in briEF - Mundo Motorizado

pics: LAT ARcHiVE, REX
legendS
John Surtees
GUEST EdiTor: dAN GUrNEY
A GREAT DRivER,
ENGiNEER AND FRiEND
It is very special for me to be asked
to talk about John Surtees. I was
well aware of John’s performances
on bikes before he arrived on the
car racing circuit.
I was a great admirer of
motorcycle racers and I’ve known
a lot of them – people like Wayne
Rainey, Mick Doohan, Geoff Duke,
Joe Leonard, Eddie Lawson,
Giacomo Agostini and many
others. What they put in to race
a two-wheeled contraption is
often above and beyond what
the four-wheeled racers do. The
experience of racing motorcycles
was probably as good a foundation
and learning experience for John
as one could ask for. Our mutual
interest in motorcycles made us
friends early on, a relationship
that lasts to this day.
John had substantial Italian
connections and felt comfortable
in that culture. He was willing to
stick his neck out and try things
many would not. What he did
at MV Agusta in bikes helped
prepare him for Ferrari later on.
He arrived on the scene in the
post-Stirling Moss era, which was
a difficult time to break into grand
prix racing and he did a very good
job from the beginning. There was
no doubt he’d be contending for
the lead very often and that he
would become a stand-out,
even in the Jim Clark era.
You could tell that he was one
of those drivers who would leave
no stone unturned, technically or
Gurney chases Surtees’s Cooper at Syracuse in 1961
26 autosport.com January 17 2013
Surtees was a multiple world champion for MV Agusta
“John wasn’t a big showman, but the lap
times and integrity spoke for themselves.
He would leave no stone unturned
and was hungry to find an edge”
otherwise. He was hungry to find
an edge. He probably understood
the design and mechanical side
better than most because of his
motorcycle career and his work
with top development people.
I admired his character, I met
his mum and dad – he came from
a very strong family and they gave
him good support then and now.
John wasn’t a big showman, but
the lap times and integrity spoke
for themselves.
I remember we were at Syracuse
for a non-championship F1 race.
John was right behind me and I lost
control approaching a hairpin. I
tried to correct and snapped into
his direction; it looked like I did
it on purpose. He questioned me
afterwards and I said, ‘Aren’t you
supposed to do that?!’ but he
knew I was pulling his leg.
He was consistently in the top
bracket of the F1 grid in the 1960s
and he was also great in sportscars,
especially in the early Can-Am.
John and I had spirited battles at
the ’Ring, Monza and Spa in the
middle ’60s and we trusted each
other on the track – a good feeling
for a driver. He won the F1 world
championship at the Grand Prix
of Mexico in 1964, a race I won
for Brabham, and the photo of the
two of us on the victory podium
being congratulated by Prince
Philip is one of my favourite
pictures of the era.
I think John knew setting up
Gurney still enjoys historic racing events
his own team was going to be a
stretch, but he was well equipped
to do it. He could pull together the
minds and capabilities of the team
into something that was a threat. I
thought he did an excellent job, but
there are many factors you can’t
control – like a certain amount of
luck – and Team Surtees probably
didn’t get the results it deserved.
I admire John as a driver, an
engineer and a man, and I was
terribly sorry about his son Henry
[killed in an F2 accident at Brands
Hatch in 2009].
I don’t pretend to know the
most important criteria for getting
a knighthood, but I would certainly
think John has demonstrated time
and again what an outstanding
man he is. No one else has achieved
GP world championships in both
motorcycles and then F1 cars...
I saw John last September at the
Goodwood Revival where he was
kind enough to drive my 1963 Indy
Lotus belonging to our mutual
friend George Barber. He still fits
into his original driver suit and his
smile was as big as ever. We both
immediately bent over the engine
of the Lotus and started to discuss
its merits while photographers
were taking pictures surrounding
us. We totally forgot where we
were, which is typical for us.
We both have a never-ending
passion for the technical aspect
of our sport.