Table of contents:

When conquering the 500 cc and Formula 1 became a seduction: seven pilots who went from motorcycles to cars
When conquering the 500 cc and Formula 1 became a seduction: seven pilots who went from motorcycles to cars

Video: When conquering the 500 cc and Formula 1 became a seduction: seven pilots who went from motorcycles to cars

Video: When conquering the 500 cc and Formula 1 became a seduction: seven pilots who went from motorcycles to cars
Video: Как ИЗ РУИН появились автомобили, изменившие мир. 2024, March
Anonim

There was a time when Being a world champion in the premier class of motorcycling was not the limit for a motorcycle racer. There was something beyond it, Formula 1. Two very separate worlds, which sometimes look askance at each other, but which everyone would like to dominate. Many have tried, but only one succeeded, John Surtees.

In these times of full dedication and perfectionism, going from motorcycles to cars seems like something unique to the Dakar. It's almost impossible to jump from MotoGP to Formula 1. Valentino Rossi and even Max Biaggi tried with little success. But there were those who could park the motorcycle, got behind the wheel of a Formula 1 and left their mark on the other great world championship.

John Surtees, the only world champion in motorcycles and Formula 1

John Surtees Mv Agusta 500 Cc
John Surtees Mv Agusta 500 Cc

Every science has its pioneer, and in going from motorcycles to cars it was John Surtees. Yes, there were those who tried before him, but with incomparable success. And is that Surtees is the only driver in history to have won the world motorcycling and Formula 1. In fact, Surtees is, without further ado, one of the best motorcycle riders in history.

He won seven world championships, four of them in 500cc and another three in 350cc, all with MV Agusta. But the problems with the brand arose. Surtees used to race in Great Britain with a Norton of his own. Little by little, MV Agusta liked less and less to see his star with another motorcycle. Until it was forbidden.

Surtees Ferrari F1 1964
Surtees Ferrari F1 1964

Surtees, a rebel like few others, found a way to stop racing with MV Agusta without breaking his contract with them: go to the cars. He had already made his first steps, and in 1960, his last season on motorcycles, he already signed for the Lotus team to make his debut in Formula 1. In his second race he got on the podium, in the third he made pole position and the fastest lap.

The Briton was only 26 years old, at that time he was the most successful rider in motorcycle history and had shown himself to be fast in a car. Ferrari immediately laid eyes on him, and the rest is history: he won the 1964 world championship, plus six races. He is the only driver in all of history who has been able to win in the motorcycle world championships and in Formula 1. And they will hardly match him.

Mike Hailwood sacrificed part of his motorcycle career to emulate his friend Surtees

Hailwood 500cc
Hailwood 500cc

Mike 'The Bike' is the one who has come closest to emulating Surtees' feat, but he was still far away. Hailwood took over from his compatriot in the motorcycle world championship. In 1961 he won the 250 cc, and already in 1962 the successes in the large categories began to fall. In total, there were nine motorcycle world championships: four in 500cc, two in 350cc and three in 250cc.

Image
Image

But Hailwood had in mind to emulate what his friend Surtees had done. Especially when he won the Formula 1 World Championship in 1964. Hastily, and with little preparation, Hailwood launched himself into the World Car Championship in 1963, at the age of 23. He even managed to score points in a race, but the overall result was bad and he had to refocus on the bikes.

However 'The Bike' was not about giving up. In 1968 he retired from the motorcycle world championship and put himself in the hands of Surtees. He helped him in his passage through the training categories prior to Formula 1, which were already beginning to be so necessary. After three years, In 1971, Hailwood was ready to get serious back to Formula 1, and also in the team of Surtees himself.

The progress was evident. Hailwood came close to winning at Monza but finished second to Emerson Fittipaldi. He also did a fast lap in South Africa. After two and a half decent seasons in the Surtees team, McLaren signed him, but although he started well and even made another podium, then the flame went out and the season was not even over. An eighth place was his best overall result in the Formula 1 World Championship.

Bob Anderson, the other biker capable of getting on the Formula 1 podium

Another who joined the trend of moving from motorcycles to cars was Bob Anderson, but this one even with less base than Hailwood. Another British pilot, raced three seasons with Norton in 500cc and even managed to finish second on his debut, at the Isle of Man TT. He also added a couple of podiums in 350cc, but at the age of 29 he sacrificed his career to move on to cars.

He came to Formula 1 in 1963, already 32 years old, in the Brabham team. He got a podium at the 1964 Austrian Grand Prix. He is one of the three motorcycle riders who have also made the podium in Formula 1, along with Surtees and Hailwood. But his career did not give for more, and in 1967 he died after a serious accident at Silverstone while testing his Brabham. Eleventh was his best overall position.

