in briEF - Mundo Motorizado

More documents

Recommendations

Info

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.
John SurteeS: Bike and car hero Celebrations in Mexico, 1964: Gurney won the race, Surtees the title By Dan Gurney Contents 28 Surtees and Ferrari How Surtees won at Ferrari... and why he didn’t achieve even more 34 Great Car: Ferrari 158 The machine in which Surtees took his four-wheeled grand prix crown 36 Better than good AUTOSPORT’s Mark Hughes assesses just how good Big John was 40 Can-Am king How Surtees scooped the inaugural Can-Am title, and lots of prize money Next week JAMES HUNT The 1970s superstar becomes the eighth Briton to get the AUTOSPORT legends treatment January 17 2013 autosport.com 27
Page 3 and 4: CONTENTS January 17 2013 - vol 211
Page 5 and 6: Teddington Studios, Broom Road, Ted
Page 7 and 8: SNAPSHOT PIT & PADDOCK
Page 9 and 10: pics: Rys, Thompson/GeTTy, FeRRaRo/
Page 11 and 12: → P15 mark hughes on the new engi
Page 13 and 14: Di Resta has had time to ponder the
Page 15 and 16: Concerns that Formula 1’s 2014-sp
Page 17 and 18: PICS: SPINNEY, GIBSON, EBREY, LEVIT
Page 19 and 20: PICS: STALEY, ETHAN/LAT WEC Single
Page 21 and 22: PICS: mCkleIn.de WTCC zengo’s CIV
Page 23: WRc HyUNDAI’S NEW BOSS Hyundai’
Page 28 and 29: legendS John Surtees SURTEES AND FE
Page 30 and 31: “ THE MINIMUM 5YEAR GUARANTEE GIV
Page 32 and 33: legendS John Surtees were exactly r
Page 34 and 35: legendS John Surtees Great Car: Fer
Page 36 and 37: legendS John Surtees SO HOW GOOD WA
Page 38 and 39: legendS John Surtees would claim tw
Page 40 and 41: pics: LAT Archive legendS John Surt
Page 42 and 43: Think motorsport insurance. Motorsp
Page 44 and 45: legendS John Surtees A mAsterclAss
Page 46: REPORTS WORLD OF SPORT DAKAR RALLY
Page 51 and 52: pics: euan cameron Edwards inteRnat
Page 53 and 54: Prix. Senna completes 20 laps, but
Page 55 and 56: confirmed as a race driver for 2012
Page 57: 10 - 13 January 2013, NEC LAUNCHEs
Page 69: Endurance &Efficiency TRAILERS &TRA
Page 72: To advertise call 02082675560 autos
Page 75 and 76: •Winning races since 1967 •Wide
Page 77 and 78:
MARKETPLACE RACEWEAR ROTARY ENGINES
Page 79:
RACE &RALLYCARS TRAILERS &TRANSPORT
Page 82 and 83:
British GT Blundell gets UA British
Page 84 and 85:
PICS: LAT Saxmax BARC takes on Saxm
Page 86 and 87:
Big grids are the key for organiser
Page 88 and 89:
FINAL DRIVE ■ LETTERS ■ GEAR
Page 90 and 91:
WHAT’S ON… Your guide to the we
Page 92 and 93:
PICS: PENNINGTON/GETTY ,DAKARPRESS.
Page 94:
pIcS: LAT, pHOTO-4 FINAL DRIVE race
show all

in briEF - Mundo Motorizado

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?