John Surtees

British motorcycle and automobile racer

Champion on two wheels and four

John Surtees won seven motorcycle world titles before winning the 1964 Formula 1 championship with Ferrari, a double no one else has achieved.

John Surtees was born in Tatsfield, England, on 11 February 1934, and grew up around motorcycles. He became a leading motorcycle racer of the 1950s, winning his first world title in 1956 and seven in all with MV Agusta, including four in the premier 500cc class, before he turned to cars.

He made his Formula 1 debut with Lotus at the 1960 Monaco Grand Prix while still racing motorcycles, and he finished second in only his second Grand Prix, in Britain. Seasons with Cooper and Lola followed before Ferrari signed him for 1963. That August he won the German Grand Prix at the Nürburgring, his first victory in a car at this level.

In 1964 he won in Germany again and at Monza, and a strong finish to the season made him world champion. No other driver has won world titles on both two wheels and four. He won the 1966 Belgian Grand Prix for Ferrari, left the team during that season and won the Mexican Grand Prix for Cooper later that year, finishing runner up in the championship. For Honda he won the 1967 Italian Grand Prix, his sixth and final victory.

After a season with BRM he founded the Surtees team, which raced in Formula 1 from 1970 to 1978, and he drove its cars himself until 1972. His record shows 111 starts, 6 wins, 8 pole positions, 10 fastest laps and 24 podiums. John Surtees died on 10 March 2017.

1 world titles, 6 wins, 8 pole positions, 111 starts.

Teams

Victories

Scroll to Top