money in an ACU international
meet at Thruxton. Although it was Duke who claimed victory at the event, it was clear that
Surtees was destined for stardom.
Surtees made his motorcycling debut at the Ulster Grand Prix in 1952 but it was
only in 1955 that he secured his first factory ride and his debut win aboard a Norton.
From there a championship victory was on the cards for the young Brit.
In 1956, Surtees moved to the MV Agusta factory racing team as Norton was unsure
of its racing plans due to financial troubles. It was in the same year that he
claimed his first championship title in the 500cc class. Forty-five podium finishes from
49 Grand Prix starts in motorcycle racing across all classes speak volumes about his
fearlessness and command over two-wheeled racing. After winning three consecutive double
world championships (350cc and 500cc) in motorcycle racing along with the record of being
the first man to win the Senior TT race three years in succession, the Englishman then
chose to try his hand at four wheels. He made his Formula 1 debut for Lotus at the Monaco
Grand Prix in 1960. Only two races into his F1 career he secured a second place at the
British Grand Prix and showed the world that he was not just gifted in two-wheeled racing.
Just like he did in MotoGP, Surtees soon climbed up the F1 ranks and in 1964 he took the
Formula 1 drivers’ title driving the Scuderia Ferrari. In the same year, he suffered
a major crash in a CanAm Lola T70 at the Mosport park in Canada but he was soon back in
action. His quick recovery endorsed his heart and spirit for racing.
His career didn’t include just MotoGP and Formula 1; he took third place in
the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1964 driving the Ferrari alongside Lorenzo Bandini.
Be it be cars or bikes; it was Big John’s involvement with the machine, his
penchant to tinker with them until he attained technical perfection in tandem with his
fearless nature that brought him multiple championships.
In a time when it was common for racers to participate in both car and bike
racing he was the only racer to win a championship title in both, in fact it is one
of John Surtees' feats that is yet to be emulated or surpassed.
Post a Comment