Formula 1 and motorcycle world champion and racing legend John Surtees has died, March 10.

Formula 1 and motorcycle world champion and racing legend John Surtees has died, March 10.

It is with great sadness to report that 83-year-old British motorsport icon John Surtees has passed away following a short illness.

Surtees is the only person to have won world championships on both two and four wheels. 

He is a four-time 500cc motorcycle world champion — 1956, 1958, 1959 and 1960. He then became a Formula One World Champion in 1964.

He began his racing career off-road in his early teens before going on to become a true legend of motor racing.

In a statement issued on formula1.com his family report Surtees was admitted to a London hospital with an existing respiratory condition 

“We deeply mourn the loss of such an incredible, kind and loving man as well as celebrate his amazing life,” they said in a statement. “He has set a very real example of someone who kept pushing himself at his peak and one who continued fighting until the very end.”