John Surtees won but was later disqualified from the first race he ever participated in. He and his father entered a motorcycle sidecar race, with young John occupying the sidecar of his father's Vincent. It was only after that race that event organizers learned that 14-year-old John was under the minimum age requirement. That was in 1948, but by then he was already well and truly hooked on racing.

It was the start of an incredible career that would lead Surtees to world championships in both motorcycle and auto racing. He's still the only person in the world that can make that claim, and today he turns 80 years old.

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In 1951 Surtees competed in and won his first solo motorcycle race. Four years later, he was brought on to race for Norton and later for MV Agusta. By the end of the 1960s, he had won 68 races and seven world championships on both 350cc and 500cc bikes.

With not much left to prove, Surtees made the jump to four-wheeled motor sports. In his first single-seater race in 1960, an F3 race at Goodwood, he finished second to a young Jim Clark who at the time was racing for Lotus. Lotus team boss Colin Chapman was so impressed by Surtees' performance that he brought him on for the last four races of the Formula 1 season.

In the following two seasons, he raced for Cooper and Lola with not much success. Then in 1963, Enzo Ferrari came knocking. Two seasons later in 1965, he won races at the Nürburgring and Monza, which was enough to give him his first and only Formula 1 championship.

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He went on to race in a few more Formula 1 races, which included a legendary win at Spa-Francorchamps. He also dabbled in sports car racing at Le Mans and in Can-Am before retiring from racing in 1973. He now lives with his wife in the English countryside.

Imagine Valentino Rossi winning a Formula 1 championship, or Sebastian Vettel suddenly dominating MotoGP. As talented as the two of them are, it's just not going to happen That's why there will never be another John Surtees.

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