John Surtees

British racer who remains the only person in history to win World Championships on both two and four wheels, claiming seven motorcycle titles before becoming Formula 1 World Champion with Ferrari in 1964.

John Norman Surtees was born on 11 February 1934 in Tatsfield, Surrey, the son of a motorcycle dealer, and became an apprentice at the Vincent motorcycle factory at 16 after winning his first solo race at 15. He joined Norton's works team in 1955, beating reigning world champion Geoff Duke twice that year, before moving to MV Agusta in 1956, where he won the 500cc World Championship in his debut season for the team. Surtees dominated Grand Prix motorcycle racing after Gilera and Moto Guzzi withdrew at the end of 1957, winning 32 of 39 races between 1958 and 1960 to become a double World Champion in both the 350cc and 500cc classes three years running, while also becoming the first rider to win the Isle of Man Senior TT three consecutive years. He finished his motorcycle career with seven World Championships across two classes, a total surpassed by only Giacomo Agostini and Marc Márquez. At 26, Surtees switched to Formula 1 full-time, making an immediate impact with a second-place finish in only his second championship race, the 1960 British Grand Prix. He joined Ferrari in 1963 and won the 1964 World Drivers' Championship after a dramatic season-ending duel in Mexico, becoming the only person in history to win World Championships on both two and four wheels - a feat that remains unmatched over six decades later. Surtees later founded his own Formula 1 team, Team Surtees, competing as a constructor from 1970 to 1978, and remained heavily involved in motorsport as a team owner, commentator, and mentor. Following the death of his son Henry in a Formula 2 accident in 2009, Surtees established the Henry Surtees Foundation to support people with brain and physical injuries. He was appointed CBE in 2016 and died on 10 March 2017 at age 83.

Technically meticulous and fiercely independent racer known for his scientific approach to machine development, equally skilled at extracting maximum performance from two wheels or four

Regarded as one of the most versatile and accomplished racers in motorsport history, whose unmatched feat across motorcycles and cars remains one of the sport's most extraordinary records over six decades later

• 1964 Formula 1 World Champion
• 7x Motorcycle Grand Prix World Champion (1956, 1958-1960 x2)
• Only person to win World Championships on both two and four wheels
• First rider to win the Isle of Man Senior TT three consecutive years