Johnny Cecotto arrived at Formula 1 with 37 years and did not out of tune

Cecotto Yamaha 500cc
Cecotto Yamaha 500cc

The first that belongs to another era and another nationality. The Venezuelan Johnny Cecotto is a mythical of the motorcycle world championship of the 70s. His breakthrough into the championship was spectacular, winning his first two races in France, in 1975, in both the 250cc and 350cc categories. In the latter, he was also world champion that same season.

In his second season he already made the leap to 500 cc, combining it with 350 cc, where this time he was runner-up. He went on to win a couple of consecutive races in the premier class in 1977 and he was running as a rider who could be a serious gamble on Yamaha's part. In 1978 he was third in the world championship, behind Kenny Roberts and Barry Sheene.

Johnny Cecotto F1
Johnny Cecotto F1

But his aspirations were higher. Injuries arrived and in 1980, at the age of 34, Cecotto decided to bet on cars. Despite his age, he embarked on the adventure of training for Formula 1. He was in Formula 2, where he managed to be runner-up with 36 years. That earned him a humble seat in Formula 1 for the following year, on Team Theodore.

There, in his second race, he got his first point. Finished sixth in the Western United States Grand Prix. But the adventure did not last much longer. He signed for Toleman and left Formula 1 at the end of 1984. Even so, along with the previous three, he is one of only four motorcycle riders who have scored points in Formula 1.

Nello Pagani, the forerunner in going from motorcycles to cars

Nello pagani
Nello pagani

If we have to talk about a pioneer, that was Nello Pagani. The Italian was a 125cc world champion in 1949 and even won a pair of 500cc races with Gilera. Pagani never gave up motorcycles, but he was the first world championship rider to make a first move in Formula 1, and it was not bad at all. It was in the debut year of the Formula 1 World Championship, 1950.

Pagani showed up at the Swiss Grand Prix that year in a Maserati and managed to finish in seventh position. At that time, only the top five were scoring, so Pagani left empty, but his performance was dazzling for a motorcycle racer. Still, his Formula 1 career stayed there and he continued to focus on his Gilera.

Kunimitsu Takahashi, the first Japanese man to win a motorcycle race, also had his time in Formula 1

Kunimitsu Takahashi F1 1977
Kunimitsu Takahashi F1 1977

Kunimitsu Takahashi is another mythical one in the motorcycle world championship. He started Japan's career in the championship, getting the first victory for a pilot from the land of the rising sun. He won the German Grand Prix in 250cc, followed by three more victories in 125cc and some podiums.

However, the first Japanese to win a motorcycle race also had concerns with cars. In 1977 he signed up for a single Formula 1 race, the Japanese Grand Prix at Fuji. He raced with a Tyrrell and, although he came out penultimate, he managed to finish ninth. A position that with the current format would have given him two points, but which at that time left him empty

Paddy Driver, the only one who did not have a decent role

Paddy Driver 500 Cc
Paddy Driver 500 Cc

The importance of Paddy Driver in the motorcycle world championship is greater than his record points out. He never won a race, but finished third in the 1965 500cc world championship. He achieved nine podium finishes in his career, and only Giacomo Agostini's tyranny prevented the South African from winning a race in the motorcycle world championship.

The curious thing about Driver is that he retired in 1965 at the age of 31, but nine seasons later, in 1974, he appeared to contest a Formula 1 race, the Grand Prix of South Africa, his country. His performance was abysmal. He qualified penultimate and in the sixth lap the clutch broke of your Lotus. He did not return to Formula 1, but formally got to participate.

Gary Hocking's tragedy left motorcycles without a great champion

Rossi ferrari f1
Rossi ferrari f1

In addition to these seven, many other drivers put their efforts into racing in Formula 1, but they could not. Ken Kavanagh, who won a 500cc race with Norton and four 350cc, he tried to contest several Formula 1 races, but never made it through the tough pre-qualification of the late 1950s.

The same happened to Tino Brambilla, who made a podium in 350cc with MV Agusta. Then he tried to make the leap to Formula 1, tried to qualify twice at Monza, once even with a Ferrari, but was unable to. Others like Max Biaggi, Mick Doohan, Valentino Rossi, Marc Márquez, Barry Sheene or Franco Uncini they did tests with Formula 1, but it did not go beyond there.

Gary Hocking
Gary Hocking

But the most painful case is that of Gary Hocking. The Rhodesian won the 500cc world championship the year after John Surtees left to Formula 1. He was only 24 years old and the world of motorcycling at his feet. But he decided to join the wave of the time. To change motorcycles for cars, and there he found tragedy.

He entered for the 1962 South African Grand Prix, just one year after winning his 500cc world championship. In free practice, Hocking's Lotus went off straight, crashed into the wall and the pilot died. The accident was shrouded in a lot of mystery. People close to Hocking say he must have passed out from the heat. Motorcycling lost another legend in Formula 1, and this one in the most cruel way.

Recommended: