John Surtees – one of the most gifted and versatile racers of all time and who held the distinction of being the only man to have won world championships on two and four wheels – has died aged 83.
A talented motorcyclist who dominated the top 500cc class for much of the late 1950s, Surtees moved on to cars and immediately established himself as a leading figure, winning the Formula 1 championship for Ferrari in 1964.
Through the mid-1960s he was one of the towering figures in F1 along with Jim Clark, Graham Hill, Jackie Stewart and Dan Gurney.
Surtees was awarded an MBE in 1959, the same year he won the Sports Personality of the Year award, the OBE in 2009 and the CBE in 2016.
Surtees won seven world championships on motorcycles, one Formula One world drivers’ title and the North American Can-Am Championship for sports cars.
The son of a south London motorbike dealer, Surtees was a teenage prodigy on racing bikes and, after making his name in national races, he took the world championship by storm when he was given a factory MV Agusta ride in 1955.
His remarkable speed earned him the nickname ‘figlio del vento’ – son of the wind – and he won the world title in 1956 and again from 1958-60.
Surtees had already made a name for himself while still competing on two wheels. He finished second in only his second Formula 1 race, the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix while driving for Lotus, and at the end of the season he switched to cars full time after winning his fourth bike title.
Two years in privateer teams followed, in which he did enough to catch the eye of Enzo Ferrari, who drafted him into his team in 1963. Immediately Surtees became a major contender and won the Formula 1 championship for Ferrari the next year.
Towards the end of his racing career, Surtees formed his own team but that was disbanded in 1978 when it failed to find enough sponsorship.
Surtees stayed involved in motor racing, competing in classic events for cars and bikes, and in 2005-07 was chairman of the British team in the now-defunct A1 Grand Prix series.
After that, he helped guide the nascent career of his son Henry, who was killed aged 18 in an accident in a Formula Two race at Brands Hatch in 2009.
In the wake of his son’s death, John set up the Henry Surtees Foundation to help people recovering from brain and physical injuries return to society and to support motorsport-related educational programmes.
He was widely admired as a warm character who was generous with his time, and many will echo the words of Damon Hill, who has known him well since childhood. “Such a lovely man. We have lost a true motorsport legend,” said the 1996 world champion.
Looking back at his own career on his website, Surtees said: “The main thing is that whatever I’ve done, I’ve done from the heart. I have loved being involved in first building and riding motorcycles and then driving cars – but above all, competing.”
BDN sends its condolences to his family.