RACING DRIVER

John Surtees

1934 - 2017

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John Norman Surtees (11 February 1934 – 10 March 2017) was a British racing driver and motorcycle road racer who competed in Grand Prix motorcycle racing from 1952 to 1960, and Formula One from 1960 to 1972. Surtees was a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, with four titles in the premier 500cc class with MV Agusta. Surtees won the Formula One World Drivers' Championship in 1964 with Ferrari, and remains the only driver to win World Championships on both two- and four-wheels; he won 38 motorcycle Grands Prix and six Formula One Grands Prix. On his way to become a seven-time Grand Prix motorcycle World Champion, he won his first title in 1956, and followed with three consecutive doubles between 1958 and 1960, winning six World Championships in both the 500 and 350cc classes. Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. John Surtees is the 33rd most popular racing driver (up from 36th in 2019), the 799th most popular biography from United Kingdom (down from 706th in 2019) and the 8th most popular British Racing Driver.

John Surtees is most famous for being the only person to win world championships on both two and four wheels. He won the 1964 Formula One World Championship and the 500cc Motorcycle World Championship in 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, and 1962.

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Among RACING DRIVERS

Among racing drivers, John Surtees ranks 33 out of 1,080Before him are Giacomo Agostini, Mario Andretti, Alfonso de Portago, Carroll Shelby, Fernando Alonso, and Carlos Reutemann. After him are Gerhard Berger, Mika Häkkinen, Mike Hawthorn, Jochen Mass, Carlos Sainz, and Jody Scheckter.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1934, John Surtees ranks 57Before him are John L. Hall, Albert Speer, Carlo Rubbia, Wole Soyinka, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, and Yasuo Takamori. After him are Masao Uchino, Jonas Savimbi, C. N. R. Rao, Fujiko Fujio, Bettino Craxi, and Howard Martin Temin. Among people deceased in 2017, John Surtees ranks 54Before him are George A. Romero, Derek Walcott, Ryke Geerd Hamer, Emma Morano, Jonathan Demme, and Malcolm Young. After him are Oliver Smithies, Adnan Khashoggi, Sam Shepard, Hiroto Muraoka, Danielle Darrieux, and Elsa Martinelli.

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In United Kingdom

Among people born in United Kingdom, John Surtees ranks 799 out of 8,785Before him are Peter Greenaway (1942), Saint Malachy (1094), Anthony James Leggett (1938), Chris Slade (1946), Edmund Allenby, 1st Viscount Allenby (1861), and Malcolm Young (1953). After him are Ramsay MacDonald (1866), Julian Barnes (1946), Annie Lennox (1954), Michael Powell (1905), Charles Laughton (1899), and Dua Lipa (1995).

Among RACING DRIVERS In United Kingdom

Among racing drivers born in United Kingdom, John Surtees ranks 8Before him are Nigel Mansell (1953), Ken Miles (1918), Jackie Stewart (1939), Jim Clark (1936), Graham Hill (1929), and Alfonso de Portago (1928). After him are Mike Hawthorn (1929), Damon Hill (1960), Stirling Moss (1929), Lewis Hamilton (1985), Tony Brooks (1932), and Tom Pryce (1949).