Remembering John Surtees on his 92nd birthday
- Liam Ploetner
- 4 hours ago
- 5 min read
Written by Liam Ploetner, Edited by Benjamin Crundwell
Motor racing has had many great characters over the years who have evolved the sport in one way or another, and not many have had more of an impact on its landscape than John Surtees.
Surtees was born on the 11th of February 1934 in Surrey. Having a family background in motorbikes helped his love for the sport grow, as his father owned a motorbike shop in Croydon, South London. This background is not uncommon for a MotoGP champion - Kevin Schwantz and Surtees’ good friend and rival, Mike Hailwood, also had fathers who sold motorbikes.
This meant growing up, Surtees was surrounded by bikes and, once he turned 14, he made his debut in sidecars, although he was disqualified when the officials found out his age.
Becoming a MotoGP legend
When he was 16, Surtees started racing on road courses, debuting at Brands Hatch, a track he would one day score a podium on in his Formula One career. He would also race at Silverstone and in Wales that year. Over the following years, he became a national name, making his debut in 500cc - now MotoGP - racing in 1952 at the Ulster Grand Prix, where he finished sixth on debut.
Success would begin on the continent for the now 22-year-old Surtees in 1956, scoring 500cc wins at legendary events such as the Isle of Man, Assen and Spa-Francorchamps to help him claim his first 500cc title.
The Brit would follow that up with another three championships in 1958, 1959 and 1960, clean sweeping in 350cc - now known as Moto2 - and 500cc in a dominant fashion by beating the likes of Gary Hocking, Geoff Duke and John Hartle, winning 33 of the 37 races he took part in.
But Surtees wanted to broaden his horizon. He looked to switch to four wheels, where he would go on to become an icon in the same manner he did on two wheels.
The switch to Formula One
He made himself at home in Grand Prix racing, scoring a second place in only his second race with a Lotus 18 in the 1960 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
1962 would be Surtees’ breakout season in Formula One, with podiums in Aintree and the Nurburgring guiding him to fourth in the drivers’ standings for Lola.
Ferrari were impressed by Surtees’ form in 1962, and, after the Great Walkout, they needed a driver to replace 1961 World Champion Phil Hill.
It was clear that he would be the number one driver of the team, becoming the first Brit since Tony Brooks in 1959 to drive for the Scuderia. Emulating Brooks, Surtees won the German Grand Prix in his first season with Ferrari, which meant he had won the German Grand Prix in both 500cc and Grand Prix racing, giving him the unique achievement of being the only person to win in both - an accolade he still holds today.
Becoming a champion
Surtees’ record-breaking would continue on in 1964. While the first half of the season was difficult, with only two finishes in five races. Fortunately for him, those two finishes were podium finishes - a second in the Dutch Grand Prix behind reigning champion Jim Clark and a third in the British Grand Prix behind compatriots Graham Hill and Clark.
Despite the lack of form, Surtees was still in the title race, albeit a massive outsider to the favoured Clark and Hill, both of whom were world champions. Yet, Surtees did not let this deter him.
The next three races were in Germany, Austria and Italy. Hill scored six points in these three races, while Clark had three retirements. Surtees had the opportunity to make up ground, and he did.
He won in Germany for the second year in a row, then won Ferrari’s home race in Italy to the delight of the Tifosi. The final two rounds were the North American leg, with the US Grand Prix and Mexican Grand Prix left.
Hill led the championship on 32 points, with Clark on 30 and Surtees on 28. It was a three horse race between the Brits, with three different teams in BRM, Lotus and Ferrari duelling for the constructors’.
Clark dominated the US Grand Prix at Watkins Glen, but suffered two different mechanical failures to cost him second in the standings to Surtees, who finished second to Hill.
Surtees was still an outsider, needing to overcome a five point gap to BRM’s Hill at the Mexican Grand Prix.
Once again, Surtees did not give up. Already he had an advantage heading into the race. Despite Clark being on pole, Surtees had teammate Lorenzo Bandini with him, while Clark and Hill’s teammates were not so high on the grid.
Clark, similarly to the US Grand Prix, dominated the race and Surtees was running in fourth behind Bandini, Dan Gurney and Clark as the race began to reach its conclusion. Hill was out of the equation, as Bandini had a collision with him.
Like in Watkins Glen, Clark began suffering mechanical problems - he was running out of fuel with just one lap left. Ferrari realised they could win the drivers’ championship with Surtees if Bandini let him through, which the Italian did. Surtees was now second and won the championship by one point from Hill and eight points from a disappointed Clark.
Surtees remains, to this day, the only person to win the MotoGP and F1 championships. There have been others to have attempted to, such as Hailwood and Johnny Cecotto, but neither won championships, or even races in both.
Surtees' journey After 1964
He didn’t win another title, but scored another 12 podiums, including three wins in 1966 and 1967 for Ferrari, Cooper - following a mid season switch - and Honda.
After Surtees left BRM in 1969, he founded Surtees Racing Organization, running the team, driving for them and designing the cars all at once. While the team never won a Grand Prix, they became a consistent midfield runner in the early 70s. Surtees retired at the end of 1972 to run the team, which closed at the end of 1978.
Surtees had three children, one of whom, Henry, was a racing driver himself. Henry tragically passed away in 2009 at the age of 18 due to a freak accident at Brands Hatch. John outlived him by seven years, passing away in March 2017 aged 83 after living a life that most could only dream of.
Over his long career in racing, Surtees won the Can-Am championship, finished third at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, won four 500cc championships, three 350cc championships, a Formula One title and 44 wins across 500cc, 350cc and Formula One combined.
