John at speed passing the front of Goodwood house. Jonathan Sharp photo.
By Pete Vack
Photos by Jonathan Sharp and Hugues Vanhoolandt
On October 25, 1964, as he won the Formula One World Championship driving for Ferrari, John Surtees achieved what no man before or since has accomplished, becoming a world champion on both two wheels and four. Catching up with the indestructible 67-year-old champion at the Amelia Island Concours in 2001, we were granted an exclusive interview with the Champion and learned firsthand the perils and pleasures encountered while racing for both MV Agusta and Ferrari. This interviewed originally appeared in Forza magazine in 2001, and we reproduce the full text below for the first time in VeloceToday. This is Part 2.
By the end of the year, Ferrari was knocking at the door of John Surtees. Bravely, he turned Mr. Ferrari down, politely, of course, and probably the only driver aside from Stirling Moss to do so. He was working on a new Lola and found sponsorship with Bowmaker for the 1962 season, and knew he wanted to go to Ferrari feeling 100% sure of himself and his abilities. In late 1962, he was again approached by Ferrari. Surtees recalled this time, relating it to his motorcycle years. “In terms of satisfaction, the motorcycle career was better, because I made less mistakes off the track. I knew all the people. With car racing, I didn’t know a soul, had never really seen a race car. I found out the hard way who you could trust and who you couldn’t.”