John Surtees

John Surtees Biography

The eldest of three children, John was born on February 11, 1934 in Tatsfield, England. His father Jack, who owned a motorcycle shop on Tamworth Road in Croydon, South London was a three-time British motorcycle sidecar champion so it’s not surprising that by the time he was 11 he had a bike of his own and could ride and repair it with equal skill.

He had his first professional outing in the sidecar of his father’s Vincent, which they won. However, when race officials discovered Surtees’s age, they were disqualified. Later he entered his first solo race, on grass, and won that as well.