Mike Hailwood, the jack of all trades

As Valentino Rossi prepares to take an important step in his career change by competing in the 24 Hours of Spa, let's look back at another motorcycle legend who tried his luck on four wheels.

Published on 23/07/2022 à 12:00

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76 motorcycle GP victories and 2 podiums in F1 for Mike Hailwood © Newspress

Until the 1960s, many racing drivers, such as Mike Hailwood, began with motorcycles, but only John Surtees was crowned world champion at the highest level of both sports. The success of “Big John” remains unmatched to this day, because it is not enough to be a motorcycle world champion to be guaranteed success in automobiles. Geoff Duke, star of the 1950s, learned this the hard way, just like Giacomo Agostini, who did not convince during his debut in F2, in 1978. Others would have succeeded better if fate had given them time, like the brilliant Bill Ivy, who was killed on a motorbike after making a thunderous debut in F2 in 1969. As for Johnny Cecotto, European F2 vice-champion in 1982, his career in F1 was broken at the same time as his legs during testing for the 1984 British GP. The Venezuelan, Ayrton Senna's teammate at Toleman, happily converted to Touring, then to GT.