41 replies to this topic

[Stefan Schmidt]

I need some Names of F1 People who started their careers in motorbike racing such as Depailler, Giacomelli, Brambilla, Surtees and Ecclestone

 

Hope you can help me to find some more

[kayemod]

Damon Hill, probably Britain's most under-rated World Champion, but I'm a fan of his, one of the nicest men ever to sit in an F1 car too.

[Bloggsworth]

Nuvolari & Hailwood.

[MCS]

This could be a long thread, Stefan.  Very quickly, off the top of my head:  Alberto Ascari, Jean Behra, Jean-Pierre Beltoise, Johnny Cecotto and wasn't Nuvolari on bikes initially...?

 

Edit:  Sorry, just saw Nuvolari above.

Edited by MCS, 20 February 2016 - 20:01.

[GMACKIE]

Bernd Rosemeyer.

[Dave Ware]

Jacky Ickx, Jo Siffert, Jean-Pierre Beltoise.  I'm quite sure that Beltoise won several French championships before moving onto cars.

 

Bob Bondurant raced speedway (dirt oval) motorcycles before moving on to cars.  One thing he said about it was that the experience got him comfortable racing in close quarters with other racers.

 

For many in the sixties it was a less expensive way to get started.  That certainly mattered to Siffert.

[Vitesse2]

Varzi, Müller, Lang ...

[MCS]

I may be mistaken, but didn't Martin Brundle or Mark Blundell (or, maybe both?)  start in motocross...?

[Tim Murray]

Blundell definitely started in motocross. Other bikers:

Piero Taruffi, Clemente Biondetti, Nello Pagani, Dorino Serafini, Louis Rosier, Froilan Gonzalez, Paul Frere, Ron Flockhart, Bernard Collomb, Bob Anderson, Frank Gardner, Pedro & Ricardo Rodriguez, Jody Scheckter, Pedro Lamy etc.

[john winfield]

Lorenzo Bandini.

[Tim Murray]

Georg Meier

[D-Type]

Mike Hawthorn competed in trials before he raced cars

[TecnoRacing]

Emerson raced motorbikes (50cc and 175cc) as a teenager before switching to boats/karts/cars...

 

 

[RogerFrench]

Varzi, Müller, Lang ...

And Caracciola

[john winfield]

François Cevert

[kayemod]

Maybe it would be simpler to list the F1 drivers who didn't start with bikes.

 

Listing men like Rosemeyer, Caracciola, Varzi, Nuvolari etc is stretching the thread title rather a lot though, F1???

[GMACKIE]

 

Listing men like Rosemeyer, Caracciola, Varzi, Nuvolari etc is stretching the thread title rather a lot though, F1???

I wondered when that would rear it's head.

[E1pix]

... Müller...

Herbert?

If so, I never knew that... but it fits him.

[Tim Murray]

Hermann Paul of that ilk. Made his name on motorcycles, then switched to cars and, as we determined here on TNF, was the rightful Champion of Europe in 1939. After WW2 he went back to bikes and became World 250cc Champion in 1955:

Hermann Paul Müller

For the story of the 1939 championship fiasco, see the 8W article by Richard Armstrong (our own Vitesse2) - there's a link to it on the Wiki page.

Edited by Tim Murray, 21 February 2016 - 06:55.

[E1pix]

Thanks, Tim.

[PZR]

Kunimitsu Takahashi (Honda team rider and GP winner), Kazuyoshi Hoshino & Masahiro Hasemi (both trials and hillclimb riders...).

[Nemo1965]

Alex Wurz started his career on a bike... a pedal-bike, that is. He became worldchampion BMX, I believe.

 

No, not a motorbike, but still...

[pete53]

South African Paddy Driver, mainly known for motor cycling, went on to do a couple of F1 events.

[eurocardoc]

Not a driver, but Adrian Reynard

[D-Type]

Maybe it would be simpler to list the F1 drivers who didn't start with bikes.

 

Listing men like Rosemeyer, Caracciola, Varzi, Nuvolari etc is stretching the thread title rather a lot though, F1???

 

Well, both Varzi and Nuvolari did race in Formula 1 races - admittedly before the advent of the World Championship.  And Lang drove in the 1954 German GP.

[Charlieman]

Not a driver, but Adrian Reynard

Reynard was daft but he knew it and thought:

 

http://www.motorspor...-adrian-reynard

[funformula]

Gerhard Mitter

[Arjan de Roos]

Denis Jenkinson....

[D-Type]

Denis Jenkinson....

 

Good one! 

 

DSJ was most definitely a Formula 1 person

[Charlieman]

Everyone, allegedly, in Brazil raced bikes. The question should be about who didn't race.

[Charlieman]

Good one! 

 

DSJ was most definitely a Formula 1 person

DSJ was part of the furniture. He did not wish to be a star or a remarkable person. He was present and he observed. 

 

And he was never stuffy about "poor man racing".

[philippe7]

François Cevert

 

François was a keen motorcyclist on the road, but as far as I know he only ever compteted in one sigle race at Montlhery, so not sure if this counts as "started on bikes"

 

I'm surprised nobody mentioned motorcycle ace Gary Hocking who (tragically) moved to F1 when he gave up bike racing - although that was "only" in the south african championship

 

Also the maestro Giacomo Agostini, who also raced in F1, but only in two non-championship GP's and in the Aurora series

 

And of course Guy Ligier, average F1 driver but very significant team owner, had an earlier career on bikes, even taking part in a couple of French Grand Prix.

[Michael Ferner]

In the days before karts and Formula Daddy, everyone who didn't have the money started with bikes, innit?

[312f1]

Jean Pierre Jarier

[Arjan de Roos]

Valentino Rossi..

[D-Type]

Bernie started with a motorcycle dealers before progressing to cars.  We know he raced 500cc cars.  Did he perhaps also race bikes to promote his business?

[Perruqueporte]

Geoff Duke

[nexfast]

André Milhoux (motocross)

[R.W. Mackenzie]

Piero Taruffi.

[Arjan de Roos]

Before F1 and even WW2 the Scuderia Ferrari had a moto team to develop talents. It was the way to go for young talents like we have karting still.

Edited by Arjan de Roos, 27 February 2016 - 08:00.

[nexfast]

Another belgian driver: Roger Laurent

[exclubracer]

There's only one winner here.

 

John Surtees. The only man to win World Championsips on both 2 and 4 wheels.

 

Shou