(Getty)
John Surtees smiles for the cameras with his Ken Tyrrell Racing Cooper T51 Climax in April 1960…
The much anticipated switch of the British multiple bike champion to four wheels took place when he contested the Formula Junior races at the ‘BARC Members Meeting’ at Goodwood on 19 March 1960.
Ken Tyrrell entered him in a Cooper T52 BMC, the ‘novice’ raced into second between the Team Lotus duo of Jim Clark and Trevor Taylor both mounted in Lotus 18 Fords, more competitive cars. The field also included other later GP drivers Peter Arundell and Mike Spence.
John Surtees, Cooper T52 BMC FJ, Goodwood, 19 March 1960 (Getty)
It was a great debut so why not jump into the deep end?
The Non-Championship F1 ‘Oulton Park Trophy’ took place at the Cheshire circuit on 2 April, with limited testing the talented Brit took on a field of some depth, starting the race from pole and again finishing second. Innes Ireland took the win in a Team Lotus 18 Climax with the very experienced Roy Salvadori third in another Cooper T51 Climax. The field also included Harry Schell and Chris Bristow.
Surtees had arrived in cars! He mixed racing two wheels and four in 1960 but focussed on cars from 1961…
Photo Credits…
Getty Images
Tailpiece…
Surtees winning the Isle of Man Senior TT in 1956. MV Agusta 500 (Getty)
primotipo... 
https://colorem.wordpress.com/2016/01/10/john-surtees-isle-of-man-1958-monaco-1963/
Mark, Surtees’ first car races, including the Goodwood one referenced here were in Formula Junior, not Formula 3. The car info is correct, though, a type 52 Coper BMC (Formula Junior).
Thanks Ken, quite right, I checked the facts on the F2 Index and got muddled, researching an article on Dave Walker at the moment and trawling thru piles of F3 results! Will change the caption, amazing start to car racing wasn’t it?! Mark
[…] His first race on four wheels was in Formula Junior at Goodwood on 19 March. He finished second to rising star Jim Clark’s Lotus 18 Ford during the BARC Members Meeting in a Ken Tyrrell Cooper T52 BMC. Click here for a short article about his debut; https://primotipo.com/2016/01/18/surtees-first-car-races/ […]