Vale John Surtees

Motorcycling has lost one of its most popular and important champions in John Surtees, who passed away on 10 March, aged 83. A seven-time World Champion with MV Agusta, Surtees’s achievements in 350cc and 500cc competition were impressive enough, but the Brit transcended two-wheel motorsport to also become a Formula 1 World Champion. Born into a motorsport family in 1934, Surtees first got a taste for motorcycle competition as a 14-year-old, as passenger on his father’s sidecar outfit. After showing his solo riding skills, Surtees joined Norton, making his Grand Prix debut at the Ulster TT in 1952. His first race win came in the 250cc class three years later, also at Ulster. However, frustrated by a lack of development at Norton, Surtees switched to MV Agusta for 1956; the change bringing immediate results when he won that year’s 500cc World Championship. After finishing third in the 1957 championship, Surtees bounced back to win the 500cc title again in 1958, ’59 and ’60. In those three years, Surtees also won the 350cc World Championship, for a total of seven world titles. His winning percentage was impressive, too; victorious in 250 of his 352 race starts. Also active at the Isle of Man TT, Surtees was victorious there on six occasions, including four Senior TT wins.

In 1960, what would be his final championship season, Surtees started four-wheel racing, with his speed in this discipline demonstrated when he finished runner-up in only his second F1 start. Joining Ferrari in 1963, Surtees scored his first race win that year, then won the Formula 1 Driver’s World Championship in 1964. While Surtees retired from full-time racing in 1972, he remained involved in motorsport, as a team owner and manager, until the late 1970s. More recently, Surtees became a popular special guest and speaker at various motoring events, particularly historic race meets in the UK. The first to win world championships in both F1 and the premier class of motorcycle racing, Surtees’s feat is unlikely to ever be repeated. John Surtees is survived by wife Jane and daughters Edwina and Leonora.